Business Development Manager

POSITION: Business Development Manager - Must Have Previous Sales Experience in Packaged and/or Frozen Foods.

LOCATION: Southern/Midwest U.S. (Atlanta to the west of the Mississippi, including Nashville)

Our client, a leading food service re-distributor within the Food & Beverage Services industry, is seeking a dynamic and self-driven Business Development Manager to join their team. This role focuses on expanding and managing business within a newly established territory, while also maintaining a select number of existing accounts.

The Business Development Manager will be responsible for building relationships with food service distributors, increasing product penetration, and driving overall territory growth. This is a high-travel, field-based position with weekly overnight travel required.

This is a new territory, and newly created position for this growing company.

Previous experience with packaged foods and distribution in these areas is required, along with experience selling a book of business of 1,500-2,000 products.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for customer inquiries, order processing, pricing, delivery, and issue resolution.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer records, including pricing and account details.

• Conduct regular in-person visits to accounts to build relationships, introduce new products, and share industry insights.

• Spend the majority of each work week in the field, with office time dedicated to scheduling, reporting, and administrative tasks.

• Actively grow the territory by acquiring new customers and expanding existing account activity.

• Address and resolve customer concerns related to pricing, delivery, and billing.

• Participate in industry trade shows, events, and training as needed.

• Submit regular updates and activity reports to management.

• Build strong, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 5 years in sales or account management, preferably in foodservice or related industries.

• Proven track record of territory growth and client relationship development.

• Strong organizational and time-management skills; proactive and self-sufficient.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; capable of preparing reports and presentations.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and general computer systems.

• Experience with CRM and data platforms (Salesforce and Tableau preferred, but not required).

• Strong product knowledge across a wide range of items.

• Familiarity with distributor networks and account-building strategies.

• Must have a home office setup and be based within the territory.

• Must be comfortable traveling extensively (up to 90% overnight travel).

• Valid drivers license and vehicle insurance required.

• Occasional travel to company headquarters (monthly, 23 days).

• Must be comfortable working independently and managing a broad product portfolio.

• Managerial skills focused on territory development (not direct team management).