Summary of Position
Well-respected, local family owned and operated Specialty Food Importer and Distribution Company is looking for a sales representative to join our passionate, high-energy team. This experienced, proven foodservice sales professional will inherit a vibrant established territory and be expected to further expand business in the
Portland to Eugene
Territory.
Key Accountabilities
Represent the Peterson Company in a professional manner to our customers by providing a high level of customer satisfaction, generating a consistently increasing revenue and attaining prescribed sales budgets.
- To develop good rapport with customers by seeing them and maintaining contact on a regular basis.To develop further good rapport with as many customer employees as possible.
- Full & complete name of key people involved in the account.
- To sell complete Peterson product lines to each account.
- To understand unit operations and suggest products that will sell for the account.
- To make sure the customer gets the right quality for the right purpose.
- To keep customers appraised of market fluctuations, shortages, etc.
- To cut products when requested to demonstrate quality level & value.
- To designate delivery days and clear any changes with our warehouse & transportation managers.
- To anticipate certain holidays / promotional periods where volume will increase or decrease and communicate appropriately.
- To advise inside staff when any changes are to be made to order guides or call pages.
- To answer communications promptly, or designate the inside salesperson to handle them.
- Ask for help when needed.
Prospect and persistently develop profitable new customers in the established territory.
- To have a definite goal and plan of selling with new accounts.
- To be thoroughly familiar with objectives before making contact, and follow through with contacts.
- Provide Credit Manager with completed credit application for qualified prospect and await results of creditworthiness before taking the initial order.
- To be sure that the customer gets deliveries as often as required during the first two weeks.
- To notify the inside sales rep on all new accounts & the procedure for handling these accounts.
- Follow up with inside sales to be certain customer satisfaction is achieved.
- To check back with new accounts within 7 days to make sure that all is going well.
Maintain current and detailed knowledge of all product lines and sales procedures at the Peterson Company.
- To present new products to all accounts.
- Thorough knowledge of Outside Sales Manual
- To consult with purchasing department on increased or decreased movement of products.
- Take responsibility for any special order items brought in for assigned accounts.
- Constantly be aware of all special order items brought into inventory for accounts.
- To make sure that special order items are moving.Advise buyers of any unusual movements.
Investigate, troubleshoot and resolve customer issues such as credits, missing products, account payment status, and other issues that can hinder the customer satisfaction and revenue generation.
- To recommended alternate brands or sizes, if needed.To indicate whether substitutions are allowed or not.To offer protection on advances whenever possible.
- To make sure pick-ups, credits and returns are handled promptly & efficiently by working through inside sales, credit and transportation departments.
- To advise our credit department of any changes in ownership or financial stability, as soon as this information is gathered.
- To respond promptly to customer complaints & opportunities, no matter how small.
- To prevent receivable problems before they fall into the problem column. To take responsibility for collection of receivables, when necessary.
- Deliver any receivables to accounts receivable department personally, via deposit to Peterson bank account or put in the mail on the same day as received. Any deviation for whatever reason should be reported to our accounts receivable department ASAP.
Essential Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Strong communication skills to present, persuade and communicate with diverse range of staff, customers and sales team.
- Prior outside sales/territory experience required with tangible, highly competitive skills in the marketplace. Prior food distribution or closely related experience strongly preferred.
- Strong business sense to provide guidance to customers on ordering to assist them in their success and generation of strong level of customer satisfaction.
- Understanding and abilities to calculate margins/prices, understand weights / product specifications, and basic math skills.
- Strong personal qualities to manage an independent position without much direct supervision, including but not limited to: initiative, self-motivation, assertiveness, quick response time, research and investigative skills with problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to monitor personal performance and make necessary changes, and/or take action to achieve the sales goals set forth by the VP & Senior Management.
- Interest and motivation with learning a large number of products spanning a huge range of products, and then using the knowledge to take advantage in the sales process.
- Highly mobile position involving frequent driving in personal vehicle, regular walking/standing, occasional lifting of product up to 40 lbs., and frequent use of hands to drive, handle manual paperwork, email, text and move/lift files, catalogs, flyers, etc.
- Ability to frequently operate office software / equipment such as MS Office, Navision, voicemail, smartphone, Ipad
- Maintain a current food handler’s permit and applicable food safety knowledge.
- Maintain valid driver’s license in the state of the territory and proof of current auto insurance.
- 2 years in specialty foodservice distribution or specialty food brokerage sales preferred
SALARY
This position is paid a base salary, which is on a sliding scale depending on experience, and commission based on territory sales.
BENEFITS
PTO * 401K * MEDICAL * DENTAL * VISION * LIFE * LTD
