Sales and Marketing Account Manager

Job Description:\n\nBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & ACCOUNT MANAGERSQF Food Manufacturing\nDepartment: Sales / Business DevelopmentReports To: [Director of Sales / Operations Director]Position Type: Full-TimeLocation: Carolina CoPacking, LLCPOSITION SUMMARY\nThe Business Development & Account Manager is responsible for driving profitable revenue growth through the development of new customer relationships, expansion of existing accounts, and strategic management of key customer partnerships.\nThis position combines business development, sales, account management, customer relationship management, and commercial strategy within an SQF-certified food manufacturing environment.

The individual will be responsible for identifying and pursuing new business opportunities, developing qualified leads into customers, expanding existing accounts, and ensuring customers receive exceptional service throughout the relationship.\This individual must be able to prospect, build relationships, understand customer needs, develop solutions, negotiate commercial terms, close business, and maintain strong customer relationships after the sale.\nA strong understanding of food manufacturing, CPG, co-manufacturing/co-packing, product development, supply chain, production capabilities, food safety, SQF requirements, pricing, and manufacturing economics is highly important to the success of this position.\nThe Business Development & Account Manager serves as a critical link between the customer and internal teams, including Operations, Production, Food Science, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Finance, Supply Chain, and Customer Success.\BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & NEW CUSTOMER ACQUISITION\n\n Develop and execute a proactive business development strategy focused on generating new revenue.\n Identify, research, qualify, and pursue prospective customers within the food, CPG, retail, restaurant, and related industries.\n Build and maintain an active sales pipeline using HubSpot or other company-approved CRM systems.\n Conduct consistent outbound prospecting through phone calls, email, networking, referrals, industry events, LinkedIn, and other appropriate channels.\n Develop relationships with decision-makers, including owners, executives, purchasing teams, R&D, operations, supply chain, and procurement professionals.\n Develop target-account lists and establish a structured approach for pursuing high-value opportunities.\n Convert qualified leads into customer opportunities and move opportunities consistently through the sales process.\n Develop creative solutions when customer requirements do not initially align with current manufacturing capabilities.\n Maintain a strong pipeline sufficient to support company revenue goals.\REVENUE & SALES GROWTH\n\n Meet or exceed established sales and revenue targets.\n Develop strategies to increase revenue from existing customers.\n Identify opportunities for upselling, cross-selling, additional products, new SKUs, additional production runs, packaging services, and other company capabilities.\n Analyze customer spending and purchasing patterns to identify growth opportunities.\n Develop account-specific revenue growth plans.\n Understand customer profitability and work with leadership to ensure opportunities support company margin objectives.\n Understand manufacturing costs, capacity, minimum order quantities, lead times, labor requirements, materials, packaging, and other factors that impact pricing and profitability.\n Negotiate pricing and commercial terms within company-approved guidelines.\ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT & CUSTOMER RETENTION\n\n Serve as a primary point of contact for assigned customers.\n Build strong, long-term relationships with customers and key decision-makers.\n Conduct regular customer meetings to review performance, satisfaction, upcoming needs, and opportunities for growth.\n Maintain a clear understanding of each customer's business, products, challenges, goals, and future plans.\n Proactively identify potential customer concerns before they become larger issues.\n Manage customer expectations regarding pricing, lead times, production capabilities, product specifications, and delivery schedules.\n Resolve customer issues quickly and professionally while protecting the company's business interests.\n Maintain consistent communication and follow-through on customer commitments.\n Develop strategies to retain key accounts and increase customer lifetime value.\CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS & COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT\n\n Work with customers to understand product concepts, specifications, production requirements, packaging requirements, volumes, target costs, and launch timelines.\n Determine whether prospective projects align with company capabilities, capacity, food safety requirements, and financial objectives.\n Coordinate with Food Science and Operations on new product opportunities and manufacturing feasibility.\n Assist customers in developing practical manufacturing solutions.\n Coordinate customer requests for samples, product development, specifications, pricing, and production timelines.\n Prepare proposals, presentations, pricing information, and other customer-facing materials.\n Present solutions based on customer needs rather than simply selling individual products or services.\INTERNAL CROSS-FUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIP\n\n Serve as the communication bridge between customers and internal departments.\n Coordinate with Operations, Production, Food Science, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Finance, and Supply Chain to ensure customer requirements can be successfully executed.\n Communicate customer requirements accurately and completely to internal teams.\n Ensure customer commitments are realistic and aligned with manufacturing capabilities.\n Participate in new customer onboarding and new product launch meetings.\n Escalate customer, production, quality, pricing, or delivery issues when necessary.\n Maintain accountability for customer commitments and follow through until issues are resolved.\n Help prevent miscommunication between customers and internal departments.\ORDER MANAGEMENT & CUSTOMER FULFILLMENT\n\n Monitor customer orders from receipt through production and shipment.\n Work with internal teams to identify potential delays or issues that could affect customer commitments.\n Communicate changes to customers promptly and professionally.\n Ensure customer specifications, purchase orders, pricing, and other requirements are accurately communicated and documented.\n Support resolution of customer complaints and service issues in coordination with Quality Assurance and Operations.\n Maintain accurate customer information and documentation within HubSpot and applicable company systems.\SQF, FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY AWARENESS\nThe Business Development & Account Manager must understand that customer commitments cannot compromise food safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, or SQF requirements.\n\n Maintain a working knowledge of SQF, GMPs, HACCP principles, allergen controls, traceability, sanitation, and applicable food safety requirements.\n Understand how food safety and quality requirements affect customer projects and manufacturing decisions.\n Communicate customer specifications and food safety requirements accurately to internal teams.\n Never make customer commitments that conflict with established food safety, quality, regulatory, or SQF requirements.\n Work with Quality Assurance and Food Science when customer requirements require technical review or approval.\n Ensure customer expectations are aligned with approved specifications and manufacturing capabilities.\n Participate in customer audits, visits, and SQF-related activities as assigned.\n Support the company's food safety culture by reinforcing the principle that food safety and product quality cannot be compromised for sales or customer demands.\SALES PIPELINE, CRM & FORECASTING\n\n Maintain accurate and current customer and prospect information in HubSpot.\n Track leads, opportunities, proposals, customer communications, follow-ups, and sales activity.\n Maintain accurate sales stages and expected close dates.\n Develop reliable sales forecasts based on actual pipeline activity and customer commitments.\n Provide regular updates regarding pipeline health, major opportunities, risks, and expected revenue.\n Analyze sales activity and conversion rates to improve business development effectiveness.\MARKET & COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE\n\n Monitor food manufacturing, CPG, co-manufacturing, co-packing, packaging, and market trends.\n Identify emerging customer needs and potential new markets.\n Identify opportunities for the company to expand its services or target new customer segments.\n Bring market intelligence and customer feedback to company leadership.\n Identify potential strategic partnerships and business development opportunities.\CUSTOMER VISITS & INDUSTRY REPRESENTATION\n\n Conduct customer visits and facility tours.\n Host prospective customers at the company's manufacturing facility.\n Represent the company professionally at trade shows, industry events, networking events, and customer meetings.\n Prepare for customer meetings by understanding the customer's business, products, challenges, and potential opportunities.\n\n \nSKILLS & COMPETENCIESRequired Qualifications\n\n Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred.\n 3–5+ years of experience in business development, sales, account management, customer success, or commercial development.\n Experience in food manufacturing, CPG, co-manufacturing, co-packing, private label, or a related industry strongly preferred.\n Proven record of generating new business and achieving or exceeding sales goals.\n Demonstrated experience managing a sales pipeline from prospecting through close.\n Experience managing and growing key customer accounts.\n Ability to create urgency and maintain momentum throughout the sales cycle.\n Strong commercial judgment and understanding of revenue and profitability.\n Ability to recognize opportunities where others may see only customer problems.\nFood Manufacturing Knowledge\n\n Understanding of food manufacturing and production processes.\n Understanding of CPG and customer supply chains.\n Ability to understand product specifications, production requirements, packaging, ingredients, and manufacturing limitations.\n Working knowledge of SQF, GMPs, HACCP, food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.\nTechnology & Analytical Skills\n\n Proficient in HubSpot CRM or comparable CRM software.\n Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.\n Ability to analyze sales, customer, pricing, and account-performance data.\n Ability to use data to make informed business decisions.\n Customer-focused while maintaining strong business judgment.\n Highly organized and able to manage multiple opportunities simultaneously.\n Comfortable having difficult conversations and managing customer expectations.\n Confident communicating with customers, executives, production employees, and technical personnel.\n\n \nKEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS\nSuccess in this position will be measured through both new business development and account growth, including:\n New customer opportunities created.\n New customers acquired.\n Sales pipeline value and pipeline growth.\n Lead-to-opportunity and opportunity-to-customer conversion rates.\n Revenue growth from existing accounts.\n Customer retention.\n Customer profitability and margin performance.\n Sales forecast accuracy.\n Customer satisfaction.\n Timeliness of customer follow-up.\n CRM accuracy and utilization.\n Successful new product/customer launches.\n Strategic account growth.\n\n \nWORK ENVIRONMENT\n\n Fast-paced food manufacturing environment requiring frequent interaction with production and operational teams.\n Regular customer interaction by phone, email, video conference, and in person.\n Ability to visit customer locations and manufacturing facilities.\n Occasional travel for customer meetings, trade shows, industry events, and business development activities.\n Must be comfortable working in and around food manufacturing environments and following all required GMP, PPE, safety, and food safety requirements.\n\n \nADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS\n\n Occasional travel to customer locations, industry events, trade shows, and other company locations.\n Ability to host and participate in customer facility visits.\n Ability to work flexible hours when customer or business needs require.\n Must maintain confidentiality regarding customer information, pricing, recipes, specifications, and company business information.\n\n \nLEADERSHIP & BUSINESS EXPECTATIONS\nThe Business Development & Account Manager is expected to own the commercial relationship with assigned customers and prospects.\