Zone Sales Manager

Zone Sales Manager

The Zone Sales Manager (ZSM) is responsible for developing, leading and coaching a team of Market Development Leaders (MDLs) to achieve sales results, effective and timely distribution, exceed merchandising and promotional targets through planning, engagement and support for the Independent Distributor Partners (IDP) in their geography. The ZSM is also a key stakeholder and partner with the local warehouse logistics organization. Zone Sales Managers are responsible for +$75MM in revenue. The ZSM must develop and implement the zone business strategy to drive growth across brands and increase dollar share, including marketplace deployment of resources to maximize volume and minimize operating cost. The ZSM provides sales leadership across the Region or Area model in support of peers and other markets as well to drive the enterprise.

What you will do...

Independent Distributor Partner (IDP) Engagement

• The key to successful customer relationships, sales growth and increased value to the IDP business model is collaboration and working together to support the local customers, brands and IDP business model.
• Coach, lead and influence the internal MDL team to develop strong relationships and consistent engagement and feedback on the market and changing environment with their respective IDPs.
• Cultivate, develop and implement quality joint business engagement with a variety of the IDPs inside the Zone Market. This should reflect the different business models including bakery, salty and cookie cracker. The ZSM should have solid relationships with multi truck operators as well as single route owners.
• Participate regularly with the MDL in optional monthly or quarterly IDP business meetings to collaborate on operational and sales opportunity matters with the IDPs.
• Collaborate and leverage Business Development Managers, open routes and IDP route splits as a strategy to unlock growth and value for the IDP. These business strategies improve in-stocks, incremental displays and stronger IDP engagement with their customers.
• Improve route viability by reengineering for growth and minimizing turnover of routes to support IDP engagement.
• Recommend potential IDPs for open routes as potential future business partner.
• Collaborate with internal sales operations team to provide clear and concise communication regarding sales and distribution opportunities.
• Coach and communicate clear understanding of IDP contracts and the independent distributor partner business model when advocating for the customer, the brand and the IDP in market.

Retail Development

• The key to successful retail development is driving priority management and organized principles across executing the portfolio business plan to deliver the sales plan for the week, period and quarter across retailer key events and compression selling. The primary responsibility is to ensure you support the MDL prioritization to drive base and incremental growth for the portfolio leading to share growth, while meeting and exceeding the customer expectations and driving IDP value for the business model.
• Develop business plans for 60-90-180 days out across all retailers and multiple geographies, to support executional excellence and share growth.
• Analyze and share market conditions with MDLs, including identifying opportunities for growth and supporting them in conducting optional business meetings to drive growth of the respective businesses.
• Communicate, organize and plan targets for distribution, merchandising, and promotional execution to meet the retailer level business plan by category.
• Support additional market call coverage and IDP engagement needed to drive executional clarity on retailer specific promotional events on a local basis. This includes regular call coverage to stores and compression selling to district level retailer decision makers.
• Communicate regularly and in a timely manner key retailer events and associated inventory recommendations or requirements to the IDP and local warehouse logistic teams to ensure seamless service to retailers.
• Evaluate competitive environment and changing shopper habits to collaborate with IDPs and retail partners on developing sales plans across the local market. This could include additional fixtures, display locations or service.
• Plan and collaborate to secure incremental permanent display placements, point of sale and displays throughout the store in alignment with the IDP and local key retail account decision maker.
• Facilitate speed to shelf on new item innovation to meet retailer expectations.
• Visit key accounts and stores to identify strengths and opportunities while building relationships with key local retailer decision makers.
• Review with MDL team required resets for the IDP to adjust inventory orders and on time placement for planogram integrity measurements for each store following reset timing.

Business Fundamentals

• Responsible for proactively managing, monitoring, evaluating and updating the overall business plan to meet Campbell Snacks objectives.
• Communicate targets for distribution, merchandising, and promotional execution.
• Assess the retailer's competitive position, behaviors and strategies and understand how they align with Campbell Snacks strategic goals and identify opportunities to create win-win scenarios.
• Penetrate and establish retail relationships with elevated levels of management with focused compression selling through partnership with IDPs.
• Respond with urgency to retailer concerns regarding SKU and planogram compliance.
• Respond with urgency to IDP concerns regarding any brand, retailer or warehouse compliance issue.
• Synthesize and interpret data to distill retailer specific requirements, base business performance, and incremental opportunities to educate IDPs on the growth potential of income and equity associated with their routes.
• Build rapport and trust with key store management personnel (multiple levels) during visits and through communication.
• Required to identify and recruit potential new IDPs for open routes and route splits within the Zone Market.
• Insure all financial responsibilities are met for the company, including completion on time of all Certified Physical IDP inventories as well as any Warehouse Inventory requirements.
• These also could be high risk A/R balances that will need to be done periodically and off cycle.
• Communicate consistently and professionally retail customer standards, sales opportunities and expectations on program execution timing planned by account.
• Follow up with all service related issues generated by retailers within 24 hours to ensure that the IDP and retailer have committed to a positive resolution.
• Participate in special projects and training opportunities to develop broader skills and shared experiences.

Team Development

• Review weekly MDL deployment plans to improve execution, IDP engagement, retailer visibility and deliver on the Zone and Campbell Sales objectives.
• Prioritize total market health and development across select retailers, identify incremental sales opportunities, and prioritize retailer concerns.
• Teach, coach and support a plan for the week, period and quarter to over deliver the forecast and exceed AOP on a quarter and annual basis.
• Meet and exceed in-stock conditions in top retailers and eventually across the full market to minimize brand disruption and loss of distribution with retailers planogram integrity.
• Balance a plan of driving growth through base shelf health through appropriate inventory, order management, replenish consignment and an order for growth mindset with a fiscal responsibility of balancing stale risk.
• Collaborate with Sales Operations to improve the efficiency of the market and drive growth.
• Seek out and provide support as needed to the different functions on assigned categories (e.g. new product development, process improvement, brand marketing).
• Track monthly forecasts in order to maximize supply chain efficiencies and provide constructive feedback on shipments, consumption data and inventory changes. Proactively identify potential risks or threats to monthly forecasts.
• Utilize performance management plans with MDLs to develop and enhance individual skills, capabilities and behaviors to build a team culture.
• Conduct MDL team meetings as necessary to share best practices, role play and communicate deployment plans and other strategic initiatives.
• Engage with a diverse set of outside stakeholders, including retailers and IDPs, while navigating complex route to market distribution model, distributor model and market trends
• Able to assess market needs and deploy resources against business issues and demands
• Utilize technology business applications to provide up to date information regarding business trends
• Train, coach and develop new MDLs on processes and best practices
• Identify and implement growth strategies for infrastructure opportunities
• Deliver gross revenue target, share growth and executional excellence metrics.
• Deliver ACV display gains in key accounts and region geography
• Establish strong selling relationships with key retailers and divisional leaders of top retail accounts within zone
• Ensure MDL team is engaging IDPs in collaborative spirit to build relationships and maximize growth potential
• Build, recruit & develop high performing MDL team that promotes positive IDP engagement & culture
• Periodic strategy meetings with