Hershey's Territory Sales Lead (East Lansing MI)

The Hershey Company•Detroit, MI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Territory Sales Lead ensures flawless execution of store-level sales and promotion plans with retail customers in an assigned territory, including high-volume food chain grocers and mass merchandisers. The role drives incremental sales, implements and maintains merchandising strategies, and ensures full distribution of authorized Hershey products across classes of trade. Successful candidates are described as driven, entrepreneurial, influential, and planful. The role builds consultative relationships with customer key decision makers, develops and executes sales action plans, and uses store, product, and market data to guide business decisions. It involves forward selling, store walk-throughs, securing customer commitments, and maximizing sales and display opportunities. The Territory Sales Lead also executes customer-specific promotional plans and maintains products and displays on the sales floor. The position includes completing daily and weekly reports on activities, expenses, competitive activity, account changes, promotions, and other administrative functions using company-approved methods and technology. The role requires regular driving to customer locations and may involve occasional weekend work during peak seasons and occasional overnight stays in some territories.

Requirements

GED or high school diploma.
A two-year Associate or Community College degree, or three years of previous sales experience.
Valid U.S. state-issued driver’s license.
Must reside or be willing to commute within territory boundaries.
Ability to drive to make multiple sales calls daily.
Ability to lift 10–60 pounds regularly, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Ability to bend, kneel, stoop, and demonstrate manual dexterity frequently, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Ability to occasionally climb ladders.
Ability to occasionally use equipment such as crushing balers and handheld electric trucks.
Ability to use a tablet and other wireless technology; some roles require intermediate computer skills with Microsoft Office products.
Daily access to wireless internet.
Flexibility and adaptability to changes in territory coverage.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain consultative business relationships with customer key decision makers at all levels.
Collaborate with key decision makers to develop and execute action plans that increase sales.
Cultivate influential customer contacts and use strategic relationships to negotiate customer assistance with merchandising Hershey products.
Obtain and analyze store, product, and market data and use trends and analytics to build the business.
Use pre-call planning methods and company tools.
Review and recommend route changes to maximize sales-call efficiency within the territory.
Analyze information, consumer trends, and customer insights to solve problems and influence decisions.
Engage in forward selling using provided data sources, technology, processes, and procedures.
Conduct store walk-throughs to maximize sales and display opportunities and gain key decision maker commitments.
Influence customers to order additional products and secure high-quality merchandising locations.
Execute customer-specific promotional plans on the sales floor through forward selling.
Build, maintain, and execute product placement on the sales floor, including permanent secondary displays and other display vehicles.
Complete and submit daily and weekly reports covering activities, expenses, competitive activity, account changes, promotions, and other administrative functions using approved methods and technology.