Northwest Regional Sales Manager

Ole Mexican Foods•Denver, CO

About The Position

Ole is seeking a Regional Sales Manager for its Foodservice Division, responsible for the Northwest Region, which includes WA, OR, ID, UT, MT, CO, and AK. The candidate should reside in the region. The role reports to the Director of Sales for the respective market area and focuses on growing sales through product expertise, broker and distributor support, operator relationships, account development, competitive analysis, and trade management. The manager will become a product specialist for Ole Mexican tortillas, chips, cheese, crema, and chorizo, including menu applications and merchandising, as well as BAK-EZ products. Responsibilities include managing assigned brokers and supporting distributors, identifying and developing operator opportunities, and contributing to national, regional, and group purchasing organization accounts as assigned. The position also manages Ole trade dollars and related deals and claims. The position requires extensive overnight travel across a five-to-seven-state area, generally about three nights per week. Responsibilities may change over time. The company seeks a detail-oriented, analytical, results-oriented self-starter who can manage multiple projects and deadlines, communicate effectively, and work with internal cross-functional teams and external customers. Spanish-English bilingual ability and prior foodservice experience are preferred.

Requirements

Reside in the Northwest Region, including WA, OR, ID, UT, MT, CO, or AK.
Be detail-oriented and able to manage multiple internal and external projects.
Have strong communication skills.
Be proficient in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, including formulas, VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, and other Excel functionality for analyzing and communicating data.
Have strong analytical skills.
Be able to work with internal cross-functional teams and manage projects remotely.
Meet time-sensitive deadlines for internal and external customers.
Be results-oriented, work well in team environments, and be a self-starter.

Nice To Haves

Spanish-English bilingual ability.
Previous foodservice experience through distribution, manufacturing, or foodservice broker sales.

Responsibilities

Become a product specialist in Ole Mexican tortillas, chips, cheese, crema, and chorizo, including menu applications and merchandising, and in BAK-EZ products.
Manage assigned brokers to meet Ole sales growth targets through motivation, product training, day-to-day accountability, sampling, food shows, ride-alongs, distributor relationships, communication, and new-item sales development.
Engage distributors and grow their sales support through relationship management, key operator calls, sales meetings, district meetings, communication, and follow-up.
Identify and target key LLOs in the marketplace to support distributor growth and new sales; manage existing Ole Mexican LLO relationships and pursue additional product placement.
Identify menu trends, provide menu consultation, and use CRM tools.
Identify key competitors and gather point-of-sale information, pricing, and competitive product knowledge to support share growth through strategic price deviations and quality/value propositions; communicate findings to brokers and Ole field sales as needed.
Identify personal growth areas with the direct manager, then measure and improve in those areas.
Use phone, Teams, and laptop tools to work efficiently and meet or exceed customer expectations for opportunity follow-up.
Prepare for weekly meetings with the Director of Sales to review the market and plan for growth; provide a weekly activities-and-results report that includes a planner of upcoming activities and events.
Maintain clear, effective, and informative communications and effective file management on the laptop.
Lead assigned national, regional, and GPO accounts by developing growth plans through communication, frequent customer interactions, and product presentations; communicate updates to the Director of National Accounts and the respective manager as appropriate.
Support the designated Ole team member in local execution for accounts where another team member is the lead contact.
Manage Ole trade dollars strategically, including entering and updating Blacksmith deals on time, managing Blacksmith claims, and assisting the Deduction Manager and Accounts Receivable as needed.
Use knowledge of competitive pricing and trade-spend levels to guide trade spending.
Work with Ole internal cross-functional teams, including AR/AP, Logistics, and Customer Service, and manage projects remotely while meeting time-sensitive internal and external deadlines.
Travel overnight extensively across the assigned region, generally about three nights per week.