Area Sales Manager - Los Angeles - GORGIE

Company Description

GORGIE is an energy drink brand focused on creating beverages with benefits. The brand aims to make wellness fun and accessible to all, without compromising on taste, vibe, or aesthetic. GORGIE is community-driven and is built by followers and friends, driven by community feedback and involvement.

Role Description

The Area Sales Manager’s (ASM) main priority is delivering volume growth across the assigned territory. As part of ensuring this growth, the ASM will be responsible for developing local relationships in the market to drive quality distribution, display activity, and promotional strategies with independent and key retailer partners. The ASM role will be responsible for driving key company initiatives with our retailers, distributor and broker representatives, and will be guided by key performance indicators (KPIs) set forth by the Sales & Business Development Manager.

Key responsibilities include setting volume and executional targets in alignment with management and playing a primary role in tailoring strategy, programs and execution expectations for the assigned territory. The candidate must be effective in building and selling these programs to local decision makers. The role will require the creation and management of account budgets that focus on KPIs including price, promotion execution, and quality distribution. The role requires the ability to create win-win business solutions that resonate with the retailer, distributor, and consumer. Additionally, the ASM should have the ability to build customer facing decks and sell sheets with the help of the management team. Communicating strategic priorities, driving and managing key Gorgie initiatives, ensuring implementation of merchandising standards, developing systems to track and measure KPI execution, monitoring sales/POS progress against business plans and coaching distributor and broker partners to execute in the market at a high standard are also critical components of the ASM role.

Functions

• Represent Gorgie in the marketplace with passion, enthusiasm, and a positive approachable attitude and demeanor.
• Management of distribution build according to priorities.
• Partner with and align company objectives with our broker network.
• Assist in creating and executing Gorgie’s retail best practices, such as pricing strategies, promotional cadence, and display and shelf best practices.
• Meet frequently with broker and distributor representatives to train and drive key Gorgie initiatives.
• Align with management on KPIs driving quality distribution and growth.
• Assists in developing sales pitch books and training to guarantee distributor representatives clearly understand merchandising standards (i.e. product flow, SKU priorities, display merchandising, pricing, etc.)
• Establishes set communication schedule with the key accounts team to discuss upcoming/on-going initiatives with key accounts in the territory.
• Consistently communicates with top management to guarantee alignment.
• Operates with ownership over local market results, driving the same with brokers/distributors.
• Establishes POS needs and implements best-practices in the territory.
• Reports issues effecting store level success (i.e. Distributor inventory issues, retailer POG issues, etc.).
• Proactively uses insights from syndicated data to advance the initiatives with key accounts.
• Develops working knowledge of geographic and demographic areas in assigned territory and surrounding markets.
• Develops expertise with regards to product competition within the category.

Requirements

• Minimum of 3 years of outside sales experience in the food and beverage industry with a successful history of managing the territory.
• Knowledge of the beverage industry and route-to-market opportunities.
• Excellent communication skills, including presentation and training ability.
• Ability to lead, manage and motivate broker/distribution partners.
• Clear and proven ability to develop and implement successful sales strategies.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen.
• Excellent negotiator and influencer.
• Knowledge of syndicated data and using data-driven selling tactics.
• Creative mind, outgoing personality, and friendly.
• Able to work independently with responsibility and be well-organized.
• Experience with basic administrative programs, Windows, Word, PowerPoint, Excel.
• Must have ability to:
• travel via car with a valid driver’s license and untarnished driving record.
• Ability to occasionally travel outside of local territory, at least once per quarter.
• 4-year college degree preferred.