Business Development Manager

About Us:

Vikan North America is an industry leader in professional cleaning and material handling tools. We have established brand recognition in the critical areas of hygiene and food safety, earning a reputation for excellence in customer service. Our core end-users cross over into multiple industries, including food processing, food safety, healthcare, and other regulated industries. Our strong history of consistent sales growth and our commitment to our employees makes Vikan North America an excellent place to work. Vikan North America is a company that has been around for more than 30 years. We take our commitment to our customers seriously, and we value the hard work of our employees and care about your success as an individual, and we work as a team.

Purpose:

The Business Development Manager delivers sales growth by cultivating and maintaining key relationships with distributors and end users. The position is also responsible for implementing marketing initiatives, identifying new product opportunities, leveraging existing product lines, and developing ways to increase market share. This individual will manage their assigned territory, having the ultimate responsibility for its success, as part of a growing North America Business Development team.

The ideal candidate has a business development and sales background with excellent technical, organizational, and communication skills. The duties will include but not be limited to creating and developing relationships with distributors, supporting end users in cooperation with distributors by leveraging food safety expertise, assessing and defining the market landscape, planning and presenting products applications and solutions in conjunction with the Vikan North America team on developing sales and marketing strategy.

We care about our employees, and it shows with the benefits and other rewards (including bonuses), but also with the daily interactions you get with employees and leaders who are dedicated to prompt customer service and employee happiness.

Responsibilities:

• Develops new prospects and interacts with existing customers to increase sales of Vikan North America product lines
• Manage and grow key distributor partnerships as a core driver of territory success
• Drive adoption of newly launched product lines within assigned territory
• Deliver territory sales growth based on specific territory KPIs and goals
• Support new product development ideas with product implementation phase & trials
• Develops relationships with customers, determines product needs, and sells the value of offerings
• Support and promote an understanding of key initiatives in alignment with Vikan North America’s strategy; and ensure appropriate focus of resources, priorities, and accountability
• Coordinate market research projects from planning through execution. Define targets, tactics, and key objectives
• Utilize the Sales Playbook process to assist in development of new and existing accounts with growth potential
• Provide reports reviewing competitive intelligence on market trends; competitor actions and changes in product or application technology; and the analysis and development of business cases
• Collect and analyze sales POS data to identify growth opportunities and serve as the expert for new business development and implementation, and as a key advisor to leadership team
• Work closely with the business unit sales leadership to identify sales support needs and business opportunities within the sales channel
• Communicate with internal colleagues on any special needs or requirements of the customer; ensure problem resolution and smooth flow of communication
• Strive to solve end user problems by assessing applications, maintaining product knowledge, learning new products, and applying food safety expertise to ensure optimal solutions
• Conduct field and customer research – be the “voice of the customer” within the organization
• Review existing tool program to sell a solution based on product benefits and features
• Strengthen relationships with focus accounts through direct support
• Drive product lifecycle management and competitive analysis
• Actively identify and attend appropriate local and national trade shows and events
• Continue to maintain and improve upon industry knowledge by attending seminars/webinars, participating in industry organizations, and completing internal hygiene training
• Manage all relationships and opportunities accurately and timely, utilizing CRM (Salesforce)

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• Experience identifying customer needs through research and present customer insights to support new product strategies and marketing programs
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Excel (formulas, pivot tables), Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Experience working with CRM platforms (Salesforce preferred) to manage accounts, pipeline, and reporting
• Experience in assisting in optimizing sales channel strategy in terms of lead generation, product requirements, and relevant customer benefits
• Experience identifying new opportunity areas within the key product categories and executing solutions strategy across the key segments
• Travel Required: 50%

Essential Work Functions:

• Self-directed and self-motivated, with excellent customer service skills
• Motivated, goal oriented and persistent
• Excellent written, verbal communication, and presentation skills
• Exceptional planning and organizational abilities
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and manage time effectively
• Strong consultative, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Professional, positive demeanor
• Solid business acumen

Perks:

• 401(k) and 401(k) matching
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Bonus