Territory Manager

Location: Chicago/Remote (travel-heavy field role)

Summary

The Regional Sales Manager / Territory Manager is responsible for maintaining and growing an existing book of business while aggressively developing new accounts within an assigned territory. This role focuses on building strong distributor relationships, driving case volume, and expanding product penetration across a large portfolio of frozen and dry food products. The Territory Manager serves as the primary point of contact for customers, acting as a trusted partner while delivering results against sales and growth targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and grow existing accounts within the assigned territory while consistently identifying and closing new business opportunities.
• Call on distributors and key customers regularly to build relationships, introduce new items, and share industry and market trends.
• Work primarily in the field (34 days per week) with one office/admin day focused on planning routes, scheduling appointments, and recapping activity.
• Manage a large product portfolio (1,5002,000 SKUs), developing a strong working knowledge of product lines, applications, and value propositions.
• Handle customer inquiries related to orders, pricing, delivery, credits, and issue resolution in partnership with inside sales and operations.
• Maintain accurate customer records, including pricing, promotions, and account updates in CRM and related systems.
• Prepare and submit regular sales reports and itineraries to management, detailing activities, opportunities, achievements, and challenges.
• Attend trade shows, industry events, supplier trainings, and internal sales meetings as required.
• Organize territory effectively, clustering appointments and optimizing travel to maximize time in front of customers.
• Consistently grow territory revenue and cases sold year over year, leveraging distributor relationships and end-user pull-through.
• Uphold a professional, collaborative working relationship with internal teams (inside sales, logistics, accounting, leadership) and external partners (distributors, brokers, manufacturers).

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of sales or account management experience, preferably in foodservice, redistribution, or related CPG/food industries.
• Demonstrated success working with distributors and managing a large product portfolio.
• Proven track record of territory growth, new account development, and deepening penetration within existing accounts.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to present to customers, distributors, and internal leadership.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word); experience with CRM tools is strongly preferred.
• Self-motivated, organized, and proactive, with strong follow-through and accountability.
• Comfortable working independently in a remote/field-based role.

Requirements

• Valid drivers license and vehicle insurance.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the territory (approximately 90% travel); includes regular overnights.
• Ability to travel to headquarters once per month for 23 days for meetings and trainings.
• Ability to work in a combination of office, remote, and field environments.
• Strong territory management skills able to plan routes, cluster calls, and maximize productivity on the road.