Sales Executive

Position Summary

The Sales Executive identifies, qualifies, and develops prospective wholesale customers across a variety of business channels to onboard and support new wholesale customers and grow the designated territory. The position requires strong sales and business experience and a broad understanding of the food and beverage industry.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Responsible for the overall growth and development of the assigned territory.
• Provide consultation for new wholesale/foodservice customers, including recommendations for appropriate beverage equipment, with confidence and expertise.
• Collaborate and leverage the full Intelligentsia Los Angeles team across the roasting works, wholesale training lab, and sales office.
• Manage the entire onboarding process of new wholesale customers and provide sales support for up to 12 months after their initial purchase.
• Qualify all incoming sales leads for wholesale coffee, tea, and related merchandise. Effectively utilize the available team support across Finance, Marketing, Operations, Technical Service, and Training to service customers.
• Conduct sales prospecting and lead management activities within assigned territory to identify and qualify new business opportunities.
• Utilize Intelligentsia's sales process, sales methodology, and CRM tools to conduct daily business activities.
• Produce sales pipeline reports, perform sales forecasting, and work with management to refine and execute sales strategy for the territory.
• Participate in events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

Education and/or Experience:

Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of 2-4 years of B2B sales experience as an individual contributor required. Experience in the specialty coffee industry and/or foodservice or hospitality industry is highly preferred.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Knowledge of the geography of the designated territory and business channels preferred.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Experience with MS Excel/Word.
• Ability to manage time and schedule effectively.
• Familiar with sales prospecting methods and tools, including cold calling, presentations, drafting proposals, networking, etc.
• A flexible schedule to include periodic travel, weekends, participation in events, and after-hours work.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, and a strong desire to nurture new wholesale customers.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to effectively communicate Intelligentsia's mission and core values.
• Basic technical aptitude and a desire to learn about a variety of coffee equipment.
• Valid driver's license and clean driving record.
• Desire to be part of an industry-leading team of educators, customer support staff, and baristas.
• Formal sales training from a professional sales training organization such as: CustomerCentric Selling, Strategic Selling, Solution Selling, SPIN selling, Challenger Sale, Richardson, Sandler, or formal sales training provided by a prior employer.
• Experience with marketing lead generation programs, business promotions, and marketing initiatives used with typical sales efforts.
• Experience recording customer and sales pipeline information into a CRM system. Knowledge of CRM as an individual contributor is preferred.
• Familiarity with social media tools (such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and online direct marketing a plus.
• Up to 75% travel within their assigned territory to conduct sales meetings, presentations, reviews, and other interactions with prospective and current wholesale coffee customers.

Company Description

Since 1995, Intelligentsia has grown from a single humble coffee bar with an in-house roaster on the North side of Chicago to a company of over two hundred and fifty coffee professionals, with coffee bars in the most influential culinary cities in the United States, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and roasting works in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Our work sourcing coffee in sixteen countries has inspired industry-changing models including Direct Trade, Micro-Lots, and In Season coffees. Our baristas have won more regional, national, and world championships than any other coffee company in the United States. In short, we are thrilled to welcome you to what is perhaps the most innovative and inspired coffee company anywhere.

Work location: Los Angeles, CA