Sales Account Executive/Healthcare

Upper Lakes Foods•Cloquet, MN

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Sales Account Executive, you are more than a salesperson-you are a trusted partner to the customers you serve. Your goal is to understand each customer's business, identify their needs, and connect them with the right products, services, and solutions. This role is built around relationships. You will work with both new and existing customers, develop strong partnerships, and become someone they can rely on to help solve problems and grow their business. Because customers' needs don't always follow a traditional schedule, the position may occasionally require evening, weekend, or holiday availability. Your day begins with people. You will reach out to prospective customers through cold calling and other sales efforts while continuing to strengthen relationships with existing accounts. Getting to know a customer means understanding how their business operates, what challenges they face, and what they need to be successful. You will research their business and develop a mix of products and services that provides real value-not simply compete on price. As relationships grow, you will look for opportunities to expand each account. Through effective account penetration and thoughtful product recommendations, you will work to maximize customer drop size while maintaining profitable pricing and healthy margins. Customers will look to you for answers. You will explain products, pricing, availability, and practical uses while helping customer employees understand how to get the most from the products they purchase. Sometimes that means demonstrating products firsthand-whether that's cooking, preparing, or sampling products for a customer. Your knowledge and willingness to get hands-on will help customers feel confident in the solutions you recommend. You will also work closely with supplier and brokerage partners to discover new products and identify opportunities involving products, packaging, or services that could benefit your customers. Great account management doesn't stop when the order is placed. You will help make sure deliveries follow the schedules established by transportation and logistics teams and step in when something doesn't go as planned. If an item is out of stock, a special order is needed, or inventory is running low, you will help troubleshoot the situation and communicate with the appropriate teams and customers. You may also assist with accounts receivable by communicating with customers about outstanding balances and working alongside the credit department to ensure payments are collected according to approved terms. Successful sales require more than building relationships-you also need to understand the numbers. You will regularly review daily and weekly reports, including special-order requests, customer bid files, sales performance, and gross-profit-margin information. Financial support tools such as Track Max Insight will help you evaluate business performance and make informed decisions. You will also evaluate customer margins through the Price Contract process to ensure pricing remains competitive while protecting profitability. For customers participating in Customer Loyalty Programs or Customer Collaboration Programs, you will conduct quarterly business reviews. These conversations provide an opportunity to evaluate performance, discuss opportunities, and plan for continued growth. The Sales Account Executive represents Upper Lakes Foods both inside and outside the company. You will participate in food shows, promotions, customer visits, customer events, company functions, and sales meetings. Ongoing training will help you continue developing your product knowledge, sales skills, and understanding of the foodservice industry. Community involvement is also important. You are encouraged to become a public-relations representative for the company by building positive connections within the communities you serve. Although much of your work will happen directly with customers, success depends on collaboration. You will establish effective working relationships with your department, coworkers, suppliers, brokerage partners, transportation and logistics teams, credit department, and the broader community. The ideal Sales Account Executive is flexible, fair, organized, and able to remain calm under pressure. You should be comfortable managing multiple priorities, thinking critically, solving problems, and taking a project from beginning to end. Ultimately, being a Sales Account Executive at Upper Lakes Foods means becoming an extension of the customer's team. You are there to make calls, build relationships, understand businesses, recommend solutions, solve problems, protect profitability, and create opportunities for growth. You represent Upper Lakes Foods to customers, suppliers, and the community, while working alongside your coworkers to deliver dependable service. The successful person in this role is someone who works hard, communicates well, follows through, builds trust, and genuinely enjoys helping customers succeed.

Requirements

High school diploma, GED, or equivalent.
At least six months of sales experience, chef or restaurant management experience, or a related degree in areas such as business, sales, marketing, hospitality, or culinary arts.
Ability to sell based on value rather than price.
Valid driver's license.
Maintain a clean driving record in accordance with Upper Lakes Foods' company vehicle policy.
Regular attendance during assigned working hours is essential.
Final candidates are required to successfully complete a background check, pre-employment lift evaluations (if applicable) and pre-employment drug screening prior to their employment start date.
All offers of employment are conditional and contingent upon the Company's receipt of satisfactory results from a comprehensive background investigation and a negative result on a pre-employment lift evaluation and drug screen.
Failure to successfully complete either requirement may result in withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment, to the extent permitted by applicable federal, state, and local law.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Microsoft Office-particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook.
Experience with internet use and basic office equipment.

Responsibilities

Understand each customer's business, identify their needs, and connect them with the right products, services, and solutions.
Work with both new and existing customers to develop strong partnerships.
Reach out to prospective customers through cold calling and other sales efforts.
Strengthen relationships with existing accounts.
Research customer businesses and develop a mix of products and services that provides real value.
Expand each account through effective account penetration and thoughtful product recommendations.
Maximize customer drop size while maintaining profitable pricing and healthy margins.
Explain products, pricing, availability, and practical uses to customers.
Help customer employees understand how to get the most from the products they purchase.
Demonstrate products firsthand (e.g., cooking, preparing, sampling).
Work closely with supplier and brokerage partners to discover new products and identify opportunities.
Ensure deliveries follow schedules established by transportation and logistics teams.
Troubleshoot situations such as out-of-stock items, special orders, or low inventory.
Communicate with appropriate teams and customers regarding issues.
Assist with accounts receivable by communicating with customers about outstanding balances.
Work alongside the credit department to ensure payments are collected according to approved terms.
Review daily and weekly reports, including special-order requests, customer bid files, sales performance, and gross-profit-margin information.
Evaluate business performance and make informed decisions using financial support tools.
Evaluate customer margins through the Price Contract process.
Conduct quarterly business reviews for customers in loyalty or collaboration programs.
Participate in food shows, promotions, customer visits, customer events, company functions, and sales meetings.
Build positive connections within the communities served.
Establish effective working relationships with department, coworkers, suppliers, brokerage partners, transportation and logistics teams, and the credit department.
Manage multiple priorities, think critically, solve problems, and take a project from beginning to end.