Sales and Customer Success Manager
The King Milling Company was founded in 1890 on the banks of the Flat River in Lowell, Michigan. The company has been family owned and operated from the beginning and is now in the fourth and fifth generations of Doyle family ownership. King Milling offers a variety of hard and soft wheat products, sourced and processed in accordance with the food industry’s highest health and safety standards. We pride ourselves on unparalleled customer service focused on your specific needs.
The Opportunity: Sales Manager
The Sales and Customer Success Manager plays a pivotal role in maintaining and cultivating strong, trust-based relationships with customers that lead to sustainable, profitable growth for King Milling Company. This role is a strategic partner to customers by:
o deeply understanding customer needs
o proactively addressing challenges
o managing risk, negotiating pricing
o and identifying new business opportunities that align with the company’s long-term vision.
Success in this role requires consistently modeling King Milling’s core values:
o Take Ownership
o Humble Confidence
o Get it Done
o Positive Attitude
Demonstrating personal accountability, collaborating effectively across teams, and navigating complex customer relationships with clarity, integrity, and a focus on practical solutions are core competencies for the role.
The Sales and Customer Success Manager role has responsibility for nurturing, maintaining and developing relationships with customers and providing on-going partnership, responsiveness, education and support. The Sales and Customer Success Manager focuses on providing exceptional service to the Company’s valued customers, and has full accountability for managing revenue targets and expense budgets in addition to cultivating relationships with customers ensuring King Milling is their flour provider of choice.
Key Performance Measures/Deliverables:
Customer Relationship and Market Development:
· Develop & maintain positive customer relationships; travel to meet with key customers annually. Respond to customer calls/emails daily.
· Develop sales action plans and call strategies to maintain ongoing business with current accounts.
· Within customer base, build a culture of responsiveness and knowledge sharing.
· Apply working knowledge of strategic selling skills to drive new market potential.
· Evaluate opportunities and successfully implement strategies to increase market share.
· Participate in national conferences and trade shows to build relationships and drive business retention and development.
Pricing, Margin and Credit Management:
· Optimize pricing through rigorous attention to current and projected pricing models.
· Manage pricing risk through proper hedging
· Share recommendations for price adjustments based on market trends.
· Track customer contracts’ expirations, and analyze options for renewal negotiations.
· Monthly credit risk review and collections status.
· Monitor wheat futures markets using DTN software, and tracking basis levels and cash prices.
Distribution, Logistics and Supply Coordination:
· Ensure reliable supply, order fulfillment, and coordination between mill operations, logistics, and customers.
· Respond to broker inquiries, negotiate pricing and payment terms.
· Partner with logistics team members to coordinate customer order fulfillment.
· Manage customer concerns or complaints relative to deliveries, timing, and quality.
· Create demand forecasts and coordinate with mill and production teams.
· Escalate issues for supply interruptions.
Compliance and Brand Stewardship
· Comply with food safety, labeling and documentation standards.
· Promote the King Milling/King Flour brand reputation.
· Ensure uniformity of marketing materials, trade show presence, and venues where brand representation is present.
The Qualified Candidate
King Milling seeks a customer-focused candidate with a minimum of 5-7 years of proven sales or logistics experience. Prior experience in the baking or milling industry is desirable. The selected candidate will be responsive by nature, customer-oriented, collaborative, have great credibility and proven success in creating successful partnerships.
Specific requirements include:
· Bachelor’s degree with major course work in a related field, OR the equivalent education and professional experience
· Experience working with a CRM
o Data analysis
o Sales forecasting
· Personal competencies:
o Relationship and trust building skills
o Highly credible with personal integrity
o Active listener and clear communicator
o Naturally curious and a lifelong learner
o Proactive and highly responsive
o Solution-oriented/Identifies new opportunities
o Results and goal oriented
o Excellent communication skills
o Detailed oriented, ensuring protocols and processes are followed
· Team player:
o Strong business and work ethic
o Proactive self-starter
o Genuine interest in supporting fellow team members to achieve success
o Willing to ask questions and seek out the acquired expertise of others as needed
This position is an in-office role based in Lowell, Michigan, and offers a competitive salary and benefits package. Travel for this position is approximated at 15-25% of working time.