Area Sales Director - Redistribution

Bunzl Distribution - St. Louis, MO

Full-time - Mid Level

St. Louis, MO

1,001-5,000 employees

Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods

About the position

The Area Sales Director-Midwest at Bunzl is a pivotal role that directs and oversees all sales activities carried out by the sales team. This position is responsible for strategic planning to meet sales targets, developing strong relationships with clients and customers, and evaluating costs associated with selling products and services. The Area Sales Director will inspire the sales team to meet anticipated sales objectives while ensuring that the team is aligned with the company's goals and values. In this role, the Area Sales Director will be accountable for the continuous daily pursuit of major prospective customers, collaborating on major account activities with assigned representatives to increase and maintain volume and product penetration. Effective communication of customer feedback to leadership regarding product performance and future opportunities is essential. The director will lead regular team and cross-functional meetings to facilitate discussions and share innovative ideas aimed at growing sales revenue and margin. The Area Sales Director will manage day-to-day sales activities and ensure the achievement of revenue goals. This includes managing and delivering sales pipelines, forecasts, and pricing, as well as reviewing and monitoring weekly and monthly forecasts. The director will also be responsible for executing sales processes and procedures, preparing sales revenue and expense budgets, and acting as an agent for change within the organization. This role requires a proactive approach to developing a world-class sales force through effective recruitment, selection, and coaching of exceptional sales talent. Additionally, the director will establish and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective customer account leaders to maintain and grow market share, prioritizing the customer experience in all activities.

Responsibilities

• Responsible and accountable for the continuous daily pursuit of major prospective customers
• Collaborate on major account activities with assigned representatives to increase/maintain volume and product penetration
• Communicate all customer feedback to leadership on product feedback and any future opportunities
• Lead regular team and cross functional meetings to facilitate discussion and the sharing of innovative ideas related to growing sales revenue and margin
• Responsible for day-to-day sales activity and achievement of revenue goals
• Manage and deliver sales pipelines, forecasts, and pricing
• Review and monitor weekly and monthly forecasts
• Manage and execute sales processes and procedures
• Prepare sales revenue and expense budgets
• Be an agent for change, demonstrate the ability to manage the successful and smooth transition from current to desired culture, practices, structure, and overall organizational environment
• Manage sales teams through CRM data to evaluate team performance to maximize group sales effectiveness
• Drive team performance to consistently meet and exceed sales goals
• Implement directives as outlined from leadership
• Ensure that day to day responsibilities such as prospecting, account development, site inspections and proper account management practices are completed to company standards
• Proactively develop a world-class sales force through recruiting, selecting and growing exceptional sales talent, managing/coaching employee performance, motivating, and holding employees accountable
• Facilitate leadership development within team, identify and foster future leaders to support business succession plans
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective customer account leaders with the intention to maintain and grow market share
• Prioritize the customer experience in all activity
• Drive alignment, define performance measurement, and develop long term development plan with sales managers and teams
• Develop business plans with new and existing accounts

Requirements

• High School diploma or GED equivalent required
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent amount of professional experience required
• Minimum of 5 years of sales leadership experience with a proven track record selling in competitive markets and 2 years experiences in a level leadership role
• Substantial experience successfully managing and supporting challenging sales cycles, building yearly plans for a business and delivering on revenue, margin, and cost targets on a consistent basis
• Grocery, foodservice, and distribution experience is preferred
• Excellent organizational and project management skills, including the ability to execute multiple initiatives autonomously
• Ability to effectively communicate with leadership and stakeholders through interpersonal skills and presentations
• Strong knowledge on project management and negotiation tactics
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to articulate ideas, delegate, direct, motivate and train staff
• Ability to learn and adjust quickly to fluid business needs and growth challenges
• Ability to close deals and mentor teams to effectively achieve targets
• Excellent PC skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CRM (Microsoft Dynamics) and ability to learn new applications

Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• Comfortable work environment
• Full range of benefits including a 401k with a company match