Sales Manager

COMPANY: The Simply Good Foods Company

ROLE: Sales Manager

LOCATION: Eastern or Central Time Zones of the USA

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

The Sales Manager is responsible for driving profitable sales, distribution, and market growth across our portfolio of brands within the Grocery Channel at key retailers, wholesalers and distributors including but not limited to AWG, UNFI/SuperValu, Spartan Nash, Certco/Woodman’s, MDI Lowes, KVAT Food City and Ingles. This role owns the development and execution of customer sales strategies, forecasts, distribution plans, and trade promotion programs to deliver annual sales and profitability objectives. The ideal candidate is a strategic, commercially minded CPG sales professional with strong experience managing wholesale and distributor relationships and translating customer, category, and syndicated data into actionable growth plans. This individual builds trusted relationships with customers, brokers, distributors, and internal cross-functional partners while balancing near term sales execution with long-term business growth. Success in this role requires strong analytical and communication skills, sound commercial judgment, and the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop & execute customer-specific sales strategies & annual business plans that drive sales, distribution & profitable growth.

• Build & maintain strong, collaborative relationships with strategic customers, brokers, distributors & wholesale partners.

• Manage sales forecasts, inventory requirements, and promotional plans to support customer and company objectives.

• Develop & manage trade spend budgets, promotional strategies & distribution plans, with a focus on ROI & profitable growth.

• Analyze customer, category, and syndicated data to identify trends, opportunities, risks, and actionable insights.

• Leverage tools such as IRI Unify, Nielsen, Circana, Power BI, and other business intelligence resources to support fact-based selling and customer recommendations.

• Partner with Category Management, Sales Planning, Marketing, and Sales Operations to develop compelling customer presentations, optimize assortment and displays, and capitalize on growth opportunities.

• Prepare and present customer business reviews, sales updates, forecasts, and performance analyses to internal and external stakeholders.

• Monitor customer and market performance and proactively identify opportunities to improve distribution, velocity, promotional effectiveness, and profitability.

• Lead or participate in S&OP and other cross-functional business planning processes.

• Represent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, market visits, and other industry events to strengthen relationships and identify new business opportunities.

• Ensure compliance with company policies, customer requirements, and applicable legal and regulatory standards.

• Lead and contribute to special projects and other strategic initiatives as needed.

KNOWLEDGE / ABILITIES:

• Strong understanding of CPG sales, distribution, pricing, promotion, and the 4 Ps of Marketing.

• Proven ability to develop and execute customer strategies that align brand, sales, and customer objectives.

• Strong analytical and business acumen, including the ability to interpret syndicated data and translate insights into commercial action.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 & experience with business intelligence & reporting tools, particularly Power BI.

• Strong understanding of CPG forecasting, trade promotion planning, and trade spend management.

• Exceptional project management, organization, prioritization, and execution skills.

• Excellent presentation, negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently while collaborating effectively across functions.

• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to turn data and insights into clear customer recommendations and action plans. Sales Manager

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

• 8+ years of progressive sales experience within CPG, preferably in a corporate sales organization. • 6+ years of experience managing strategic customer, broker, and/or distributor relationships within the CPG industry.

• Demonstrated experience developing and executing customer business plans and delivering sales growth through wholesale, distributor, and retail channels.

• Experience with syndicated data platforms such as IRI, Nielsen, or Circana.

• Strong experience in category management, trade promotion, forecasting, and customer business planning.

• Experience selling directly to retailers, wholesalers and distributors; experience with accounts such as AWG, UNFI/Supervalu, KVAT Food City is highly preferred.

• Willingness and ability to travel up to 60%, including customer visits, trade shows, market visits, and regular office visits in Denver and Los Angeles.

** Work is performed in a fast-paced office environment and may be stressful at times. Work may require sitting for long periods of time; requires manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, calculator, telephone, copier and fax machine and scanner.