Sales Manager - Food Service, Western US Region at Archer

Archer Jerky is a leading brand in premium, all-natural meat snacks experiencing rapid growth. Our commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability drives us to deliver exceptional products and experiences to our customers. We pride ourselves on a dynamic and collaborative work environment where creativity and excellence are valued.

This is a remote role with a preference that the candidate is in/near a major city in the west region and within 50 miles of a major airport to facilitate travel/accessibility for business purposes.

What You’ll Need:

Working at a start-up is as much a personal journey as it is a professional one. Success requires an entrepreneurial mindset that embraces failure, learning, and adaptation, while approaching challenges with curiosity and optimism. Confidence in sharing your ideas is key, but so is the humility to learn from both your own experiences and those of others. We are solution-focused and are looking for team members that enjoy a collaborative environment but are self-motivated and will take ownership of their channel growth. As a representative of the brand within the foodservice and alternative channel industries, exceptional communication skills are a must. You’ll need to work well with a variety of personalities and enjoy forging new paths as a trailblazer in a fast-moving, dynamic environment.

Job Overview:

Archer Jerky is seeking a dynamic and strategic Regional Sales Manager to spearhead our efforts in the foodservice and alternative sales channels. In this role, you will be responsible for managing and growing key relationships with national accounts and broadline distribution partners, developing and executing effective sales strategies, managing a national broker network, and driving overall revenue growth. You will play a crucial role in establishing and nurturing partnerships with major industry players such as PFS, Vistar, Sysco, US Foods, and Gordon Foodservice. Additionally, you will work closely with contract foodservice providers and group purchasing organizations, including Foodbuy, Compass, Canteen, Sodexo, Aramark, Premier, and others. The ideal candidate will have a proven background in the away-from-home/foodservice and alternative channel industries, excellent negotiation and communication skills, and a passion for providing exceptional service.

Key Responsibilities:

Sales & Business Acumen:

• Sales Strategy: Develop and implement comprehensive sales plans to achieve revenue goals and expand our market presence. Analyze industry trends, customer needs, and competitive activities to identify growth opportunities. Develop strategic regional business plans and prioritize key initiatives to help the Foodservice/Alt Channels Sales Team deliver on the Annual Operating Plan (AOP).
• Market Intelligence: Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitor activities. Leverage insights to refine sales strategies and maintain a competitive edge.

Broker Management:

• Leadership: Develop strong relationships at all levels with Foodservice broker by engaging, motivating, and leading them as an extension of the Archer Jerky Sales Team.
• Prioritization/Performance: Adapt national broker priorities into clear regional and market-level KPI’s, providing the necessary tools and ongoing training to enable brokers to meet/exceed quarterly objectives.
• Training/Support: Conduct regular sales trainings and key sales calls alongside the broker sales team in each market; conduct broker training sessions via phone, webinars and on site/in-market visits.

Operator Business Development:

• Account Management: Act as a primary contact for targeted national accounts in commercial and non-commercial foodservice and alternative channel segments. Build and maintain strong, long-lasting relationships with key clients and stakeholders.
• Account Reach: Leverage national agreements/contracts with Food Management Companies (e.g., Compass, Aramark & Sodexo) and Group Purchasing Organizations (e.g., Foodbuy, Premier & Avendra) to open doors for new business opportunities in College/University, Healthcare, Lodging, B&I and Convenience Services segments; measure progress via quarterly KPI’s.
• Account Prospecting: Prospect, profile, and successfully sell Archer Jerky’s products into targeted regional chains in the region; measure progress via quarterly KPI’s.
• Account Collaboration: Partner with the Broker Foodservice Team to identify additional large leverage operator (LLO) opportunities throughout the region for Archer Jerky products; measure progress via quarterly KPI’s.
• Customer Solutions: Work closely with clients to understand their unique needs and provide customized solutions that align with their business objectives. Effectively present and promote Archer Jerky’s products and services.

Distribution Business Development:

• Account Management: Own the relationship with top strategic broadline distributors as determined by senior leadership.
• Distribution Strategies: Collaborate with top strategic broadline distributors and broker teams to develop annual category marketing plans and initiatives.
• Category Presentations: Introduce new products and secure commitments to close distribution voids with assistance from broker teams at local level.
• Industry Events: Represent Archer Jerky at targeted distributor events including food shows and sales meetings ensuring new business development and category leadership. Assist with event set up and management.
• Distribution Growth: Leverage broker teams to pursue new distributor partnerships to help expand product availability in untapped markets.

Communication:

• External Communication: Clearly communicate expectations and goals – both verbally and in writing – to external partners, providing ongoing feedback and conducting Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to support FS broker partners in achieving sales targets.
• Negotiation: Lead negotiations for contracts, pricing, marketing agreements, growth programs, and terms with clients, ensuring alignment with company policies and profitability targets to optimize partnerships and growth opportunities.
• Internal Communication: Provide written updates for internal team on key channel activities, new business, etc.
• Presentation Skills: Develop business presentations for operators/distribution partners using Microsoft PowerPoint that align with company objectives and branding guidelines. Tailor presentations to suit the needs and expectations of different audiences. Use storytelling techniques to make presentations engaging and memorable. Confidence with public speaking in large or diverse groups.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Sales Reporting: Maintain detailed records of customer interactions, sales activities, and account information in CRM system, ensuring accuracy and completeness; manage robust sales pipeline through CRM on a weekly basis and communicate forecast needs.
• Performance Monitoring: Track account performance and sales metrics and gather customer feedback. Prepare and present detailed reports to senior management on account status and opportunities for growth.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with internal teams including demand planning, marketing, and customer service to ensure seamless delivery of products and services.

• Sales Forecasting: Be responsible for a sales forecast. Leverage relationships with distributor partners and customers to drive forecast accuracy in collaboration with Demand Planning, Supply Chain, Finance and Operation teams.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required.
• 5 to 7+ years of proven CPG foodservice and/or alt channel sales (convenience services), distributor, and key account management experience with branded, value-added products, preferably with a focus on snack or protein products.
• 3+ years of sales agency (broker) management experience a major plus, demonstrating a proven ability to drive results via third party relationships.
• Proven record achieving quarterly sales targets (KPI’s) and Annual Operation Plan (AOP) goals.
• High integrity and commitment to working in a team environment; experience building strong relationships with internal cross-functional teams.
• Results-oriented self-starter with a proactive bias to action; self-motivated and capable of working independently and as part of a broader team; comfortable with ambiguity typical of a young and growing company.
• Excellent multi-tasking and prioritization abilities within a fast-paced entrepreneurial work environment.
• Strong competency and experience leveraging analytics/insights in consultative selling process; ability to analyze complex data and develop actionable insights.
• Experience working with and/or managing Vistar, US Foods, Sysco, Canteen, Foodbuy/Compass, Aramark/Avendra, and Sodexo/Entegra strongly preferred.
• Experience working and utilizing CRM platforms for account and sales pipeline management.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and trade management systems.

Work Environment:

• This position is remote based in/near a major city in the west region and within 50 miles of a major airport to facilitate travel and accessibility for business purposes.
• Up to 60% of overnight travel as required to meet with customers, distribution partners, broker sales team, and attend industry events.
• Weekly team calls via Microsoft Teams with a “cameras-on” team culture.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Opportunities for career growth and professional development.
• A dynamic and supportive work environment with a commitment to innovation and excellence.

Starting Range: $110,000 to $130,000 + bonus