Description

POSITION SUMMARY:

To serve as a professional sales leader in building and maintaining profitable relationships with large National Accounts as well as leading and motivating key members of our sales team. This position plays a critical role in driving revenue, developing, and executing sales strategies and ensuring that sales goals and targets are met. You will work with the team to build financial goals to grow revenue and gain increased placement of product categories across a wide customer base. Work collaboratively with the PD&D team in identifying new markets, users, and formats to support customer base and financial objectives. Partner with the Business Intelligence team to drive the needs and efforts around analytics to support long term growth plans. Successfully position company as category expert by understanding and utilizing market insights to drive key opportunities and white space. This position will report directly into the CEO in our Stillwater, MN location.

POSITION ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sales Strategy Development:

• Define and execute a comprehensive sales strategy, collaborating cross-departmentally to ensure alignment with the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Set sales targets, performance metrics and KPIs to drive results and evaluate performance of the team.
• Ensure team is effectively and efficiently executing developed sales strategies and plans.
• Assist with development & implementation of sales incentive programs.

Sales Team Leadership & Management

• Manage the day-to-day operations and expectations of key sales team leaders and employees.
• Mentor and lead the team; Evaluate sales performance and suggest areas for improvement or work through corrective action processes as needed.
• Provide training, guidance, and professional development opportunities to the sales team to enhance skills and capabilities.
• Assist Account Managers in resolving escalated customer concerns.
• Serve as primary point person/leader for internal sales meetings; Act as liaison between Sales groups and internal teams (Product Development, Production, Business Analyst etc.)
• Provide accurate and timely management updates to the Executive Team and CEO to communicate performance results and industry insights and trends.

Account Management:

• Responsible for managing profitability of assigned key accounts through negotiation of pricing, terms, and other contract agreements.
• Responsible for managing and meeting Key Performance Measures of assigned accounts through collaborative efforts with internal departments and across business units.
• Develop yearly sales plans and goals for assigned accounts and territories or distribution channels of responsibility.
• Identify and adhere to account timelines for category, seasonal reviews, and presentations; communicate to the team.
• Participate in all assigned account pre-call preparation meetings and subsequent download meetings.
• Collaborate with Business Analyst to develop forecasts for seasonal merchandise programs, new product or program launches
• Update Sales Pipe Line Reports weekly and manage revenue forecast
• Communicate with Product Development/Marketing on competitive analysis sales trends, etc.
• Attend and participate in weekly team/account meetings and other strategic sales or product development meetings as directed
• Study and have in depth knowledge of weekly sell-thru reports (provided by BA) from “key accounts”
• Work closely with all departments to process customer special requests (pre-tickets, displays, racks, custom sell sheets, item #’s, etc.)
• Communicate individual terms of assigned customer base (i.e., special requests, allowances, rebates, pricing, dating, freight, etc.) and any changes as needed on customer terms sheets and forward/share with accounting.
• Assist in identifying and managing customer chargebacks/debits as to eliminate or minimize Gartner’s financial liability
• Update PDM with changes to customer line lists to reflect current assortments, price changes, store count changes or any of the items of sales responsibility on the line lists.
• Document and have working knowledge of customer plan-o-gram restrictions including merchandising heights, widths, and available racking components.
• Responsible for excess inventory sales across assigned retailers and other channels of distribution

Requirements

COMPANY EXPECTATIONS:

We are looking for ambitious individuals with a history of high achievement and the desire to work in a fast-paced environment with peers who will challenge you to be better. Qualifications & Expectations include:

• Demonstrated background in sales, strategic development, and people management.
• Highly collaborative individual with ability to work independently and cross-functionally.
• High sense of urgency, proactively addressing concerns with subordinates, peers, and management 
• Respectfully present, on time and focused for all meetings.
• Excellent time management skills
• Problem solver, with an established and clearly articulated point of view (POV)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Minimum Education: 

• Bachelor’s Degree with a concentration in marketing, advertising, sales, or related field, or equivalent years of proven and successful sales work experience

Minimum Experience: 

• Minimum of 7 years of high-performance sales management and sales success
• Proven ability to personally execute the solutions sales process, developing new and building account relationships to consistently achieve and exceed sales goals and business results.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Key Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Provide leadership and direction for Key Accounts
• Exceptional business acumen & leadership skills
• Strong ability to act with urgency, clear expectations, and consistent communication.
• Manage customer expectations and perception.
• Problem solver

Other Requirements:

• Job requires working on a personal computer up to eight hours a day
• Job requires communicating via telephone up to eight hours a day
• Job requires travel on a regular basis