Sales Account Manager

Buckingham Search; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckingham Search is seeking a Foodservice Sales Account Manager in the Chicago area. The role focuses on managing and growing a portfolio of key customers across restaurant chains, foodservice distribution, food manufacturing, and ingredient markets.

The candidate will strengthen long-term relationships and uncover opportunities while coordinating internal teams to deliver customer solutions. The ideal candidate has at least five years of sales/account management experience in foodservice or

Qualifications

• Five years of sales, account management, or related commercial experience.
• Experience with foodservice, restaurant accounts, food distribution, or ingredient-based products is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success retaining customers, expanding accounts, and developing new business.
• Understanding of revenue, margin, pricing, forecasting, and account profitability.

Responsibilities

• Own an assigned customer portfolio, including retention, revenue growth, profitability, and long-term account development.
• Build relationships with key customer stakeholders and become a trusted commercial partner.
• Create strategic plans for priority accounts based on customer goals, business needs, and growth potential.
• Develop new business across restaurant chains, foodservice distributors, manufacturers, and industrial ingredient customers.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of prospective customers.
• Identify cross-selling, upselling, and product-mix opportunities that increase revenue and margin.
• Lead customer proposals, RFP responses, pricing discussions, contract renewals, and negotiations.
• Develop accurate sales forecasts using customer activity, purchasing history, and market data.
• Track customer intelligence, pipeline activity, and account performance within the CRM.
• Monitor sales volume, revenue, profitability, and assigned performance objectives.
• Provide leadership with clear updates on account activity, risks, business results, and growth opportunities.
• Gather customer, competitor, and market intelligence to support commercial decision-making.
• Partner with Finance and Strategic Sourcing to understand commodity and oil-market conditions that may affect pricing or customer demand.
• Collaborate with Customer Service, Operations, Finance, and other internal partners to fulfill customer commitments and resolve issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales processes, customer engagement, and overall commercial performance.

Skills

Sales & account management

Customer relationship building

Negotiation

Forecasting

CRM experience

Microsoft Office

Presentation skills

Communication

Tools

CRM platforms

Microsoft Office suite

Job description

This role is in-office 3-4 days a week (when you're not traveling) in the Chicago area. Must be local or willing to relocate to Chicago - no flexibility!

We are partnering with an established food products company to hire a Foodservice Sales Account Manager. This individual will manage and grow a portfolio of key customers while developing new business across restaurant chains, foodservice distribution, food manufacturing, and ingredient-based markets.

This is a hands-on commercial role for someone who can strengthen long-term relationships, uncover new revenue opportunities, and coordinate internal teams to deliver meaningful customer solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Own an assigned customer portfolio, including retention, revenue growth, profitability, and long-term account development.
• Build relationships with key customer stakeholders and become a trusted commercial partner.
• Create strategic plans for priority accounts based on customer goals, business needs, and growth potential.
• Develop new business across restaurant chains, foodservice distributors, manufacturers, and industrial ingredient customers.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of prospective customers.
• Identify cross-selling, upselling, and product-mix opportunities that increase revenue and margin.
• Lead customer proposals, RFP responses, pricing discussions, contract renewals, and negotiations.
• Develop accurate sales forecasts using customer activity, purchasing history, and market data.
• Track customer intelligence, pipeline activity, and account performance within the CRM.
• Monitor sales volume, revenue, profitability, and assigned performance objectives.
• Provide leadership with clear updates on account activity, risks, business results, and growth opportunities.
• Gather customer, competitor, and market intelligence to support commercial decision-making.
• Partner with Finance and Strategic Sourcing to understand commodity and oil-market conditions that may affect pricing or customer demand.
• Collaborate with Customer Service, Operations, Finance, and other internal partners to fulfill customer commitments and resolve issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales processes, customer engagement, and overall commercial performance.

Qualifications

• At least five years of sales, account management, business development, or related commercial experience.
• Experience with foodservice, restaurant accounts, food distribution, food manufacturing, commodities, or ingredient-based products is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success retaining customers, expanding accounts, and developing new business.
• Understanding of revenue, margin, pricing, forecasting, and account profitability.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to use customer and financial data to develop account strategies.
• Experience using CRM platforms and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to travel approximately 20% to 30%, with additional travel as business needs require.
• Flexibility to occasionally work outside traditional business hours.