Regional Sales Manager (Central)

Open Farm•Chicago, IL

1d•Remote

About The Position

Open Farm is a rapidly growing CPG company focused on premium, ethically sourced pet food. The Regional Sales Manager (Central) is crucial for supporting growth by ensuring national account strategies are executed effectively across assigned regions. This field-driven role partners with national account directors and territory sales managers to drive successful launches, manage merchandising, strengthen relationships, ensure compliance, and deliver training within strategic retail chains. Success directly impacts sales growth, brand representation, operational consistency, and capital deployment. The role also involves managing trade and expense budgets to ensure regional investments yield profitable growth.

Requirements

Demonstrates ability to drive measurable sales growth within a retail account or defined region, with clear accountability to performance targets and execution standards.
Strong background in field execution, merchandising compliance, and retail operations within structured retail environments.
Proven experience delivering structured trainings and presenting to district and store level leadership with confidence and clarity.
Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build productive relationships across multiple levels of retail leadership.
Strong organizational discipline and ability to manage extensive travel, high store volume, competing priorities, and field execution schedules effectively.
Demonstrates ability to anticipate execution gaps, surface field insights proactively, and operate with limited direction in a fast-paced launch environment.
Competence in Excel, PowerPoint, and CRM systems to support disciplined reporting, structured communication, and data-driven decision-making.
Demonstrates ownership of trade and field activation budgets with measurable ROI accountability.
Strong financial acumen, including experience prioritizing investments, evaluating effectiveness, and making disciplined allocation decisions that protect margin.
Experience building structured trade programs within defined budget parameters to drive retail engagement and sell-through.
Proven stewardship of travel and expense budgets with disciplined cost management.
Minimum of 20+ in-person store visits per week, with flexibility to adjust based on training sessions, district meetings, and launch priorities.
Up to 60% overnight travel depending on geographic concentration and account needs.
Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and the ability to travel extensively are required.
Candidates must reside within assigned region, be able to travel consistently in the region, and ideally live near a major airport hub.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience within the pet industry and/or supporting strategic retail chains is considered a strong asset.

Responsibilities

Meet and exceed regional sales targets within the designated strategic chain by driving disciplined launch execution, strong store-level adoption, and effective training penetration.
Lead the rollout and sustained activation of Open Farm across assigned stores, ensuring reset accuracy, merchandising compliance, and promotional execution standards.
Monitor store-level sales trends and execution quality, proactively identifying opportunities to strengthen sell-through and correct gaps.
Maintain accountability to defined performance metrics including store coverage, training frequency, reset compliance, sales growth targets, and timely CRM documentation.
Execute consistently in alignment with Open Farm’s national priorities and the strategic objectives of the designated retail partner.
Build and maintain productive relationships with district managers, store managers, and retail teams.
Develop and deliver structured training programs, including full-store trainings, district presentations, lunch-and-learns, and launch sessions.
Ensure planogram compliance, promotional integrity, and merchandising standards are consistently upheld across assigned locations.
Identify and address in-store execution challenges, partnering with Territory Sales Managers and cross-functional teams to resolve issues quickly.
Support grand openings, district meetings, in-store activations, and promotional initiatives through disciplined on-site execution.
Provide structured post-visit and post-event reporting to National Accounts leadership, highlighting execution trends, competitive activity, store feedback, and actionable growth opportunities.
Partner closely with Director, National Accounts and Territory Sales Managers to align travel plans, share store insights, and ensure cohesive execution across the market.
Manage regional trade and travel budgets with accountability to ROI and margin objectives.