District Sales Manager in San Diego, California at Jensen Meat Company Inc

Overview

Jensen Meat Company is seeking a District Sales Manager to grow our foodservice business through Sysco San Diego and other assigned distributor partners in the assigned territory, including the operators they serve. This field-based role owns territory development, distributor relationships, and direct operator selling to drive incremental pounds and expand Jensen distribution.

The District Sales Manager partners with assigned distributor sales teams while calling directly on existing and prospective operators. Success means retaining current business, converting new accounts, expanding Jensen SKU placements, and increasing pounds across assigned distributor partners and their operator customers.

Primary Responsibilities

Distributor and Operator Relationships

• Build strong working relationships with Sysco San Diego and other assigned distributor partners, including sales leadership, sales consultants, category and merchandising teams, through regular field visits and joint calls.
• Develop relationships with foodservice operators served by assigned distributor partners; understand their menus, product needs, purchasing patterns, and growth plans.
• Provide timely follow-up to distributor and operator requests, including product questions, samples, service concerns, and opportunities.

Territory and Pound Growth

Develop and execute an assigned territory plan with specific incremental-pound targets, priority distributor partners and operators, SKU opportunities, and follow-up dates.

• Win new operator placements and competitive conversions; grow existing accounts through additional Jensen products, higher volume, and expanded locations.
• Lead operator visits, joint sales calls, product sampling, demonstrations, and presentations; document outcomes and next steps.
• Prepare pricing requests and proposals within approved guidelines; obtain required approvals before making commitments.

Internal Coordination

• Partner with Operations, Quality Assurance, Product Development, Logistics, and Customer Service to support distributor and operator needs.
• Communicate anticipated pound demand, new placements, promotions, and product requirements to support production and inventory planning.
• Resolve delivery, quality, product availability, or service issues promptly with assigned distributors, operators, and internal teams.

Sales Planning and Reporting

• Maintain accurate distributor and operator contacts, prospect opportunities, expected incremental pounds, meeting notes, and next steps in CRM.
• Use available distributor sales/POS data to monitor territory pounds, account trends, SKU penetration, sales performance, and opportunities.
• Provide concise weekly activity updates and regular territory reviews covering new wins, risks, growth opportunities, and action plans.
• Follow company sales, expense, confidentiality, and customer commitment policies; perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

Proven field sales or territory management experience growing foodservice business; Sysco or other broadline distributor experience strongly preferred. Ground beef, protein, or food manufacturing experience preferred.

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or a related field preferred, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

Knowledge and Skills

Strong distributor and operator relationship-building, prospecting, consultative selling, presentation, and negotiation skills.

• Ability to convert prospects into active operator placements and execute practical territory growth plans.
• Ability to analyze pound trends, distributor sales/POS reports, pricing, product mix, and margins.
• Strong organization and problem-solving skills, with the ability to coordinate across departments and manage competing priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel, and CRM or similar customer tracking tools.

Travel and Work Environment

Regular field travel throughout the assigned territory for distributor and operator calls, product demonstrations, and customer meetings is required. The role also includes office work and occasional production or warehouse visits requiring compliance with company safety, food safety, and personal protective equipment requirements. Essential functions may be performed with or without reasonable accommodation.

Measures of Success

Performance will be evaluated on year-over-year and incremental pound growth, new active operator wins, competitive conversions, additional SKU placements, customer retention, profitability, forecast accuracy, and consistent field and CRM execution.