Sales Manager - Food Service Distribution

About Us:

We're one of the largest food service distributors in the region, serving restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, hotels, and independent operators across a broad territory. Our sales managers are the primary relationship between our company and our customers — advising on menu, product selection, and cost management, not just taking orders. We invest in training, product expertise, and the tools our team needs to run their territory like a business.

The Sales Manager is responsible for managing and growing an assigned territory of food service accounts. This is an outside sales role built on consultative selling: understanding each operator's business, recommending products and solutions that improve their margins, and serving as their primary point of contact with the company.

• Manage an assigned book of business, driving profitable growth in case volume, gross profit, and account penetration.
• Prospect and develop new accounts within the territory through cold calling, referrals, and in-person visits.
• Conduct regular on-site customer visits to review inventory, present new and seasonal products, and identify opportunities to expand product categories within existing accounts.
• Advise operators on menu development, product substitutions, food cost, and inventory management.
• Partner with category specialists, culinary staff, and merchandising teams to deliver product demonstrations, samples, and category solutions.
• Manage pricing within approved margin guidelines and prepare customer proposals.
• Monitor account health, including credit standing, order patterns, and service issues; coordinate with credit, operations, and delivery teams to resolve them.
• Maintain accurate account, contact, and opportunity records in the CRM and use reporting tools to plan territory activity.
• Stay current on product lines, supplier programs, market conditions, and competitor activity.

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent relevant experience.
• Previous experience in outside sales, account management, or food service operations. Broadline distribution, restaurant, or culinary experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build long-term customer relationships and manage a territory independently.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and business acumen; comfort discussing food cost, margin, and inventory with operators.
• Proficiency with CRM and sales reporting tools.
• Valid driver's license, satisfactory driving record, and reliable transportation. This role requires daily travel within the assigned territory.
• Ability to lift and carry product samples and cases as needed for demonstrations.
• Early-morning availability to align with customer receiving and operating hours.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.