Director of Natural Field Sales job in Remote

Director of Natural Field Sales Job Description

Job Summary
The person in this leadership position is responsible for guiding, inspiring and motivating the company's regional sales managers, field sales team, and inside sales team to ensure effective execution of strategic growth plans in the retail division for the Natural Channel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Builds, maintains, and manages high performance Regional Manager team, field sales team and inside sales team.
• Ensures roles at all levels are filled with values-aligned high performers, and that coverage during any interim (recruiting) periods is sufficient to meet the needs of the business.
• Liaises with brokers and direct sales force who sell Gaia products to retail establishments.
• Provides leadership to sales team through effective and clear objective setting, inspiration, delegation, and communication.
• Holds sales team accountable to measurable performance objectives for meeting sales goals, ACV (new and existing items), promotional and merchandising execution. Uses data and reporting to clearly express what success looks like at all levels.
• Serves as the leadership face and voice of Gaia with independent retail stores, at store level with local and regional chains by conducting in-person visits, making calls to address any concerns, emailing to address national field opportunities or issues, and traveling to the Gaia farm for all retailer-centric events.
• Actively participates with and handles specific key and regional account relationships in partnership with the Sr. Director of Sales & Business Development, and any other Key Account or other sales managers.
• Negotiates contracts, developing personal relationships with important field accounts and ensuring a “top to top” connection.
• Identifies and targets accounts for increased market penetration, and develops strategic approach with RSM’s, holding them accountable for results. Develops targets for new customer acquisition in field, focusing on new co-op and independent stores.
• Develops a strategic plan to optimize existing sales programs and suggests new sales programs for sales accounts, driving incremental revenue and profitability. Reviews with the VP of Sales and implements.
• Conducts quarterly reviews of sales activity effectiveness, reporting to VP of Sales, and developing sales contests, promotions, and incentives to increase sales and improve performance, while growing bottom line.
• Works with RSM’s to ensure excellent sales team communication, creation of effective territory and customer strategies, reporting and resource management. Assumes responsibility for the implementation of effective promotion strategies, including review of sales analyst generated post-promo analysis for the purpose of making adjustments to future plans.

Supervisory Responsibilities
This position directly supervises the Regional Sales Managers.

Qualifications

Education and/or Experience:
• B.S. or M.S. degree in related field, OR 5-7 years of experience in high level sales positions within the natural products industry.
• 5-7 years of experience with a successful track record of building, leading, developing, and inspiring a remote sales team of 10 members of more that meets or exceeds sales targets on a year-over-year basis.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Strong ability to develop, mentor, inspire, and support people
• Ability to organize, coordinate, delegate and direct projects
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong knowledge of Natural & Organic Brands, products, customers, brokers and direct distribution channels, pricing, and promotion strategies
• Knowledge of technology, including trends and products used in field and inside sales
• Strong attention to detail while effectively managing multiple projects
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Ability to navigate and handle delicate people and customer issues without direction
• Ability to develop and implement sales infrastructure (sales compensation plans, territory and account strategies, sales reporting, targets, sales activity expectations, etc.)
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
• Ability to write, read and comprehend complex sales reports and analytics simple instructions, short correspondence and memos.
• Ability to effectively and articulately present information in one-on-one and small groups situations to customers, clients and other employees of the organization.
• Skilled in negotiation tactics
• Proficient in interpreting and applying complex sales data
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals
• Ability to compute rate, ratio and percent and to draw and interpret graphs

Physical Demands
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk. The employee is regularly required to sit, talk and hear; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include the ability to be able to view a computer screen, and the ability to drive a car.

Work Environment
This is a remote position where hazards and noise level are at the employee’s control. Position requires travel up to 50% of the year.

The above statements are meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required of personnel so classified.