Area Sales Manager (NY)

ZBiotics Company•New York, NY

23h•$115,000 - $135,000•Onsite

About The Position

ZBiotics is hiring an Area Sales Manager to establish and grow its presence across New York City in partnership with its current distributor. The role focuses on building distribution and sales velocity in independent grocery stores, bodegas, and natural and specialty grocery accounts, with the opportunity to support broader distribution across New York State, New Jersey, and Connecticut. For the first 90–120 days, the role focuses entirely on off-premise retail. Thereafter, the focus is approximately 70–80% off-premise and 20–30% on-premise accounts such as restaurants, bars, and hotels. This is a field-first position for a relationship-driven sales professional who will call on accounts, educate retailers and staff, collaborate with distributor teams, and ensure products are well represented. The Area Sales Manager will report to the National Director of Distributor Sales and work closely with distributor partners, retail accounts, and internal teams. The role involves spending 3–4 days per week in trade and building a market through consistent account engagement, execution, and education.

Requirements

2–5 years of experience selling in beverage alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages, or natural foods and snacks, representing a supplier or distributor in the New York City market.
2–5 years of experience calling on New York City off-premise retail accounts, primarily independent small grocery stores and bodegas.
Experience calling on New York City on-premise accounts, including restaurants, bars, and hotels.
Experience calling on natural grocery accounts such as Whole Foods and Wegmans.
Ability to champion premium, high-end, or craft products through compelling storytelling and product education.
Thorough understanding of distributor dynamics and effective ways to communicate with, motivate, and drive execution through distributor partners.
Experience educating staff in off- and on-premise accounts, in both small and large groups, and generating excitement for a premium brand.
Understanding of retail and on-premise business needs, including retail margins, pour cost, pricing, sell-through, and profitability.
Ability to review sales reports, identify opportunities and successes, and build momentum using data.
Ability to manage retail inventory and recognize and communicate potential out-of-stocks or overstocks.
Understanding of impactful product placement and merchandising to maximize visibility and rate of sale across off- and on-premise accounts.
CRM experience with HubSpot, VIP, iDig, or similar tools.
Strong organization and ability to plan effective routes and maximize time in the trade.
Event or demonstration experience, including consumer education at festivals, events, or in-store demonstrations.
Goal-oriented approach to setting and achieving or exceeding distribution and sales targets.
Ability to work in the field 3–4 days per week.
Alignment with ZBiotics values of People-First, Integrity, Citizenship, and Science.

Nice To Haves

Experience calling on Duane Reade stores.
Established relationships with New York City restaurants, bars, and hotels.

Responsibilities

Call on independent grocery stores, bodegas, and natural and specialty grocery accounts in the designated territory.
Sell in multiple ZBiotics SKUs and secure high-impact, properly priced and merchandised displays.
Monitor account inventory, sales reports, and stock levels; identify potential out-of-stocks or overstocks and communicate them to store managers and the distributor partner.
Secure incremental displays, points of interruption, and shelf placements that improve visibility and rate of sale.
Conduct weekly staff education and in-store demonstrations.
Create and call on targeted on-premise accounts, including restaurants, bars, and hotels.
Secure product distribution, menu placements, and merchandising in on-premise accounts where possible.
Build relationships with on-premise staff through training, sampling, and one-to-one interactions.
Work with the Retail Marketing Manager to identify brand-awareness opportunities in on-premise accounts.
Train and engage distributor sales representatives, managers, and merchandising teams weekly on the ZBiotics brand, product function, and science.
Collaboratively sell in new distribution, menu placements, and displays while coaching distributor teams on the brand, product quality, and science.
Manage distributor product and point-of-sale inventories, support forecasting, maintain days on hand, and help ensure adequate inventory across channels.
Partner with Retail Marketing Managers to deliver consistent retailer onboarding.
Provide weekly recaps to distributor sales managers, supervisors, and representatives covering wins, opportunities, follow-up needs, and successes.
Conduct in-field or in-office merchandising training for distributor teams on optimizing point-of-sale materials and merchandising strategies.
Use sales data and account insights to help the distributor build distribution and velocity and prepare for expansion across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Participate in quarterly distributor performance reviews to evaluate progress and alignment and identify new opportunities.