Sales Account Manager II

Dairy Farmers of America•Kansas City, KS

About The Position

Manage the food manufacturing and dairy ingredient sales function, including strategic leadership and tactical management focused on optimizing profitability and operational efficiency. Accountable for the development, growth, and management of assigned accounts and account strategies. Develop existing customers to their full potential and use market insights and industry relationships to identify and then develop target customers. Apply strong understanding of the company's products, product lines, and/or services; existing customers and potential customer landscape; consumers; the sales cycle; and industry trends. May be recognized as an expert in one area.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree in business, sales, marketing, or related curriculum (or equivalent combination of experience and education)
2 to 5 years of sales, account management, or related experience that includes proven results in growing and advancing new market expansion and profitable sales growth
Experience in the food manufacturing, dairy, consumer packaged goods/foods, or related industry
Strong knowledge of sales techniques and the company, products, and application
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and company computer systems
Strong leadership and relationship-building skills.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and organizational abilities.
Strategic thinker with a passion for closing deals and delivering customer value.
Ability to manage complex customer needs and develop innovative solutions.
Comfortable navigating complex siloed internal and external organizations.
Team-oriented with a collaborative mindset.
Able to influence people in their opinions, attitudes, or judgments
Able to build (farm) or develop (hunt) business by discerning real opportunity from distractions
Able to build and maintain a diverse set of relationships with multiple types of people on the broader team
Able to adapt and refocus approach situationally or holistically to meet goals and objectives
Able to demonstrate excellent customer service skills and solve complex customer demands and problems
Able to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing
Able to organize time, energy, and resources effectively to achieve goals (i.e., organizational skills)
Able to deliver on commitments and deadlines
Able to work independently and as part of a team
Orientation toward and passion for sales
Must be able to read, write and speak English

Nice To Haves

Dairy industry experience is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop, manage, and execute a successful sales cycle across the target channel.
Drive growth in the dairy product category by continuously improving the customer portfolio.
Provide thought leadership on dairy manufacturing industry trends and ways to leverage for growth in DFA
Work cross-functionally on key accounts to sell the full portfolio of DFA products.
Deliver on assigned volume, profit, and administrative targets for the assigned accounts (national/regional)
Listen to customers to learn their future needs and anticipate new areas of business development for DFA
Identify new sales/business opportunities, new markets, the need for new products, etc., and initiate action plans to increase share of market with existing and new accounts. Lead and participate in new account prospecting and sales calls
Utilize a “solutions selling” approach drawing from organizational strengths and capabilities:
Determine customer needs, problems, insights, and strategy
Identify, clearly outline, and present the opportunity details including short- and long-term value to DFA
Drive opportunities to commercialization internally, and most critically, “close” with the customer
Follow a recognized sales process (e.g., channel plan, pre-call, post-call, insights gathering, opportunity pipeline, execute, close, report) and use the organization's capabilities to maximize opportunities
Provide innovative ideas to customers by understanding their brands, platforms, and strategies
Prepare and deliver sales presentations, product demonstrations, and proposals on existing and new products and/or services. Educate clients on the benefits and features of the products and/or services
Develop, recommend, and help implement annual sales plans and strategies (retail, food manufacturing, etc.)
Provide market intelligence and customer feedback to inform strategic planning and product development.
Influence the cross-functional team to streamline processes and broaden capabilities by demonstrating the value through customer opportunities. Provide strategic and tactical direction from customer feedback and market intelligence
Provide customers with exceptional customer care; work with urgency to resolve customer issues and problems in a transparent manner with functional areas of DFA. Elevate and help resolve gaps within processes or systems to continue to improve the customer care
Negotiate all aspects of a customer interaction, as directed by sales leadership, such as non-disclosure agreements, pricing, terms, contracts, and other items as necessary
Utilize the various systems and processes such as the order process, Salesforce/Power BI, inventory management, logistics systems, supply/demand planning, etc. Maintain accurate records of customer interactions, sales activities, and sales pipelines
Represent the company at industry and customer trade shows, as approved.
Monitor accounts receivable reports to identify unusual customer activities or payment failures that require further attention; ensure that established company credit policies and objectives are met and ensure that action is taken to collect on delinquent accounts
The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employee, but is not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Other duties may be assigned as required