Regional Sales Manager – Midwest AFH (Food Service)

Overall Goal of Position:
To profitably expand SBI sales and distribution through Away from Home (Food Service) distributors and operators in the assigned region. The Regional Sales Manager (RSM) position is accountable for the achievement of regional revenue, gross margin, distribution, and distributor development objectives by providing passion, creative and fact-based insights, and well thought out customer solutions.

 
Job Summary: 
The Regional Sales Manager (RSM) is responsible for proactively managing SBI’s AFH (Food Service) business in the assigned region, including revenue, gross margins, trade spending, distribution, operator and distributor engagement, TAM development (if applicable), SBI brand visibility and business management with AFH (Food Service) Distributors.

The RSM reports to the Director, Away From Home Field Sales and works collaboratively with the AFH Key Account Team, various corporate support departments (Sales Planning & Analysis, the Condiment and Spice BUs, Customer Service, Accounts Receivable, etc.) to fully develop SBI’s business in the Region. From time to time, the RSM will also work collaboratively with his/her Retail Sales counterpart on Regional marketing activities and best practice sharing opportunities. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Development of Regional Annual Business Plan, and selected Account Plans to deliver expected results for SBI in the assigned region.
• Achievement of total Revenue and Gross Margin objectives through AFH Distributors.
• Achievement of branded sales and distribution objectives through effective personal and team selling and execution of company portfolio management programs.
• Achievement of Distributor Development Objectives, including but not limited to
• Distributor engagement/NPS score
• Depth and breadth of portfolio
• Distribution Objectives
• SBI Program Acceptance and Excellent Execution
• Sales Terms and Conditions Compliance (AR, Order lead times, MOQs, etc.)
• Sales forecast development, timely communication, and accuracy (within 30% MAPE)
• Manage assigned trade programs and associated funding to deliver strong distributor and operator performance, and excellent execution of SBI programs.
• Develop and leverage relationships at all levels of assigned Distributors and selected Operators.
• Leverage analytical resources to provide Distributors and Operators with blinding insights, must have category expertise that helps them improve their business and further develops the SBI portfolio.
• Utilize BU resources for consumer, brand, product and category insights, and Sales Analysis and Planning resources for channel, account and market insights that help to differentiate SBI as a supplier to Distributors and operators. 
• Develop planning and tracking tools to assist accounts/operators and distributor sales personnel maximize effectiveness and success of SBI programs and overall business. 
• Execute distributor product education, sales meetings, product cuttings, and other activities within the distributorship that promote SBI brands. Integrate TAM and Corporate departments as appropriate to increase effectiveness. 
• Deliver short- & long-term solutions through best practice thought leadership
• Proficient use of the CRM tool, with accurate and detailed reporting and effective pipeline management.
• Routinely collect and report competitive activity in the condiment and spice categories to include new competitors, new products, new packages, pricing changes, discontinued items, etc.
• Work closely with SBI Customer Service to ensure timely deliveries and effective communication around exceptions.
• Work as an escalation path with Credit and Collections for past due accounts.

Performance Standards (the criteria that will be used to evaluate performance):   

• Business Key Performance Indicators
• Volume/profitability of PL SKUs
• Brand Revenues & Gross Margins
• Distributor-Broadline distribution
• Assigned Accounts/Operators
• Sales Execution vs Portfolio
• Total Revenues & Gross Margins
• Gross Margins
• Priorities
• Brand Distribution/Penetration-Distributor
• Number of Distributor buying locations, and growth
• Distributor Penetration (Ship To) within assigned territory (Distributors buying SBI brands (Ship To) as a % of total distributors in market)
• Distributors buying SBI Brands among Active SBI Distributors
• Brand SKUs per Active Distributor
• Brand SKUs per active Brand Distributor
• Brand Distribution/Penetration-Operator
• Number of Operator distribution points, and growth
• % of Distributor accounts buying SBI Brands
• # of SKUs per brand buying account
• # of Menu applications
• Sales & Marketing Program Execution
• Program acceptance by operator and/or distributor
• Program effectiveness in delivering expected results
• Effectiveness of trade support spending
• Distributor Business Management
• Forecast Accuracy-MAPE
• AR Terms compliance
• Order Lead Times
• MOQs
• Other
• Distributor and Operator Engagement with SBI
• Net Promoter Scores (NPS)
• Overall Program participation rate
• What you do and how you act
• Leadership and contribution to overall success of SBI
• Personal Effectiveness-meeting timelines and productivity requirements (quantity and quality of work)
• Personal interaction, communication, and teamwork with internal and external parties,

What We Are Looking For:  

• Personal Characteristics
• Entrepreneurial drive and the desire to “build a business.”
• Outgoing, energetic, and results oriented personality
• Overall confidence in one’s abilities and comfortable communicating the facts
• Smart, creative, and inquisitive
• Integrity-Does the right thing even when no one is looking
• Disciplined approach, and accountable for KPIs
• No excuses mindset
• Dependable team player with positive attitude
• Personal values that mesh with SBI values
• Passion for consumer goods and food
• Performance History
• Documented history of making improvements in assigned work area/responsibilities
• Demonstrated progression in size and scope of responsibilities
• Stellar references based on contributions and performance
• Demonstrated proficiency in the following Areas:
• Ability to present information, internally and externally, in a succinct manner to drive to decision making.
• Skilled at building relationships with key stakeholders, including customers, brokers, and internal cross functional teams.
• Utilize data to analyze situation and make decisions.
• Understanding of forecasting models and tools
• Ability to work and thrive under time constraints and prioritize responsibilities.
• Demonstrated strategic thought leadership
• Team oriented, collaborative, diplomatic, and flexible
• Drive to compete and win every day!
• Education & Experience:
• BS/BA degree in business or related technical discipline
• 5 to 10 years of Foodservice selling experience desired, with a minimum of 3 to 5 years of significant interactions with Foodservice distributors and large operators. 
• Regional Chain management experience is a plus.
• Other:
• Location -Within the Midwest Region - Preferred locations:  Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan 
• Local Travel Required (50%). Must have reliable transportation. 

• Some overnight travel required (30-40%)

What Is In It For You?

Our company acknowledges talented people are attracted to companies that provide competitive pay, comprehensive benefits packages and outstanding advancement opportunities. For this reason, we offer a Comprehensive Benefits Plan that includes the following:

• 401K 
• Medical/Dental/Vision Coverage
• Vacation, Sick Days and Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee and Dependent Life Insurance
• Voluntary Disability Insurance
• Other Voluntary Insurance Options

Sauer Brands, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.