Strategic Seafood Sales Manager

SSC Inc. is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Strategic Seafood Sales Manager to lead the development of new national and strategic seafood programs with major retail, foodservice, distribution, and institutional customers. The successful candidate will have established experience within the seafood industry and a demonstrated ability to develop significant customer relationships and convert opportunities into recurring, high-volume business.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Bonus based on performance
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Competitive salary

SSC Inc. is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Strategic Seafood Sales Manager to lead the development of new national and strategic seafood programs with major retail, foodservice, distribution, and institutional customers.  Must live in or within commuting distance of Union City, CA, or Southern California.

SEAFOOD EXPERIENCE IS A MUST TO BE CONSIDERED

This is a senior-level hunter and business-development position focused on identifying, developing, negotiating, and securing large program-based seafood accounts.  The successful candidate will have established experience within the seafood industry and a demonstrated ability to develop significant customer relationships and convert opportunities into recurring, high-volume business.

This position is not intended to be primarily an account-maintenance or desk-based sales role.  The successful candidate will be expected to spend significant time in the field developing relationships, meeting customers, pursuing opportunities, and representing SSC, Inc. with major industry accounts.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES STRATEGIC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
Strategic Business Development
        Develop and execute a strategic sales plan focused on national and major regional program customers.
        Identify, prospect, and develop new business opportunities with major retail, foodservice, institutional, and distribution accounts.
        Pursue program-based sales opportunities with customers such as Kroger, US Foods, Sysco, and comparable national or regional organizations.
        Build relationships with key decision-makers, purchasing executives, category managers, seafood buyers, and other strategic stakeholders.
        Develop new customer relationships from initial prospecting through qualification, proposal, negotiation, implementation, and ongoing program development.
        Maintain an active pipeline of qualified strategic opportunities.

Program Sales
        Develop and secure recurring seafood programs rather than relying primarily on transactional sales.
        Understand customer requirements and develop commercially viable seafood programs tailored to customer needs.
        Work closely with internal operations, purchasing, quality, logistics, and management teams to ensure successful implementation of customer programs.
        Negotiate pricing, volume, specifications, terms, and other commercial requirements within company guidelines.
        Monitor program performance and identify opportunities to expand volume, product offerings, and customer relationships.

Revenue Development
        Work toward the development of 1–2 significant program customers within the first 12 months.
        Target approximately $2 million in monthly sales associated with developed program business, subject to customer implementation schedules and business conditions.
        Establish measurable sales objectives and provide regular pipeline and revenue forecasts to management.
        Continuously identify opportunities to increase customer penetration and recurring revenue.

Customer & Industry Relationships
        Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior-level customer contacts.
        Represent SSC, Inc. professionally at customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, and other business-development activities.
        Monitor seafood market conditions, customer trends, competitive activity, pricing, and product opportunities.
        Maintain a strong understanding of seafood products, specifications, sourcing, quality, pricing, and market dynamics.

Field Sales & Travel
        Maintain a highly active, customer-facing sales schedule.
        Conduct customer visits and in-person meetings based on business needs.
        Travel as reasonably required to support customer development and strategic opportunities.
        Participate in approximately 1–2 industry events or trade shows annually, in addition to customer-specific travel.

Required Qualifications
        Demonstrated professional experience in the seafood industry is required.
        Proven success in seafood sales, preferably involving large retail, foodservice, institutional, distributor, or national-account customers.
        Demonstrated experience developing new business and securing significant customer programs.
        Strong hunter mentality with a history of prospecting, opening doors, and converting new opportunities into revenue.
        Established relationships within the seafood industry and/or with major foodservice, retail, distribution, or institutional buyers strongly preferred.
        Experience with program-based or contract-based sales preferred.
        Strong understanding of seafood products, pricing, specifications, sourcing, and customer requirements.
        Excellent negotiation, presentation, communication, and relationship-management skills.
        Ability to independently manage a sales pipeline and prioritize high-value opportunities.
        Willingness and ability to travel based on customer and business requirements.
        Strong business judgment and ability to work collaboratively with management and internal teams.

Preferred Qualifications
        Existing relationships with buyers or decision-makers at Kroger, Sysco, US Foods, or similar major accounts.
        Experience selling seafood programs at significant volume.
        Experience managing national or multi-location customers.
        Demonstrated history of generating substantial recurring revenue through new customer acquisition.
        Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, food industry management, or a related field is preferred but may be substituted by substantial relevant industry experience.

Performance Expectations

The successful candidate will be expected to:
    1.    Establish a qualified pipeline of strategic seafood opportunities.
    2.    Develop strong relationships with major prospective customers.
    3.    Secure 1–2 significant program customers within the first 12 months, subject to customer procurement cycles and implementation timelines.
    4.    Work toward approximately $2 million in monthly sales from developed program business.
    5.    Demonstrate consistent new-business development activity and measurable progress toward revenue objectives.
    6.    Build sustainable, recurring customer programs that contribute to the company’s long-term growth.

Core Competencies:

        Strategic sales development
        New-business acquisition
        Seafood industry expertise
        National account development
        Program/contract sales
        Consultative selling
        Negotiation
        Customer relationship development
        Pipeline management
        Revenue generation
        Market knowledge
        Field sales execution
        Accountability and initiative
 
Knowledge and Skill:


Minimum of three years in the food industry
Minimum of three years of experience directly managing a sales team
Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams)
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)
Versatility, flexibility, and a willingness to work within constantly changing priorities and workflow with enthusiasm
Acute attention to detail and multitasking
Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills
Excellent customer service skills
Ability to understand and follow written and verbal instructions
Professional appearance and demeanor
Willingness to work some evenings and weekends as needed
Excellent interpersonal skills and commitment to working with cross-functional teams
 
Preferred:


Experience leading a specialty meat and seafood sales force
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a related field
Bilingual is a plus
 
Physical Demands:


Flexibility to adapt to all situations and work varied hours; possible work weekends and/or evenings.

Compensation:

Base Salary: Approximately $120,000–$150,000 per year depending on experience.
Additional commission incentive compensation may be provided based on company policy, individual performance, and achievement of sales objectives.

Flexible work from home options available.