Foodservice Account Executive - Los Angeles, CA

General Mills, Inc; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 82,000 - 124,000; Full time

Job summary

General Mills in Southern California seeks an Account Executive to accelerate sales growth across foodservice distributors and operator accounts in the Los Angeles market. You will lead distributor and operator relationships across K-12, Commercial, Healthcare, Lodging, Colleges & Universities, and Business & Industry channels.

You will drive strategic planning, close deals quickly, negotiate effectively, and build long-term relationships in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required; 2+ years in foodservice or sales.
• Willingness to travel within market and occasional overnight travel.
• Experience with CRM Software and sales analytics tools.
• Proven track record of meeting or exceeding sales targets.
• Ability to influence distributor and operator accounts to drive growth.

Responsibilities

• Develop territory growth opportunities and lead sales planning for assigned distributors and operators.
• Lead sales execution and communicate territory strategy to account teams.
• Use Salesforce daily to track pipeline and manage relationships.
• Negotiate distributor marketing agreements through joint business planning.
• Manage ROI for territory budgets including T&E, distributor, and operator budgets.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to grow business in NA Foodservice.

Skills

Sales experience

CRM software

Sales analytics

Negotiation

Travel willingness

Team collaboration

Remote work

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Bachelor's degree (preferred)

Tools

Salesforce CRM

CRM tools

Job description

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one another and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.

JOB OVERVIEW

The Account Executive will accelerate sales growth through strategic planning and impactful execution with key foodservice distributors and operator accounts. This role will be in Southern California and cover territories in the Los Angeles Market.

In this role, you'll lead both distributor and operator relationships across foodservice channels including K-12, Commercial, Healthcare, Lodging, Colleges & Universities, and Business & Industry. You'll identify new growth opportunities and lead efforts to strengthen customer loyalty in a fast-paced, competitive marketplace.

A strong candidate for this role will bring a high bias for action, with a proven track record in strategic sales planning, closing deals quickly, negotiating effectively, and building long-term relationships in an ever-changing business environment.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Sales Strategy & Innovation

• Develop a deep understanding of your customers and business to identify and act on growth opportunities
• Lead sales planning and strong execution for your assigned distributors and operators
• Provide clear direction and communicate territory strategy to a Customer Account Specialist Team who call on distributor operators
• Use Salesforce daily to track pipeline, manage relationships, and drive execution
• Influence distributor sales teams to prioritize and sell General Mills products
• Create and implement customized marketing programs specific to the accounts within your territory

Business Planning & Executional Excellence

• Execute local sales programs as outlined by Distributor and Non-Commercial National Account Executives
• Launch new products and sales initiatives with operators and distributor partners in your territory
• Manage and maximize ROI for territory budgets, including T&E, distributor, and operator budgets
• Negotiate and execute distributor marketing agreements through joint business planning with a pay-for-performance mindset and win-win scenarios
• Communicate key business updates frequently to the Region Manager and contribute to trade budget planning

Leverage Data & Analytics Tools including Salesforce, Operator Volume Data, and Bid Tool Data to identify and close new opportunities.

• Embrace Salesforce as the daily tool to manage and grow your business:
  • Consistently meet or exceed the in-person sales Visits goal of 10 per week.
  • Create and work a minimum of 74 unique, pre-planned operator opportunities per fiscal half, to be identified, aligned upon with the Region Manager, and loaded prior to the start of the half.
  • Achieve assigned territory volume growth target.
  • Ensure activation of 3+ distribution interactions per distributor, per fiscal half. Interactions to include 1 Joint Business Plan Meeting and 2+ a la Carte interactions inclusive of General Sales Meeting, District Sales Meeting, Culinary Meeting, and Product Training
• Leverage General Mills data sources to mine for additional opportunities within the territory.

Influential Leadership

• Collaborate with cross-functional peers across North America Foodservice (NAF) segment to grow your business
• Partner closely with Customer Account Specialists to build and execute your strategic territory growth plan
• Build rapport and credibility with external partners to achieve shared goals

Other Responsibilities

• Lead critical distributor and industry events including Distributor Food Shows, Industry Expos, Distributor Sales Meetings, etc.
• Demonstrate product knowledge to operators through at-home and on-site sample preparation and baking across all product platforms.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• High School Diploma/ GED with 2 + years of Foodservice, Food & Beverage Industry, or relevant sales experience
• Strong ability to use influence to drive successful selling opportunities and drive impact for the business
• Willingness to work as a team to drive impactful business results and find win-win situations for all partners
• Experience with CRM Software and sales analytics tools
• Self-motivated with ability to maintain workload from remote office
• Demonstrated track record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets
• Strong understanding of the sales call process and ability to close deals efficiently
• Willingness to travel in market to meet with operators, distributors, and prospective customers, plus occasional overnight travel for key meetings.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree
• Operator or Distributor Management, Marketing Program Negotiation or Trade Management experience
• Project Leadership
• Familiarity with General Mills Product Line

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. General Mills will not sponsor applicants for a U.S. work visa.
• International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is:

$82,400 - $123,800 Annual

At General Mills we strive for each employee's pay at any point in their career to reflect their experiences performance and skills for their current role. The salary range for this role represents the numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, educations, skills, work experience, certifications, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.

Beyond base salary, General Mills offers a competitive Total Rewards package focusing on your overall well-being. We are proud to offer a foundation of health benefits, retirement and financial wellbeing, time off programs, wellbeing support and perks. Benefits may vary by role, country, region, union status, and other employment status factors. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. An incentive award, if any, depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet a minimum 18-year age qualification.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER (EOE)

General Mills is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital or familial status, status regarding public assistance, or membership or activity in a local human rights commission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUEST

If you need to request an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please fill out our online accommodation request form by following this link: Accommodation Request.