Lead Centralized Customer Management Sales Representative

Job Description The Lead CCM Sales Representative has the primary responsibility to manage the relationships of their assigned customer base of accounts across the country in accordance with our service agreement. This includes quarterly visits to customer headquarters, regular communication and relationship building activities with the customer and coordination of service responsibilities with Field Management team members. This role will also be responsible for continued sales growth at each customer account through establishment and implementation of sales and corporate initiatives. Essential Duties & Responsibilities Responsible for the successful sales management of the top level CCM sales and service customer account base of $10 million + in revenue. Schedule and attend quarterly in-person visits with key customer accounts at their headquarters and key stores to review business performance and present sales growth opportunities. Manage and maintain strong relationships with existing base of larger, strategically important chain customer accounts through the execution of regular, planned proactive sales calls and email communications. Create and drive celebration growth strategies for all customer accounts to continue to expand the celebration solutions offered to the CCM customer base. Responsible for active problem-solving and acting in a mentorship role for the CCM Sales Representatives I and II to provide support and assist in the development of industry expertise. Coordinate with Centralized Customer Management team leadership to define seasonal and everyday sales goals and initiatives to help drive continued customer growth. Use vision to find opportunities within new and existing accounts. Review sales performance to forecast in assigned accounts in order to ensure sales goals are met or exceeded. Develop and maintain a full understanding of all brands and products under the American Greetings to allow for providing beneficial insight to the customer base and determine what to sell to assigned accounts. Represent American Greetings in a professional manner and demonstrate sales knowledge, thought leadership, financial acumen, industry knowledge and category expertise. Collaborate with Sales Leadership to identify and pursue new account prospects for continued sales growth in the organization. Partner with Business Development Leader and CCM Sales Leadership to create proposals and presentations for new meaningful customer prospects. May manage small retailer contracts, including administration of any rebates or payments. Responsible for understanding all retailer requirements including but not limited to financial, contractual, distribution, operations and service; leverages knowledge of retailer requirements to influence business decisions. Initiate and oversee new account onboarding process to include paperwork and communication. Collaborates with internal business units and teams to develop solutions to meet the needs of the company and our retailers. Understands, identifies and utilizes the available levers to generate profitable unit growth and accelerate consumption (product, price, promotion, placement). In assigned chains, serves as project manager for initiatives, team ARFs and communications, centralized orders and RSC Distribution. Accountable for development and implementation of seasonal non-card forecast for corporate made to order (MTO) date. Maintains proper record tracking in CRM system daily to ensure all activity associated with the account base is captured and available for reporting in real time. Act as a liaison between the customer and Accounts Receivable department to ensure all customer accounts are current to establish proper term levels. Submit all reports, paperwork and correspondence in an accurate and timely manner. Communicate and coordinate with Field Management Organization to manage customer request and assigned changes at retail including, but not limited to: Managing and maintaining necessary communications regarding special in-store activity (Activity Request Forms) to be implemented by Field Management. Organizing store remodels/revisions with support of the Field Management leadership. Coordinating store level service plans through continuous collaboration with Field managers to ensure customer needs are met. Reviewing store level service performance and working closely with Merchandising team to ensure level of service is maintained. Identify, evaluate, and respond effectively to competitive trends and activities. Develop sales growth initiative programs directed for the larger individual retail stores and small chains to drive sales within the core areas of American Greetings product lines. Regularly communicate with American Greetings Sales Leadership to ensure directional path for customer focused activities coincide with overall sales goals. Attend internal meetings or other company functions necessary to perform duties and aid in business/customer development. Review daily Sales Org and corporate communications to ensure knowledge of business initiatives is current. Experience Required 5+ years of sales, customer management and service coordination experience Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Proficiency in reading and interpreting financial and sales-related data; able to make fact‑based decisions. Operates with a growth mindset. Innovative; identifies effective new ways of doing things. Customer‑centric; anticipates and meets consumer needs and takes appropriate action without being prompted. Able to clearly define purpose‑driven goals and the actions required to accomplish them; aggressively pursues challenging goals and objectives. Energetic, self‑motivated and results‑oriented with a clear focus on high performance. Excellent communication and negotiation skills both written and verbal. Computer experience required, including proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word. Well‑developed interpersonal and organizational skills, as well as demonstrated effective time‑management skills, including the ability to multi‑task. Capable of working both independently and within a collaborative team environment. Excellent problem‑solving skills. Education Required Bachelor’s degree in business or equivalent in years of experience Career Site Category Corporate Jobs #J-18808-Ljbffr American Greetings