Regional Sales Manager- Chicago

Unilever•Chicago, IL

2d•$103,000 - $154,400•Onsite

About The Position

Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) is the $2.5bn+ foodservice division of Unilever, leading the dynamic Food Service market with ambitious growth objectives. UFS is accelerating its digital transformation to fuel growth through data-driven and technology-enabled Go-to-Market (GtM) capabilities, aiming to reach 2.5 million operators by 2030 via an online & offline contact strategy. The marketing and sales focus is on engaging chefs & customers through an integrated communication system via sales representative visits and digital touchpoints like the UFS.com website/webshop, segmented campaigns, and UFS apps. New marketing roles are integrated into the digital ecosystem to enhance operator & customer experience.

Requirements

6+ years of working experience in the foodservice industry with proven track record in sales, preferably in the Foodservice Industry.
Understanding / experience of use of Digital & Social media in selling.
Strategic Selling skills
Impactful Virtual Customer Engagement
Full understanding of all Customers & UFS Product solutions
Business Insights to Activation Solution Selling
Familiarity of UFS CD Cycle
Customer Business Planning & Win & Retail
Chefman-ship
Commercial Skills
Negotiation Skills
Digital & IT skills Including eCom, Salesforce, Marketo
Data & Analytical Skills - Ability to use data driven insights for execution

Nice To Haves

Passion for Food and the OOH industry a plus
Industry knowledge for Trade Customers

Responsibilities

Lead the execution of Unilever Food Solutions Customer engagement strategy offline & online with Operators and Trade Partner customers to deliver business growth targets (Turnover, Reach & Penetration).
Lead, coach and develop a Customer Development team.
Accountable for leading the team to deliver business targets for the assigned Region for Independent Operators, Chains, and Trade Partners.
Full execution of UFS Annual Operating Plan and quarterly initiatives.
Lead and train team to expand reach to Regional Restaurant Chains (50 units).
Manage Small Regional Chain accounts and develop sales opportunities at each customer.
Cultivate relationships with key tier 2 and 3 distributors to better promote Unilever Food Solution’s products.
Instill team commitment to lead management as a primary driver of business growth.
Develop business across all field channels within commercial and non-commercial segments.
Lead and train team to partner with restaurant executives and chefs to develop and grow their business.
Lead and train team to partner with Distributor Partners to accelerate their market growth through training & collaborating with their Sales teams and executing marketing programs.
Win customers across all channels with the appropriate level of trade and resources.
Lead the implementation of the Contact Matrix for Key Trade customers with a Squad approach for more effective customer management.
Develop and execute Joint Business Planning (JBPs) with Selected Trade partners including Trade Term agreement, Sell out activities and DSRs & Trade team engagement & KPIs (Sell-out, Reach, Penetration, eCom, Digital Reach etc).
Engage trade customers to gain alignment for Secondary Sales Data (SSD) partnerships with proof of value addition (e.g., Traffic generation towards Trade Webshop via UFS campaigns).
Coach and develop team to Build & Nurture relationships with Key Chain Customers & Independent Operators & Implement Contact Matrix with a triangle model approach.
Drive Independent Operator & Chain customers engagement as per defined contact strategy (80% virtual, 20% F2F) via Customer Relationship Management, using data-driven recommendations for reach & Penetration.
Conduct Virtual Sampling, Ideation, Cooking Demo using culinary knowledge to secure new opportunities or increase volume usage by new menu applications or into existing dishes.
Implement and execute Customer Business Plan with selected key Chains customers.
Accountable for Implementation and execution of all UFS digital tools within Territory/Area.
Continuously enrich UFS customer data for more personalized campaigning.
Follow up on Leads (based on Marketo Leads scoring & Targeting Model) for 100 engagement & KPI delivery.
Drive customer digital engagement for UFS Digital platforms & Campaigns (UFS.Com, UFS Academy, Social Media engagement, UFS webinars).
Drive digital buying behavior via ecommerce platforms (Webshop/trade Partner Webshop/pure players).
Lead category approach for Trade web shop for UFS business growth via joint campaigning with DT marketing & trade teams.