Director of Business Development

Food Sales East; Nashville (TN); Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Food Sales East is seeking a Director of Business Development to lead new manufacturer client acquisition and expand existing relationships across markets. This remote role covers the Southeast footprint with regular travel to meetings, conferences, and client presentations.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with disciplined execution, exceptional relationship-building, and the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams through the business development cycle.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in business development, strategic sales, or national account development.
• Foodservice industry experience is strongly preferred, particularly experience working with manufacturers, distributors, foodservice sales agencies, or other industry partners.
• Experience building relationships with senior executives and key decisionmakers.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple highvalue opportunities simultaneously.
• Experience using Salesforce or a comparable CRM platform to manage sales pipelines and forecasting.
• Proficiency with prospecting and research tools such as ZoomInfo and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
• Strong presentation development, communication, and meeting leadership skills.
• Ability to coordinate crossfunctional teams and lead complex business development initiatives.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to manufacturer meetings, industry conferences, and client presentations.

Responsibilities

• Own and achieve FSE's annual business development revenue goal.
• Identify and pursue new manufacturer clients aligned with FSE's capabilities, market footprint, and growth strategy.
• Expand existing manufacturer relationships into additional geographic markets.
• Develop and execute strategic pursuit plans for highpriority opportunities.
• Build relationships with manufacturer executives and key decisionmakers.
• Lead opportunities from initial prospecting through presentations, negotiations, and successful client acquisition.
• Develop and maintain a prioritized pipeline of opportunities in Salesforce with revenue projections and next steps.
• Identify and prioritize the company's highestvalue new business and market expansion targets.
• Lead quarterly selection and execution of FSE's Top 7 strategic business development targets.
• Coordinate crossfunctional teams to develop customized client presentations that communicate FSE's capabilities and value proposition.
• Attend strategic national foodservice conferences, manufacturer meetings, and industry events to develop relationships and generate business opportunities.
• Plan and coordinate participation, appointments, and followups; track progress in Salesforce.
• Organize internal attendees and ensure clear roles and preparation.
• Prioritize postevent opportunities and follow up with responsible teams.

Skills

Business development

Strategic sales

National account development

Sales pipeline management

Salesforce

Relationship building

Presentation skills

Prospecting

Travel readiness

Tools

ZoomInfo

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Job description

New Client Acquisition | Market Expansion | Revenue Growth

Food Sales East (FSE) is seeking a highly motivated, relationship-driven Director of Business Development to lead our efforts in acquiring new manufacturer clients and expanding existing client relationships into additional markets.

The ideal candidate will bring strong foodservice industry experience and an established understanding of the manufacturer, distributor, and sales agency landscape.

This is a remote position based within FSE's Southeast footprint, with regular travel to manufacturer meetings, industry conferences, client presentations, and other business development activities.

This individual will be accountable for achieving the company's annual business development revenue goal by identifying, prioritizing, pursuing, and securing new business opportunities.

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with disciplined execution, exceptional relationship-building skills, and the ability to engage and coordinate internal teams throughout the business development process.

This is a high-impact leadership position that requires a proactive, competitive, and results-oriented professional who thrives on building relationships and winning new business.

Key Responsibilities

• Business Development & Revenue Growth
• Own and achieve FSE's annual business development revenue goal.
• Identify and pursue new manufacturer clients that align with FSE's capabilities, market footprint, and growth strategy.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing manufacturer relationships into additional geographic markets.
• Develop and execute strategic pursuit plans for highpriority opportunities.
• Build strong relationships with manufacturer executives and key decisionmakers.
• Lead opportunities from initial prospecting through presentations, negotiations, and successful client acquisition.
• Strategic Targeting & Pipeline Management
• Develop and maintain a prioritized pipeline of business development opportunities in Salesforce.
• Identify and prioritize the company's highestvalue new business and market expansion targets.
• Lead the quarterly selection and execution of FSE's Top 7 strategic business development targets.
• Maintain accurate opportunity stages, revenue projections, next steps, and followup commitments in Salesforce.
• Utilize ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and other resources to identify key decisionmakers, obtain contact information, and develop prospect intelligence.
• Provide consistent pipeline updates, revenue forecasts, and progress reports to leadership.
• Client Interviews & Business Development Presentations
• Lead the planning, strategy, and development of presentations for prospective manufacturer clients.
• Coordinate crossfunctional teams to develop compelling, customized presentations that communicate FSE's capabilities, differentiation, and value proposition.
• Ensure interview presentations reflect the prospective client's objectives, challenges, and opportunities.
• Lead preparation meetings, assign responsibilities, and ensure the team is fully prepared to deliver exceptional presentations.
• Partner with internal resources to maintain and continually improve FSE's master business development presentation and supporting materials.
• National Conferences & Industry Events
• Attend strategic national foodservice conferences, manufacturer meetings, and industry events to develop relationships and generate business opportunities.
• Lead advance planning and coordination for FSE's participation in key business development events.
• Identify and prioritize prospective clients and existing manufacturer relationships attending each event.
• Coordinate appointments, executive meetings, dinners, and other relationshipbuilding opportunities.
• Organize internal attendees and ensure clear roles, meeting preparation, and coordinated execution.
• Prioritize postevent opportunities, assign followup responsibilities, and track execution through Salesforce.
• Organizational Alignment & Business Development Execution
• Lead regular business development meetings to drive organizational focus, accountability, and progress.
• Collaborate with executive leadership, division leaders, sales leadership, and client development teams to identify and advance opportunities.
• Engage the appropriate internal resources to strengthen strategic pursuits and client presentations.
• Encourage the organization to identify new business opportunities and provide competitive market intelligence.
• Establish clear action plans, responsibilities, and deadlines to move priority opportunities toward successful closure.
• Build a consistent, repeatable business development process that supports longterm revenue growth.

Qualifications & Experience

• Demonstrated success in business development, strategic sales, or national account development.
• Foodservice industry experience is strongly preferred, particularly experience working with manufacturers, distributors, foodservice sales agencies, or other industry partners.
• Experience building relationships with senior executives and key decisionmakers.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple highvalue opportunities simultaneously.
• Experience using Salesforce or a comparable CRM platform to manage sales pipelines and forecasting.
• Proficiency with prospecting and research tools such as ZoomInfo and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
• Strong presentation development, communication, and meeting leadership skills.
• Ability to coordinate crossfunctional teams and lead complex business development initiatives.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to manufacturer meetings, industry conferences, and client presentations.

Ideal Candidate Characteristics

• ResultsDriven: Takes personal ownership of goals, commitments, and outcomes.
• RelationshipOriented: Builds trust and develops meaningful, lasting professional relationships.
• Strategic Thinker: Identifies highvalue opportunities and develops creative approaches to winning business.
• Highly Organized: Maintains exceptional followthrough, pipeline discipline, and attention to detail.
• Competitive: Possesses a strong desire to win while maintaining professionalism and integrity.
• Collaborative Leader: Inspires and coordinates others to achieve shared objectives.
• Proactive: Creates opportunities rather than waiting for them to develop.
• Resilient: Demonstrates persistence and determination throughout long, complex sales cycles.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this position will be measured by:

• Achievement of the annual new business development revenue goal.
• Acquisition of new manufacturer clients and expansion of existing relationships into additional markets.
• Development and maintenance of a healthy, accurate, and prioritized Salesforce pipeline.
• Consistent advancement of strategic targets through the business development process.
• Exceptional preparation and execution of manufacturer interviews and presentations.
• Effective planning, execution, and followthrough from national industry events.
• Strong organizational alignment and accountability throughout the business development process.

About Food Sales East

Food Sales East is a leading regional foodservice sales agency and a founding member of Sales ONE, providing manufacturers with local market expertise, strong relationships, disciplined sales execution, and expanded geographic reach.

Our culture is built on caring more, setting the Gold Standard, and delivering sustainable results for our manufacturer partners.

We are seeking a business development leader who shares our commitment to excellence, relationships, and long-term success.

Food Sales East is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.