[Hiring] Sales Development Manager @Land O'Lakes

Role Description

The Sales Development Manager serves as a direct partner and coach to our customer-owner’s top 1000 retail sellers to expand the retail seller’s competencies and selling skills. Responsibilities include daily direct farm-gate calls in partnership with the retail seller. This position is remote/virtual and can work from home but must be located within Central Iowa, ideally Fort Dodge.

Duty or Area of Responsibility:

• 60% Sales Generation
  • Manages and grows business through a defined plan and consistent communication with assigned owners and internal teams with strong focus on STAMPS, seed, and services.
  • Coaches and trains top retail sellers at the farm-gate on products, programs, services, and technologies with the goal of influencing grower decisions.
  • Utilizes pre-call planning tools and approach.
  • Relies on agronomy or services experts for technical knowledge as needed.
  • Records all relevant account details in the CRM software (Salesforce).
• 40% Strategy Execution
  • In partnership with top retailer sellers, executes by using tools such as the Account Plan, Farmer by Farmer (FxF) Plan, and ACRE sprints. Measures and monitors progress against plans.
  • Owns and is accountable for the FxF Plan and for digital and services adoption by retailer sellers.
  • Coaches and communicates at the farm-gate level the total acre value proposition to the top 1,000 retailer sellers including brand ladder, partnered and proprietary brand strategies, programs, pricing, services, and digital technology and platforms.
  • Supports the retail seller in Answer Plot and post-harvest meetings.
  • Coordinates with local manufacturer representatives.
  • Implements Account Plan with retail sellers.
  • Manages discretionary and insight trial seed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture or business-related field of study from an accredited university plus 2 years of industry or direct sales experience; or an equivalent of 7 years of successful work experience in industry or direct sales.
• Ability to see the “big picture” of the organization and the farmer’s operation.
• Understands how the key drivers of the business relate to each other and work together to produce profitable growth.
• Proactive communicator with exceptional written, verbal, and formal presentation skills.
• Trustworthy with a strong level of personal commitment.
• Ability to coach and mentor others by suggesting improvements and leading change.
• Ability to make sound decisions and complete tasks in a fast-paced work environment.
• Ability to work independently and manage productivity.
• Experience demonstrating agility and leading/adapting quickly to change.
• Technical agriculture product / crop expertise and ability to develop and educate others on products, services, and programs.
• Ability to effectively manage projects.
• Solid experience using Microsoft products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); virtual collaboration tools (Teams, Zoom); and CRM software (Salesforce).
• Must have current and valid state driver’s license.

Requirements

• Travel up to 50%, including evenings and some weekends making direct farm-gate calls; may require working long hours during peak seasons.

Compensation

• This is a sales role that is compensated with a target mix of base salary plus commission.
• Base salary is dependent upon experience/tenure and generally ranges between: $81,200 - $121,800.
• Target bonus is: Thirty Thousand.
• In most cases, candidates offered employment can expect to be hired at a pay rate near the middle of our salary ranges.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, PTO, life & disability insurance, education assistance, a 401k and a variety of well-being resources for most full-time roles.
• Most part-time employees are eligible for prorated PTO, holiday pay, employee development programs, prorated education assistance, and a 401(k).