National Account Manager

The National Account Manager, a key member of the National Accounts Growth Channel team, is accountable for establishing, developing, and growing strategic business partnerships with existing and targeted National chains using a consultative selling approach. The NAM will develop and lead strategic growth plans to identify target opportunities for C.H. Guenther. Through deep customer partnership, they will cultivate sales and profit opportunities for account penetration and growth.

The ideal candidate possesses critical experience and proficiencies in large national account management and expansion.

• Maintains open & frequent communication with existing customer base via live visits & virtual meetings
• Cultivates and leads customer growth initiatives from opportunity identification through commercialization, aligning CHG cross-functional teams to bring innovative solutions to market and achieve sales objectives.
• Participates and demonstrates in customer conventions/trade shows.
• Leads QA/product incident response with active accounts.
• Conducts regular business reviews with top accounts to review business performance and to continuously seek new volume growth opportunities.
• Work closely with Commodities/Procurement team to deliver ongoing Commodity updates to key customers (e.g., latest trends with wheat, flour, sugar, oils, etc.)
• Ability to drive strong business relationships to earn the right to be viewed as an outstanding partner to our customers, an extension of their own teams/departments, and to always represent CHG in the highest regard.
• Plays an active role in drafting new Supply Agreements and Pricing Proposals for customers, in collaboration with CHG’s Revenue Growth Management and Legal teams.
• Expands customer relationships and uncovers new revenue opportunities through product innovation, menu expansion, and strategic partnerships.
• Serves as the primary commercial lead for assigned customers, coordinating internal resources to deliver profitable growth and exceptional customer service.
• Responsible for annual sales budget for targeted accounts
• Responsible for securing profitable new business as part of annual budget.
• Clear and direct communication with multiple inter-company departments especially National Accounts Product Marketing/Commercialization Team. Other key cross-functional partners include Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Purchasing, Finance, R & D, and Culinary.
• Manages projects with R & D team and CHG Product Marketing Team to expedite new business development.
• Develops thorough understanding of Target Customer operational capabilities through direct involvement with Customer R & D, Culinary, and restaurant operations.
• Executes all required administrative work in timely fashion.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

Education/Certifications and

Experience:

• A bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or other related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience selling/managing National and Regional Chains. Assemblers and Convenience Store chains is a plus
• Experience in selling custom food products. A basic understanding of plant operations, a plus

• Demonstrates leadership skills and possesses the ability to develop interdepartmental relationships.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Proven strategic selling skills and, preferably, having successfully completed strategic selling and negotiations courses.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of associates and customers ranging from entry level to executive level positions.
• Ability to work with multiple departments including but not limited to Cost Accounting, Operations, Purchasing, R & D, Supply Chain, Legal, Culinary,…