Sales Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Looking for the opportunity to build lasting customer partnerships while helping bring new ideas to life? At Freshpack, you'll work across teams to drive growth, develop innovative solutions, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

We have an opening for a Sales Manager to join our team. The Sales Manager is responsible for driving revenue growth, managing customer relationships, identifying new business opportunities, and leading the overall sales strategy for Freshpack. This role serves as the primary point of contact for key customer accounts while collaborating with others to support forecasting, pricing, product development, and long-term business growth. The Sales Manager will play a key role in expanding FP's presence in existing and emerging markets and lead future growth of the sales function.

Freshpack is a custom cheese packaging company that develops and innovates cheese products and packaging. Our products can be found in all 50 states and in most major retailers. Over the past 25 years, our team has grown from 15 to 280+ employees. It is an exciting time to join our team, as we are poised for substantial growth over the next 3-5 years.

Responsibilities

Sales & Business Development

· Manage and grow relationships with existing customer accounts.

· Develop and execute strategies to identify and secure new business opportunities.

· Conduct customer meetings, presentations, plant tours, and business reviews.

· Attend industry trade shows, conferences, and networking events to promote company capabilities and develop new prospects.

· Maintain a strong understanding of market trends, customer needs, and competitive activity.

· Utilize CRM tools and other resources to manage sales activities, opportunities, and customer communications.

Account Management

· Serve as the primary contact for assigned customer accounts.

· Coordinate customer requests and communicate effectively across internal departments.

· Develop annual business reviews and strategic plans for key customers.

· Ensure timely follow-up and resolution of customer issues.

· Foster long-term partnerships through exceptional customer service and communication.

Strategic Planning & Forecasting

· Collaborate with customers, brokers, and internal stakeholders to develop sales forecasts and business plans.

· Monitor sales performance and identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

· Provide market insights and customer feedback to support strategic planning initiatives.

· Assist with annual budgeting and sales planning activities.

Pricing & Financial Management

· Manage the customer pricing process from request through implementation.

· Partner with Accounting and Operations to evaluate pricing, profitability, and customer-specific margins.

· Perform ongoing margin analysis to identify opportunities for price adjustments, cost recovery, and improved profitability.

· Lead and support customer price increase initiatives, including preparation of supporting data, customer communications, negotiations, and implementation.

· Review pricing recommendations and communicate approved pricing to customers.

· Partner with Accounting to support the collections process, including review overdue accounts, communicating with customers as appropriate, and helping resolve payment issues.

· Support efforts to improve revenue growth and profitability.

Product Development & Project Management

· Partner with Product Development, Operations, and Quality teams to support new product opportunities.

· Provide market and customer insights to guide innovation efforts.

· Coordinate customer-driven product development projects and ensure timelines are met.

· Facilitate communication between customers and internal teams throughout project execution.

Leadership & Department Development

· Directly supervise and support:

o Customer Service

o Sales Support Specialist

· Promote a positive and professional company culture.

· Participate in professional development activities to remain current on sales, leadership, and industry trends.

· Assist with developing sales processes, performance metrics, and reporting tools.

· Support future recruiting, onboarding, training, and development efforts within the sales function as business growth requires.

Required Skills/Abilities

· Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.

· 5+ years of business-to-business (B2B) sales experience.

· Food manufacturing, food ingredients, dairy, or consumer packaged goods industry experience preferred.

· Proven ability to build and maintain strong customer relationships.

· Strong negotiation, presentation, and communication skills.

· Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail and follow-through.

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

· Experience utilizing CRM systems and sales reporting tools.

· Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment

· Typical work schedule: M-F during standard business hours.

o Additional hours may be required based on customer needs, travel schedules, or business demands.

· Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

· Ability to walk or stand for long periods of time while on production floor and warehouse.

· Regular travel is required for customer visits, industry trade shows, and business development activities.

· Occasional overnight and weekend travel may be necessary.

· Remote work may be approved based on business needs and manager approval.