Manager, Route Sales

General Purpose

The Route Sales Manager Is responsible for identifying sales opportunities, maximizing profitability, maintaining merchandising standards and order replenishment activities within the assigned territory/route.  This role will lead a team of four to six Merchandisers / Order Replenishment Merchandisers that will maintaining merchandising standards and order replenishment activities within a designated geographic area.  

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Merchandisers/Order Replenishment Merchandisers (ORMs) to maintain merchandising standards, lead order replenishment and PIcOs execution in an assigned geographic territory
• Maximize profitable sales opportunities by thoroughly understanding the complexities of the channel or customer's business and building enduring relationships based on trust and integrity with that customer's management team.
• Successfully sell customer plans that include annual CMA's, strategic and tactical pricing plans along with promotional plans.
• Evaluate outlet opportunities. Ability to collaboratively sell and overcome customer objections.
• Lead customers in reaching sales potential on company products by offering creative merchandising ideas.
• Propose appropriate brands, packages, and equipment to satisfy customer and consumer needs while fully leveraging national and local marketing initiatives with customers.
• Execute channel and customer promotions/programs that leverage national brand ideas/thinking and consumer insights to drive increased consumer preference and customer activity.
• Sell-in and implement promotional strategies for the introduction of new brands and packages
• Activate Coca Cola Southwest Beverages system (e.g., cross-functional team members, segment resources) to develop and implement business plan/solution that meets customer needs and drive beverage category profit and volume, contributing to overall sales growth for the customers' entire business. 
• Solve issues that arise during execution and eliminate barriers.
• Track daily, weekly and monthly call activity and performance measurements against assigned goals and expectations.
• Conduct post promotional analysis measuring the success levels of promotions making any necessary changes.
• Proactively arrange time and territory to achieve optimum face-to-face selling opportunities.
• Train, evaluate and develop team of Merchandisers / ORMs
• Build Merchandising Team Capabilities for future career advancement
• Supervise the daily sales and align merchandising/order replenishment activities through collaboration with Field Sales teams
• Main “Point of Contact” responsible for ordering, transmissions, missed deliveries, dispatch, hot shots, off day deliveries and CSTs
• Build relationships with store managers and outlet team members
• Routinely visit accounts to monitor adherence to merchandising/order replenishment standards and back room management
• Manage labor and OPEX merchandising budgets
   

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience with a high school diploma required
• 3+ years’ experience in consumer products/direct store delivery sales required.
• Requires experience managing people/budgets.
• 2+ years supervising sales staff.
• Packaged goods experience preferred; Some beverage experience an asset.
• Strong presence and persuasive presentation skills
• Intermediate computer and database application skills. Ability to multitask handling multiple customer accounts 
• Strong attention to detail and follow-up skills. Excellent planning and organization skills 
• Ability to operate a manual/powered pallet jack or lift product
• Valid driver’s license and driving record within MVR policy guidelines
• Must have a personal vehicle for use during working hours
• Must have current vehicle liability insurance 
• Bilingual ability preferred (Spanish)