The Senior Key Account Manager is responsible for calling on, building business, and developing relationships with a designated group of Tier 1 Strategic accounts. This role is customer facing and will drive the customer agenda and provide strategic and operational day-to-day leadership of the assigned customer base. The position will deliver results by influencing cross functionally and building effective customer relationships.
Responsibilities:
- Demonstrate and uphold the organization’s values, mission, and vision.
- Help to establish respect and confidence with customers.
- Build and strengthen relationships across customers, brokers, and distributor partners.
- Educate customers, distributors, brokers, and sales agents on product attributes and benefits while displaying humility.
- Build relationships within multiple levels of the customer organization.
- Develop and manage collaborative partnerships and ownership of joint business plans with key customers.
- Develop and drive strategic plans to meet or exceed revenue goals.
- Have high engagement with customers and broker partners to collaborate and partner during the planning process.
- Provide key inputs for demand planning - own the bottoms-up forecast for the S&OP process for each account owned.
- Properly manage forecasting on an accurate and consistent basis.
- Compile and review quantitative sales data and react rapidly to changing trends or new competitive threats and opportunities.
- Have a close pulse on environment and proactively have plans to support customer and RNF brands.
- Create and present customer specific presentations.
- Share strategic initiatives with broker & distributor partners, enabling them to tactically execute against plans.
- Develop customer-specific programs to drive strong velocities.
- Discover medium- and long-term opportunities.
- Offer solution based selling approach.
- Ensure execution against planning tactics of:
- Assortment: Close gaps/expand distribution on Priority Core and Innovation SKUs
- Merchandising: Create in-store impact with disruptive off-shelf merchandising displays during key promo periods that support strategies, tactics, and programs
- Pricing/Promos: Work with retailers on pricing guidelines & guardrails as communicated through Sales Planning & Strategy (on everyday pricing and promoted)
- Shelving: Work Closely with Category Management team to understand best shelving principles to share with retailers
- Present all Innovation in a timely manner, creating plans for effective speed-to-market.
- Collaborate on marketing programs with customer and marketing team.
- Effectively manage trade spend against assigned trade budgets.
- Follow trade compliance and deduction support process.
- Manage trade payments and deductions in a timely manner.
- Communicate account activity/results via internal processes.
- Conduct quarterly business reviews with accounts.
- Send out monthly updates to both internal team and customer.
- Drive strong partnerships and engagement with distributor and broker partners (monthly connects, quarterly reviews, KPI tracking, etc.)
- Demonstrate ownership by managing customers as if they were your own.
- Full understanding of customer and competitive market.
- Attend designated trade shows and events as needed.
- Keeps the work atmosphere fun by keeping it light and welcoming.
- Any other duties as assigned.
- Travel as required up to 25% of role
Skills & Abilities:
- Demonstrable success at creatively solving problems and implementing those solutions.
- Must have strong presentation, negotiating and listening skills
- Strong team player with energy, grit, ambition, competitiveness
- Outstanding organizational, and time management skills
- Intermediate level of computer and technical skills with an emphasis on MS Office Suite
- Ability to adapt communication style based on the audience.
- Ability to communicate in a clear and professional way, both written and verbal
- Tech savvy with apps and sales related software
- Proven ability to build and maintain productive relationships with key business partners.
- Proven ability to make decisions based on a mixture of information, analysis, experience, and judgement.
- Adept and agile in working through business analytics and navigate business financials.
Sales Competencies:
- Negotiations
- Resiliency in Selling
- Trade Marketing/Financial Acumen
- Business Analytics
- Customer Specific Solutions
- Depth of Customer Knowledge
- Forging Strategic Partner Relations
- Industry Knowledge
- Influencing Through Communications
Education & Qualifications:
- University Degree in Business or a related discipline strongly preferred
- 7-10 years of progressive sales experience
- Experience in the organic / health food industry a plus.
- French language (intermediate or fluent) an asset
AIP Connect believes in equal opportunity. Our recruitment consultants are committed to inclusive recruitment and selection practices and will not discriminate based on age, colour, ability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
Accessibility: If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.
