GENERAL DESCRIPTION / PRIMARY PURPOSE
The Regional Account Manager leads the company’s efforts to maintain and expand relationships with regionally assigned customers through our dedicated broker partnerships and direct customer engagement. Regional Account Managers are responsible for achieving sales quotas along with assigned strategic account objectives. The Regional Account Manager represents a full range of Dole Fresh Vegetable products and services to assigned regional customers, while leading the customer account planning cycle and ensuring customer expectations are achieved or exceeded. The Regional Account Manager’s key focus is headquarters and key buying locations, while coordinating closely with assigned broker team’s field associates and supervisors to execute joint business plans across territory.
Required Skills
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS/DUTIES OF THE POSITION
- Establishes productive, professional relationships with key personnel in assigned sales territory.
- Coordinates the engagement of company personnel, including headquarter support, contracted services, and management resources, to achieve performance objectives and customer satisfaction.
- Meets assigned targets for profitable sales volume and strategic sales objectives for assigned territory.
- Proactively assesses, clarifies, and validates customer opportunities on an ongoing basis.
- Proactively leads joint Dole/Customer- strategic account planning process that develops mutual performance objectives, financial targets and critical milestones for both short- and long-range execution.
- Negotiate contractual business agreements with assigned customers and legal authority within Dole to ensure mutual consent of sales volume performance and financial support obligations during contract/agreement period(s) and any associated proforma work necessary.
- Meets budgeted profitability for assigned territory.
- Achieves strategic customer objectives defined by annual budget process and individual Performance Development Plan.
- Completes strategic customer account plans to meet company and management’s standards.
- Completes required individual training and development plan within assigned time frame.
- Maintains high customer satisfaction ratings that meet company standards.
- Maintains strong customer, management, and company communication/informational dialogue.
- Achieves assigned sales quota in designated regional accounts.
- Work with Customers, Brokers and Dole team to provide forecasts on account volume trends related to promotions and seasonal activity.
- Establish yearly budget goals for each account and a total rollup for assigned sales territory
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Experience
JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES (KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS)
- Minimum 5 years of strategic sales experience in a business to business environment (Preferably produce sales or Consumer Packaged Goods)
- Demonstrated problem and negotiation skills
- Strong communication, interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, decision making skills
- Knowledge and ability to use basic software programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Lotus Notes. Cognos, syndicated data, Power BI, and TM1
- Proficient in understanding and presenting category data via IRI or Nielsen
- Ability to develop and present annualized budgets based on the customers in the region analyzing current and future performance
- Knowledge and use of such reporting tools at Lotus Notes, Cognos, and Salesforce.com
- Background in I-trade promotional loading and reporting to manage the promotional system
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL RELATIONS
External Interaction
- Account Leadership/Buying Groups – selling the Dole concepts to secure and grow profitable business
- Account Quality Control – discussing quality control issues of our products
- Account Supply Chain – able to work with customer supply chain logistics departments to deal with all supply chain topics
- Account AP Department – to ensure proper payment of Dole invoices per Dole payment terms
- Account Negotiation Group – ability to have negotiation interaction of short- and long-term contracts
Internal Interaction
- Value Added Leadership – allows for business planning and P&L discussions
- Value Added Finance – discussions around payment terms, financial proforma models, customer profitability reports
- Marketing – ability to discuss new item creation opportunities as well as programs to drive sales of established programs
- Category Development – working collaboratively to understand sales trends of the customer and build strategic sales growth plans based on the analysis
- Supply Chain – establish supply chain logistic parameters that meet the standards of Dole and the customer
- Quality Control – reporting of quality or food safety issues between the customer and Dole
_ _EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
- Bachelor of Arts or Science Degree in Business Management/Sales or combination of college and applicable work experience
EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to use phone, computer and other basic office equipment
- Ability to climb stairs, be stationary for long periods of time, and stoop, bend, and lift up to 25 lbs.
- Ability to travel 30% - 50%, including regular overnight stays
WORK HOUR REQUIREMENT
- Must be available to work irregular and/or changing shifts including holidays and weekends.
- Work extended hours and some weekends, per business needs.
- Ability to be available electronically at all times.
We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability.