Culinary Sales Specialist- Chattanooga, Tennessee

INTERNATIONAL GOURMET FOODS INC•Chattanooga, TN

2d•Remote

About The Position

IGF's Sales Department members work together to approach markets with the objectives of securing strong business relationships and dominating the independent food sector within select areas. Within this, the Culinary Sales Specialists are intellectually curious and understand that quality is the continuous improvement of every aspect of the business. They achieve continuous improvement by holding one another accountable to high performance standards and building rapport with IGF’s customers and vendors to cultivate in-depth knowledge of the products they sell and effective placement strategies.

Requirements

A minimum of three years of hospitality or food industry experience
A proven track record of success in the food sales and services industry
Ability to deal with customers, vendors, and all channels of distribution to assess and analyze situations
Demonstrated ability to effectively negotiate contracts and terms, and close deals
Ability to build and maintain relationships across teams, departments, customers, vendors, and service providers
Ability to work independently or as part of a team – changing gears when required, whether multitasking or adapting working hours; effectively manage time and prioritize multiple responsibilities
Must be able to travel up to 75% to visit clients within the designated sales region, and 15% for out of market travel
Proactive, quick-thinking, problem-solving approach to work
Excellent communication, organization, and data-entry skills with keen focus on customer needs and relationship building; A high level of energy and self-motivation, as well as a passion for the food industry
Strong attention to detail and solid written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; maintain a high and positive energy
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Dynamics, Excel, Teams, and Word) and other tech skills, including use of email, and text
Must live in the area and have strong local connections

Nice To Haves

Five or more years of hospitality or food industry experience
Bilingual communication skills

Responsibilities

Work as a team to manage, expand, and compete for IGF’s share of the food distribution market
Serve as subject matter experts on how to sell IGF’s products and work together to identify sales opportunities in the marketplace
Meet and exceed individual and department targets and KPIs
Develop, manage, and grow IGF’s customer base within designated markets
Proactively pursue new business: cold-call and regularly follow up on inquiries, leads, and prospects
Expand existing customer accounts and relationships to increase overall sales volume, sell a broad range (high percentage) of products IGF carries, and increase IGF’s market share
Actively manage existing accounts
Maintain an accurate portfolio of accounts, including customer contact information, targets, and updates
Stay up to date on customers’ businesses and needs
Visit customers in person to check in and introduce new products
Develop and continuously improve industry and product knowledge
Negotiate and manage contract rates, terms, and payment arrangements
Coordinate customers’ contract terms and fees with Accounts Receivable to ensure payment and avoid lapses in service
Collect customer payments
Submit credit and product-return requests
Serve as customers’ IGF point of contact
Effectively communicate internally to resolve service issues
Effectively communicate issue resolutions to customers
Attend sales meetings as required
Comply with company and department policies and procedures
Perform other duties as assigned