Director of Sales
Fortune International | Job Description
Reports to: Vice President of Sales
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position SummaryFortune International is seeking a hands-on Director of Sales to develop and lead a high-performing sales team within our seafood, meat, poultry, and specialty food distribution business.
The primary focus of this role is strengthening the skills, confidence, and effectiveness of our sales consultants through field coaching, structured training, and consistent accountability. The Director of Sales will help the team build customer relationships, identify opportunities, communicate product value, and convert those opportunities into profitable growth.
Working closely with the Vice President of Sales, this leader will translate market objectives into individual development plans and measurable sales results while promoting teamwork and exceptional customer service.
Key ResponsibilitiesSales Team Coaching and Development- Conduct regular field visits and joint customer calls to observe selling skills, provide actionable feedback, and reinforce effective sales behaviors.
- Lead weekly one-on-one meetings focused on skill development, account strategy, prospect progress, and performance against goals.
- Create individual development plans that address each consultant’s strengths, skill gaps, and career goals.
- Train consultants in prospecting, discovery, product presentations, objection handling, negotiation, closing, and follow-through.
- Build the team’s ability to sell on quality, consistency, service, and customer value.
- Partner with buyers, product specialists, and suppliers to strengthen knowledge of seafood, meat, poultry, and specialty foods, including product applications, seasonality, sourcing, and substitutions.
- Develop a structured onboarding process with clear training milestones and expectations for new sales consultants.
- Foster a culture of continuous learning, shared best practices, and personal accountability.
- Coach consultants to build account plans that increase product penetration, order frequency, and customer retention.
- Help the team identify gaps in customer menus and purchasing patterns and recommend relevant products across categories.
- Establish a consistent process for recovering declining accounts, including identifying root causes, defining next steps, and tracking results.
- Guide prospecting efforts toward customers that align with the company’s product strengths, service capabilities, and geographic coverage.
- Participate in key customer meetings to support the consultant’s development and advance opportunities.
- Support proposals, product trials, and RFP responses in partnership with internal teams.
- Train consultants to explain pricing, communicate cost increases, and manage customer objections confidently.
- Ensure consistent use of pricing tools and timely weekly price adjustments.
- Coach consultants on how product mix, order size, and delivery frequency affect, and account profitability.
- Help the team grow revenue while achieving margin goals and service expectations.
- Translate market revenue and profitability goals into clear individual targets and weekly priorities.
- Use sales reports to identify coaching needs and opportunities in new business, declining accounts, category growth, and customer profitability.
- Maintain disciplined prospect pipeline reviews, with clear ownership, next steps, and realistic sales forecasts.
- Evaluate both business results and the selling behaviors that drive sustainable performance.
- Recognize strong performance and address gaps through timely feedback, targeted coaching, and documented improvement plans.
- Reinforce adoption of CRM, reporting, pricing, and digital ordering tools to improve customer engagement and sales productivity.
- Partner with purchasing, operations, transportation, customer service, and credit teams to deliver a consistent customer experience.
- Help consultants understand product availability, lead times, special-order requirements, and delivery capabilities so they set accurate customer expectations.
- Share customer feedback, competitive insights, and emerging product needs with internal teams.
- Recruit, select, and retain sales talent that strengthens the team’s capabilities and supports market growth.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Five to seven years of progressive sales experience, including experience managing and developing a sales team.
- Experience in seafood, meat, poultry, specialty foods, or foodservice distribution strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success improving sales performance through coaching, training, and individual development.
- Strong understanding of restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice purchasing needs.
- Ability to translate product knowledge into customer-focused selling strategies.
- Strong communication, presentation, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to interpret sales and profitability data and turn findings into practical coaching actions.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience using CRM, sales reporting, and pricing tools.
- Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
- Ability to travel within the market for customer visits, field coaching, and team development.
- Demonstrated improvement in sales consultant skills and productivity.
- Successful onboarding and development of new sales talent.
- Achievement of revenue and gross profit goals.
- Growth in new customers and sales within existing accounts.
- Improved customer retention and recovery of declining business.
- Consistent execution of sales processes and adoption of company tools.
Fortune Fish & Gourmet is an equal opportunity employer.
Our Mission is to elevate meals and lives by uniting unmatched product quality and selection with responsible sourcing, faithful stewardship, and unparalleled commitment to our customers’ and team members’ success.
Our Vision is a world in which we can all:
Do good. Be great. Scale excellence.
Skills Required
- Five to seven years of progressive sales experience
- Experience managing and developing a sales team
- Experience in seafood, meat, poultry, specialty foods, or foodservice distribution
- Demonstrated success improving sales performance through coaching, training, and individual development
- Strong understanding of restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice purchasing needs
- Ability to translate product knowledge into customer-focused selling strategies
- Strong communication, presentation, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills
- Ability to interpret sales and profitability data and turn findings into practical coaching actions
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience using CRM, sales reporting, and pricing tools
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
- Ability to travel within the market for customer visits, field coaching, and team development
What We Do
Fortune International, operating through Fortune Fish & Gourmet, is a seafood processor and specialty-food distributor serving restaurants, hotels, country clubs, and grocers. It processes and distributes fresh and frozen seafood, gourmet foods, and related specialty products through facilities across the United States. The business also offers gourmet-food and fulfillment operations, serving customers with products selected for quality while emphasizing sustainability and customer service.
