Technical Sales Representative

Technical Sales Representative

Position Overview:
Seeking a highly motivated Technical Sales Representative to join our team. The ideal candidate will have an understanding of the food market, experience with B2B sales of food ingredients, and experience working with a variety of different food applications. The Technical Sales Representative will be responsible for managing and growing our customer relationships in the Midwest territory, as well as developing and executing short- and long-term sales strategies.

Main Responsibilities

• Manage and grow customer relationships in the Midwest territory.
• Cultivate relationships with existing customers and identify opportunities to upsell and cross-sell products and services.
• Identify and develop new customers in the dairy, nutrition, baking, brewing, pet food, and other specialty food industries.
• Consistently meet or exceed sales goals.
• Provide technical advice to Product Developers, food scientists, and R&D at potential and existing customers.
• Understand the technical aspects of the company's products and services.
• Provide clear and concise technical information to customers.
• Collaborate with Product Developers, food scientists, and R&D to develop new products and applications.
• Determine what ingredients may benefit the customers applications and arrange for them to receive samples.
• Manage all aspects of the sales process.
• Generate leads.
• Qualify prospects.
• Obtain purchase orders and contracts from customers
• Provide post-sale support.
• Provide forecasts for inventory planning and production teams.
• Track sales data and forecast future demand.
• Communicate with customers to get estimates of their annual requirements.
• Maintain and update account information, call reports, and possible opportunities.
• Enter and update customer information in the files.
• Prepare call reports and other sales documentation.
• Track possible opportunities and follow up as needed.

Professionalism and Attire

• Professionalism:
  Demonstrates a high level of professionalism in all interactions, both internal and external, ensuring respectful and effective communication.
• Professional Attire:
  Maintains a professional appearance by adhering to the company's dress code policy, which reflects a commitment to representing the organization positively.

Qualifications

• Education
• Bachelor's degree in food science or have two years' experience working with a food ingredient company and bachelor's degree chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering or microbiology.
• Experience
• 2+ years of work experience in a customer-facing role (Technical Sales, Technical Service, Project Manager) for a B2B Food ingredient company
• 5+ years of total work experience, with a minimum of 2 years of work post-graduation.
• Experience working with B2B customers one-on-one to support troubleshooting processing, logistics, and sales challenges.
• Travel
• Must be comfortable meeting with customers in-person
• Ability to travel in the USA and Canada for trade shows, sales calls, and meetings - approximately 30% of the time.
• Travel in the first year may be up to 50%, to accommodate for training.
• Skills and Abilities
• Must be located near one of the following cities: Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio.
• Has a home office and can work remotely and independently.
• Excellent verbal, written, and telephone communication skills.
• Familiar with and comfortable using MS Teams, Zoom, and other video conferencing programs.
• Interpersonal skills: Able to interact effectively with people at all levels of an organization, from owners and senior management to operational staff.
• Adaptability: Open-minded and able to perform a wide variety of tasks, even when demands change. Can manage conflict effectively.
• Self-motivation: Takes initiative and follows through on tasks without being prompted or closely supervised.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs and LinkedIn.
• State-issued driver's license and proof of insurance, and clean driving record are required.

Compensation

Commensurate upon experience.