Sales Manager

Premier Packaging provides innovative packaging solutions through a combination of curiosity, drive, and a culture that embraces an entrepreneurial spirit. We are responsive to our customers’ needs, responsible to one another and the environment, and improve our processes to deliver quality products. We ask ‘Why’ so we can deliver the ‘How’.

The Sales Manager is responsible for driving profitable sales growth and providing leadership to the sales function within an assigned geographic region. This position develops and executes regional sales strategies, identifies and secures new business opportunities, strengthens relationships with key customers, and leads and develops a team of Sales Representatives.

In this role you will be a key strategic partner between customers, Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Customer Service, and other internal functions. This role is responsible for ensuring regional sales activities align with Premier Packaging's overall business objectives while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction, profitability, accountability, and sustainable growth. The Sales Manager reports directly to the VP of Regional Sales and is considered a part of the Premier Packaging Leadership team.

At Premier, leadership is the ability to effectively provide direction and support, inspire, motivate, and recognize others, as our biggest asset is our people. In this leadership role, you are responsible for guiding the Customer Service team towards achieving our mission while maintaining a positive environment and exemplifying our values.  

Key Responsibilities:

Regional Sales Strategy & Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive sales strategy for the assigned region that supports company revenue, margin, and growth objectives.
• Identify new markets, customers, products, and opportunities for profitable growth within the region.
• Establish regional sales goals and translate broader company objectives into actionable plans for the sales team.
• Maintain a strong understanding of market conditions, customer needs, competitor activity, pricing trends, and industry developments.
• Evaluate the regional customer portfolio and identify opportunities to expand existing business, diversify the customer base, and improve overall account profitability.
• Partner with senior sales leadership to develop annual sales plans, forecasts, budgets, and strategic priorities.

Business Development

• Maintain an active role in prospecting and new business development through networking, referrals, cold outreach, industry relationships, and other lead-generation activities.
• Develop and maintain a healthy pipeline of qualified opportunities throughout the region.
• Support Sales Representatives in developing prospecting strategies and advancing complex or high-value opportunities.
• Participate directly in strategic customer presentations, negotiations, proposals, and new-business opportunities when appropriate.
• Ensure leads and referrals are assigned, pursued, and followed through in an organized and timely manner.
• Balance new-business development with the expansion and retention of existing customer relationships.

Sales Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable Sales Representatives within the assigned region.
• Establish clear expectations regarding prospecting activity, pipeline development, customer engagement, sales performance, CRM utilization, forecasting, and account management.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings and sales reviews with team members to assess performance, opportunities, challenges, and development needs.
• Provide coaching and field support to improve prospecting, relationship management, negotiation, presentation, and closing capabilities.
• Identify performance gaps and partner with Human Resources and sales leadership to establish appropriate coaching or performance improvement measures.
• Participate in the recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, and development of Sales Representatives.
• Build bench strength and support succession planning for key sales positions.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, customer-focused sales culture aligned with Premier Packaging's values and business objectives.

Customer Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain strong executive-level relationships with key and strategic customers throughout the region.
• Serve as an escalation point for significant customer concerns and coordinate appropriate internal resources to drive timely resolution.
• Partner with Sales Representatives to develop account strategies for key customers, including retention, organic growth, profitability, and risk mitigation.
• Prepare and participate in Quarterly Business Reviews and other strategic customer meetings as appropriate.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of Premier Packaging's products, capabilities, services, and value proposition to effectively identify solutions that address customer needs.
• Ensure customer commitments are communicated effectively to internal partners and appropriately aligned with operational capabilities.

Sales Performance, Pipeline & Forecasting

• Monitor regional sales performance against established revenue, margin, volume, retention, and new-business objectives.
• Maintain visibility into the regional sales pipeline and ensure opportunities are accurately documented and progressed through the sales process.
• Provide timely and accurate sales forecasts, pipeline reports, prospect updates, and other reporting requested by senior leadership.
• Analyze sales trends and performance data to identify risks, opportunities, and areas requiring corrective action.
• Hold Sales Representatives accountable for maintaining accurate and current customer and opportunity information within the company's CRM and other designated systems.
• Develop action plans when regional or individual performance falls below expectations.

Profitability & Commercial Management

• Promote profitable growth by considering pricing, margins, freight, inventory requirements, operational complexity, customer terms, and other commercial factors when pursuing business.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, and sales leadership on pricing strategies and significant customer proposals.
• Monitor account profitability and identify opportunities to improve margins or address unprofitable business.
• Support pricing reviews and customer negotiations as necessary.
• Ensure appropriate approvals are obtained for pricing, contractual commitments, customer programs, and other commercial arrangements.

Inventory & Accounts Receivable Support

• Partner with Sales Representatives, Operations, and customers to monitor customer-specific and aged inventory and support established inventory-turn expectations.
• Develop corrective action plans for slow-moving, obsolete, or at-risk customer inventory when necessary.
• Support Finance and Accounting with customer collection efforts when commercial relationships or sales involvement can assist in resolving outstanding balances.
• Work proactively with customers and internal partners to identify and resolve issues that may contribute to delayed payments.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Maintain consistent communication and partnership with Operations, Manufacturing, Customer Service, Finance, Design, Estimating, Planning, and other internal teams.
• Represent the voice of the customer while balancing customer expectations with Premier Packaging's operational capabilities and business objectives.
• Participate in regional and company leadership meetings and communicate relevant sales priorities, customer developments, risks, and opportunities.
• Support successful onboarding and implementation of new business by ensuring clear communication of customer specifications, expectations, timelines, and commercial commitments.
• Collaborate with operational leadership to resolve service issues and identify opportunities to strengthen the overall customer experience.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Associate's degree or equivalent college coursework required; bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent combinations of education and relevant professional experience may be considered.

Experience

• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive industrial, manufacturing, packaging, or B2B sales experience.
• Previous experience leading, coaching, or managing a sales team strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing new business and growing existing customer relationships.
• Experience managing complex or strategic customer accounts preferred.
• Packaging, corrugated, paper, manufacturing, or related industry experience strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute sales strategies that drive profitable growth.
• Strong leadership, coaching, performance management, and team-development capabilities.
• Proven ability to prospect, develop relationships, negotiate, and close new business.
• Ability to operate effectively as both a strategic leader and hands-on sales professional.
• Strong business and financial acumen, including an understanding of pricing, margins, profitability, forecasting, and commercial decision-making.
• Exceptional relationship-building and customer-service skills.
• Strong organizational and project-management capabilities with excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal, written, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and employees at all organizational levels, including senior executives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, customers, projects, and deadlines simultaneously.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Experience utilizing CRM systems to manage customer relationships, opportunities, pipeline activity, and forecasting.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly throughout the assigned region and to customer and company locations as business needs require.

Leadership Competencies

• Growth-Oriented: Consistently identifies opportunities to expand Premier Packaging's customer base, revenue, market presence, and profitability.
• Strategic: Understands the broader business and translates company objectives into clear regional sales priorities and actionable plans.
• Accountable: Establishes clear expectations, follows through on commitments, and holds themselves and the sales team responsible for results.
• Customer-Focused: Develops a deep understanding of customers' businesses, challenges, and objectives and positions Premier Packaging as a long-term strategic partner.
• Commercially Minded: Balances revenue growth with profitability, operational capabilities, inventory exposure, customer credit, and long-term business value.
• Developer of People: Coaches, challenges, and supports Sales Representatives to strengthen individual performance and overall team capability.
• Collaborative: Builds strong partnerships across Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Customer Service, Finance, and other functions to deliver successful customer outcomes.
• Hunter & Farmer: Demonstrates the ability to aggressively pursue new opportunities while cultivating and expanding long-term customer relationships.
• Connected: Builds and leverages a strong professional network to identify opportunities and strengthen Premier Packaging's presence in the market.

Work Environment & Travel

• This position operates in a combination of professional office, customer, manufacturing, warehouse, and travel environments. The Regional Sales Manager may regularly visit customer facilities and Premier Packaging manufacturing and distribution locations and must comply with all applicable safety requirements while on-site.
• Regular regional travel is required, with occasional overnight travel based on customer, team, and business needs.

Additional Expectations

The Regional Sales Manager is expected to represent Premier Packaging professionally and ethically in all customer and business interactions. This position requires sound judgment, discretion, initiative, and the ability to make decisions consistent with company values, policies, commercial objectives, and long-term customer relationships.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, qualifications, or working conditions. Responsibilities may be modified based on business needs.