Technical Sales Manager

Title: Technical Sales Manager

Department: Sales & Marketing Department 

Flip your Career 

At Mennel, we believe in doing right and bringing our best to our people who are helping to feed the world. We promote teamwork and recognize the individual contributions everyone plays in the overall success of the company. 

JOB SUMMARY: In this role, you will help sustain Mennel’s tradition of excellence established in 1886 as well as support our food safety programs and mission to reliably deliver superior quality, uniformity, and service.  

We are seeking a highly motivated and technically proficient Technical Sales Manager to join our team in the Food Industry, with a focus on flour milling and bakery mix production. The ideal candidate will combine strong technical expertise in flour and bakery mix applications with proven sales acumen, building strong relationships with customers while driving revenue growth. This role bridges the gap between technical product knowledge and commercial strategy, ensuring customer satisfaction and sustainable business development. This role combines customer relationship management with technical expertise to deliver customized solutions, support product development, and ensure customer satisfaction across commercial bakery operations. 

PRIMARY WORK SHIFT: Works shift as assigned and overtime as required. 

Regular work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This is a hybrid or remote position with up to 50% travel potentially. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without accommodation.  

Sales & Business Development 

• Assist in the development and execution of strategic plans to achieve sales targets and expand our customer base.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities within commercial bakeries, food service and manufacturing sectors.

Customer Relationship Management 

• Build and maintaining strong, long-lasting customer relationships, partnering with customers to understand their business needs and objectives.
• Support clients with product demos, troubleshooting, trials, training sessions and formulation advice.

Technical Expertise & Support 

• Provide technical support, product and/or process recommendations tailored to customer needs.
• Liaison w/ R&D, Quality and production teams by providing test baking, product formulations, quality support, and application solutions for customers. 

Market Intelligence & Strategy 

• Analyze market trends and customer feedback for product development and market positioning.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues on cross-territory opportunities and other internal teams to implement targeted sales strategy and foster a culture of continuous process improvement.
• Prepare and present technical proposals, pricing, and contracts.
• Maintain CRM records and report on sales activities, contracts, forecasts, and performance metrics. 
• Other duties may be assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position has no supervisory duties. 

QUALIFICATIONS:  

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to perform this job.  

• Bachelors’ degree in Food Science, Bakery Science or related field preferred; equivalent experience within the industry.
• Minimum of 5 years of technical sales, preferably in bakery or food ingredients.
• Strong understanding of bakery processes, mix formulations, and ingredient functionality.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and food safety standards.
• Relationships with national and regional restaurant chains / baked goods manufacturers, a plus.
• Must have professional presence and excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with management and cross-functional teams, for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office including Excel, Word, and Power Point.
• Ability to work under time pressure and with problem-solving issues.
• Ability to work within a team environment.
• Ability to prioritize.
• Ability to travel, as needed, up to 50% based on customer and business requirements.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, memos, procedures, and plans. Ability to write, complete checklists and other basic documentation and correspondence. Ability to effectively present information or data in one-on-one and small group situations to co-workers, supervisors, and managers. 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:  

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. 

REASONING ABILITY:

Must use solid judgment when making decisions. Must have ability to quickly recognize and plan for changing work duties and events. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job: 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to perform maintenance tasks, reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, twist, crouch, or crawl, and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds or more. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to conditions that are typical to an office environment.