Inside Sales Associate

Location: The Bronx

Position Summary:

The Inside Sales & Sales Support Associate plays a critical role in supporting Outside Sales Representatives while directly contributing to customer satisfaction, sales growth, and account profitability. This hybrid position serves as an extension of the outside sales team by managing day-to-day customer needs, assisting with account setup and maintenance, analyzing sales and profitability data, and identifying growth opportunities within assigned accounts.
This role requires strong communication skills, analytical capability, attention to detail, and a proactive, customer-centric mindset. The associate will support 2-4 Outside Sales Representatives and maintain responsibility for select key accounts.
What you'll do:

Support 2-4 Outside Sales Representatives as a primary point of contact for assigned customers
Assist with new account setup, onboarding, and ongoing account maintenance
Manage customer orders, order add-ons, credits, adjustments, and special requests
Communicate out-of-stock items, substitutions, and order changes proactively to customers and sales reps
Review incoming orders (phone, email, fax, voicemail) for accuracy and completeness
Ensure accuracy of entered and outgoing orders
Suggest and sell additional or complementary items when appropriate
Run and analyze reports related to:

Account profitability
Gross profit per drop
Penetration and line growth opportunities

Identify trends, risks, and opportunities within assigned accounts and share insights with the outside sales team
Maintain responsibility for select key accounts, ensuring service levels, pricing accuracy, and issue resolution
Work closely with sales, operations, purchasing, and customer service to deliver a seamless customer experience
Escalate issues, irregularities, or customer concerns to the appropriate team members
Document and track customer complaints and assist with quarterly reporting
Assist with special orders, customer price lists, and program maintenance
Provide backup coverage for Outside Sales Representatives during vacations or absences
Attend inside and outside sales meetings and participate in sales initiatives as needed
Maintain a professional attitude and sense of urgency in a fast-paced environment
Other duties and projects as assigned by management

About you:

Minimum education:

High School Diploma (college coursework a plus)
Prior experience in food service distribution, inside sales, customer service, or sales support preferred
Strong understanding of food service products, categories, and customer dynamics preferred
Comfortable working with reports, data analysis, and profitability metrics
Strong verbal, written, and telephone communication skills
High attention to detail with strong follow-through
Self-motivated, organized, and able to manage multiple priorities
Team-oriented with the ability to collaborate across departments
Able to work under pressure with a sense of urgency
Data entry and 10-key experience required
Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus