Area Sales Manager, Houston, TX
About The Position
The Area Sales Manager leads a team of Retail Sales Leads and ensures they activate WK Kellogg Co’s account strategy, goals, and selling objectives. The role combines leadership, strategic planning, and account management in a fast-paced, retail-focused environment. It is based in the Houston, Texas area and requires approximately 60% travel, which may vary based on the area. The position reports to the Director of Retail Sales and supervises 11–13 Retail Sales Leads. It works with other Area Sales Managers, Account Executives, customer teams, the Retail Sales Support Team, Human Resources, and external store leadership. The work week includes start-of-week planning, a Wednesday business analysis review, and end-of-week strategic analysis aligned with the account sales plan. The role also includes documented annual coaching, averaging seven days per month in the field, with remaining days planned for home-office strategic planning.
Requirements
- 3–7+ years of progressive sales experience.
- Demonstrated success meeting or exceeding sales targets.
- Experience managing customer relationships and territory performance.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and POS systems.
- Analytical skills and data-driven decision-making.
- Management, sales, and account management experience.
- Strong leadership and people-development skills.
- High school diploma or GED.
- Valid driver’s license.
- Customer relationship management and negotiation skills.
Nice To Haves
- Sales experience in consumer goods, retail, manufacturing, or a related industry.
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field.
Responsibilities
- Develop and lead Retail Sales Leads by establishing selling and activation processes and providing training and coaching.
- Align with customer teams to activate weekly, monthly, and annual promotion plans that support profitable sales, distribution, and display goals.
- Collaborate between Retail and Account Teams on strategic gap planning for four or more account go-to-market plans.
- Sell to senior decision-makers at retail customers to gain support and accelerate key performance indicators.
- Build customer relationships and use compression selling to achieve targets.
- Track retail performance metrics, develop quarterly and annual budgets, and use analytics-driven insights to identify opportunities and achieve budgeted sales goals.
- Recruit, hire, and train talent to support team growth and development.
- Elevate cereal category knowledge through reporting, tools, and technology.
- Partner with account teams and cross-functional stakeholders to align strategies, ensure consistent activation, and deliver solutions that meet customer and business objectives.
- Build relationships with external store leadership and establish customer operations connections at higher levels.
- Broaden customer relationships through selling and participation in key customer activation programs.
- Document annual coaching work, totaling 85 annually.
Benefits
- Incentive plan bonus eligibility
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Savings and Investment Plan with company match and contribution
- Paid time off, including paid sick time
- 11 paid holidays
- Life insurance
- AD&D insurance
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance
- Tuition reimbursement
- Adoption assistance for eligible employees
- Employee recognition program
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Education Level
High school or GED
