District Sales Manager

District Sales Manager

Summary: Join our family and share the story of America’s Oldest Brewery and what makes us unique. We are family owned and operated since 1829 and have a strong culture and history of perseverance and grit. We are seeking a strong champion of our company and our brands. We are looking for a District Manager who will serve as a main point of contact at the local level for our distributors and key retailers. The District Manager, under the direction of the Zone Manager, helps develop annual plans aimed at driving attainment of The Yuengling Company’s annual and zone business objectives. The District Manager is also accountable for the implementation of approved business plans and tactics in the specified assigned territory. This position is responsible for the communication, and execution at wholesale and retail levels for agreed upon programs to achieve sales, distribution, promotional and merchandising objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

DISTRIBUTOR Management & Planning

• Maintain regular call frequency with Distributors as assigned by Zone Manager.
• Develop local market plans to meet sales objectives driven by Zone Manager.
• Drive support of Yuengling objectives with distributor management and sales team for stated Yuengling sales objectives.
• Provide direction and support to assigned distributors, manage retail execution plans, and activate activities for assigned markets.
• Ensure Distributors maintain adequate product inventory levels and demonstrate proper inventory rotation within Yuengling guidelines.
• Conduct trimester reviews against the Annual Business Plan. This may include distribution progress, YTD sales volume, pricing benchmarks and price surveys, execution opportunities, competitive activity, top retailer and chain volume trends, and co-op budget spending. Corrective action plans may be formulated if necessary.
• Ensure alignment with The Yuengling Company direction on co-op budget allocations as driven down by Sales Leadership Team.

Retail

• Maintain regular call frequency with assigned retailers at on and off premise call points and retail field sales managers as assigned by Zone Manager.
• Target retail monitoring and driving improved execution against key objectives for Yuengling portfolio and brands.
  • A typical week would consist of 3-4 days at retail
• Model and improve execution of Yuengling Portfolio in alignment with retail standards in top volume independent and chain retail accounts.

Selling/Merchandising

• Identify and develop programs for underperforming packages.
• Help develop annual distribution targets by brand and by package for all wholesalers and to be submitted to Zone Manager.
• Create account target list by wholesaler for key packages in order to improve distribution and generate new business for the brewery.
• Submit distribution progress reports as assigned by Zone Manager.
• Reinforce Yuengling Distribution, shelf set, and merchandising standards as driven down from Region Sales Director and Zone Manager.
• Manage and direct the local sampling plan of The Yuengling Company portfolio of brands through interaction with consumers and retailers at local retail samplings, retail work-with’s, special events, trade shows, etc.
• Establish an annual point-of-sale budget with each wholesaler to be approved by Zone Manager.
• Monitor trimester wholesaler point-of-sale spending budget.
• Manage and supervise the allocation of all point-of-sale materials with assigned distributors.
• Identify and ensure distributor support material is adequately maintained on a monthly basis.
• Engage point-of-sale commitments and encourage merchandising efforts while in retail trade.
• Regularly assemble and position point-of-sale in key areas when at retail.

Communication

• Conduct sales meeting presentations with regular frequency to assigned distributor sales team as outlined in direction and in accordance with details driven down by Region Sales Director and Zone Manager.
• Conduct regular planning meetings with assigned distributor sales management team in accordance with direction and specifics of The Yuengling Company sales objectives driven down by Region Sales Director and Zone Manager.
• Communicate clearly internally, both in written and verbal formats, to all key cross functional teams starting with the National and Chain Account Managers, Marketing, and Brewery Operations Teams.
• Provide written recaps of all meetings, retail days, progress against objectives, co-op budget balances, and any other business or execution opportunities in the market.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Budget Responsibilities
  • Responsibly manage annual co-op budgets with distributors in compliance with The Yuengling Company policies and procedures.
  • Responsibly manage annual travel and expense budget in compliance with The Yuengling Company’s Travel and Expense Policy Guidelines.
  • Treat all Company resources in a very responsible manner that would be representative of how you would treat your own.

• Pricing Responsibilities
  • Maintain accurate records of current market pricing for Yuengling products and competition. Must maintain and update along with an updated wholesaler file of current Yuengling price to retailer by package.
  • Communicate current pricing information to The Yuengling Company Management and Pricing / Revenue Management.
  • Conduct price surveys with each distributor or specified chain and channel of trade. Compare Yuengling package pricing versus defined competitive set. Provide survey if requested by The Yuengling Comp Leadership and timelines specified by Region Sales Director and Zone Manager.
  • Work with Yuengling Management and The Yuengling Company Pricing and Revenue Management to initiate corrective action to improve Yuengling pricing in all on and off premise accounts.

Other Requirements

• Initiate interaction with consumers and retailers that may have a quality control issue.
• Perform basic troubleshooting and corrective actions on draft beer systems.
• Manage distributor bill back process to ensure alignment with DGY policies and that invoices are being processed on a timely basis for distributor partners.
• Possess strong oral and written communication skills. Must be able to speak clearly and persuasively in all situations. Have good listening skills and strong group presentation skills.
• Possess an understanding of, and ability to perform, basic trade math as a part of doing business in a “fact-based” selling culture.
• Prioritize and plan work activities, attention to details, effective time management, set goals and objectives.
• Follow instructions and respond appropriately to management direction.
• Take independent actions and calculated risks.
• Display creativity and original thinking.
• Embrace and contribute to The Yuengling Company culture, Values and Mission statement. Must be a team player and highly self-motivated.
• Must have a valid driver’s license with an excellent driving record.
• Must be self-motivated with the ability to work both traditional business hours as well as non-traditional business hours including, at times, nights, weekends, and holidays as required.
• Must be available for overnight travel for crew drives, meetings, trainings, and occasional weekend events or distributor and retailer entertainment.
• Must have solid computer knowledge and skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, as well as specific applications such as VIP and mobile apps designed for industry business purposes.
• Must be able to lift, carry, push and/or pull up to 35 pounds.
• May be asked to perform additional duties and responsibilities as requested, directed, or assigned by Region Sales Director or Zone Manager.

Required Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and/or minimum of 5 years equivalent job experience are necessary.

Job Posting Grade: 10

At The Yuengling Company we seek diversity. Differing perspectives lead to challenging the expected, which keeps new ideas bubbling up. We’re an equal opportunity employer and invite applications from candidates from all backgrounds, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic. We take pride in celebrating our unique brew.

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Nearest Major Market: Fort Worth
Nearest Secondary Market: Dallas