Regional Sales Manager - West

Join Land O’Lakes, Inc., and help us bring food from farmer to fork, building vibrant communities along the way. We’re a global, Fortune 250 company and a farmer-owned cooperative, which means we work for one another—not Wall Street. We’re proud to rank a Top Workplace. We offer:

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Regional Sales Manager - West

This position is remote/virtual.

The incumbent will need to be Geographically located in the Western Region near a major airport (e.g., Denver, Seattle, Phoenix, NorCal, SoCal, etc.)

Regional Sales Manager – West

The Regional Sales Manager (RSM) – within the Vermont Creamery division of Land O’Lakes is a field-based position responsible for identifying, developing, and winning sales opportunities in the retail channel.  This role will develop and grow strong business relationships with new and existing customers while being responsible for building strategic growth plans which will include innovation launches, promotions, and customer specific marketing programs to drive sales.  In conjunction with individual selling efforts, the RSM will lead broker execution within the West region to drive profitable channel growth.

Customer Development

• Manage portfolio of retailer & distributor customers within the West region – notably owning Vermont Creamery’s relationship with Albertson’s (HQ & divisional ownership)
• Research, identify and qualify new business opportunities for the Vermont Creamery brand portfolio within the West region including conventional grocery, independent retail, & emerging channels.
• Direct, train and influence distributor sales teams to promote a ‘Vermont Creamery First’ sales approach.
• Closely collaborate with broker partners on Vermont Creamery sales plan while providing leadership, enablement, & accountability during sales execution cycle.
• Create, organize, and lead customer presentations to deliver business reviews, pursue new distribution, & optimize promotional activity.
• Leverage syndicated data and analytics with customer to enable growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with other RSM’s to share best practices and ensure alignment on messaging/execution.
• Utilize Land O’Lakes CRM (Salesforce)

Trade Management & Administration

• Ensure VC trade for assigned customers completes year between 97% - 101% of budget in close collaboration with sales team leader & broader VC sales team.
• Maintain close partnership with the trade promotions & deduction management team to ensure full line-of-sight tracking of volume-driven trade budget & collaboration on closing disputed deductions.
• Develop annual sales execution plans, in collaboration with external stakeholders, to deliver best-in-class category growth within fresh goat, aged cheese, and specialty cow cream space

Data & Analytics

• Maintain deep understanding of retail customer base via syndicated data (IRI) & in partnership with Category Management Team (market share, price tracking, promotional reviews, etc.)
• Monitor competitive activity within the market and adjust promotional strategy to both defend and grow market share.

Required

• 4 Year College Degree or equivalent food sales experience.
• Specialty sales management – specifically through specialty distribution
• Willingness to travel regionally & nationally on occasion (Industry Events, Internal Meetings) 40% +
• Geographically located in the Western Region near a major airport (e.g., Denver, Seattle, Phoenix, NorCal, SoCal, etc.)

Preferred Experience

• Sales management in retail channels.
• Specialty cheese experience / certification preferred.
• Strong capabilities in trade management, CRM and other business systems such as PowerBI

Salary range: $105.040 - $157,560

As a full time employee, you will receive a wide range of benefits for you and your dependents:

• 3 medical plan choices including HSA plan options

• Vision & dental plan

• Company paid Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability, parental leave, caregiver leave and emergency leave

• 401(k) plan with company match and additional automatic contribution regardless of participation

• Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays and Employee