Inside Sales Associate

Mike Hudson Dist; Baltimore (MD); Hybrid; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Mike Hudson Dist. seeks an Inside Sales & Sales Support Associate to back up Outside Sales Representatives and drive customer satisfaction, sales growth, and profitability. This hybrid role handles day-to-day account setup, order processing, and data-driven insights for assigned accounts.

You will support 2–4 Outside Sales Reps, maintain select key accounts, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver a seamless customer experience. Strong communication and data skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Requires strong communication and customer-service skills.
• Experience in inside sales, sales support, or foodservice distribution is preferred.
• Comfort with reports, data analysis, and profitability metrics.
• Data entry and 10-key experience is required.
• Bilingual Spanish/English is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary contact for assigned customers and support 2–4 Outside Sales Representatives.
• Assist with new account setup, onboarding, and ongoing maintenance.
• Manage orders, add-ons, credits, adjustments, and special requests.
• Proactively communicate substitutions, stock updates, and order changes to customers and reps.
• Review orders for accuracy and ensure correct entry and fulfillment.
• Suggest and sell additional items when appropriate.
• Generate and analyze profitability reports for accounts and product lines.
• Collaborate with sales, operations, purchasing, and customer service to ensure a seamless experience.
• Escalate issues and document customer complaints for quarterly reporting.

Skills

Customer service

Sales support

Data analysis

Communication

Multitasking

Bilingual Spanish/English

Education

High School Diploma

Job description

Position Summary:

The Inside Sales & Sales Support Associate plays a critical role in supporting Outside Sales Representatives while directly contributing to customer satisfaction, sales growth, and account profitability. This hybrid position serves as an extension of the outside sales team by managing day-to-day customer needs, assisting with account setup and maintenance, analyzing sales and profitability data, and identifying growth opportunities within assigned accounts.

This role requires strong communication skills, analytical capability, attention to detail, and a proactive, customer-centric mindset. The associate will support 2-4 Outside Sales Representatives and maintain responsibility for select key accounts.

What you'll do:

• Support 2-4 Outside Sales Representatives as a primary point of contact for assigned customers
• Assist with new account setup, onboarding, and ongoing account maintenance
• Manage customer orders, order add-ons, credits, adjustments, and special requests
• Communicate out-of-stock items, substitutions, and order changes proactively to customers and sales reps
• Review incoming orders (phone, email, fax, voicemail) for accuracy and completeness
• Ensure accuracy of entered and outgoing orders
• Suggest and sell additional or complementary items when appropriate
• Run and analyze reports related to:
  • Account profitability
  • Gross profit per drop
  • Penetration and line growth opportunities
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities within assigned accounts and share insights with the outside sales team
• Maintain responsibility for select key accounts, ensuring service levels, pricing accuracy, and issue resolution
• Work closely with sales, operations, purchasing, and customer service to deliver a seamless customer experience
• Escalate issues, irregularities, or customer concerns to the appropriate team members
• Document and track customer complaints and assist with quarterly reporting
• Assist with special orders, customer price lists, and program maintenance
• Provide backup coverage for Outside Sales Representatives during vacations or absences
• Attend inside and outside sales meetings and participate in sales initiatives as needed
• Maintain a professional attitude and sense of urgency in a fast-paced environment
• Other duties and projects as assigned by management

About you:

• Minimum education: High School Diploma (college coursework a plus)
• Prior experience in foodservice distribution, inside sales, customer service, or sales support preferred
• Strong understanding of foodservice products, categories, and customer dynamics preferred
• Comfortable working with reports, data analysis, and profitability metrics
• Strong verbal, written, and telephone communication skills
• High attention to detail with strong follow-through
• Self-motivated, organized, and able to manage multiple priorities
• Team-oriented with the ability to collaborate across departments
• Able to work under pressure with a sense of urgency
• Data entry and 10-key experience required
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus