Account Manager - Minnesota & Eastern Dakotas

Position Summary

Responsible for selling and marketing Zinpro products in Minnesota and the eastern portions of North and South Dakota. The customer base includes feed and premix companies, veterinarians, nutritionists and livestock producers.

Sales focus is primarily ruminant (dairy and beef), with some swine as well as other species.

The Account Manager’s main responsibility is to grow, develop, and implement sales and account strategies to achieve sales growth and profitability.

Essential Functions

• Grow sales through enhanced customer relationships and technical knowledge about products within the supported industry.
• Retain and expand strong working relationships with large, highly complex, visible, strategic or tactically important customers.
• Build multi-level and cross functional relationships with strategic new customers.
• Identify opportunities for improvement within existing accounts and Zinpro’s business.
• Provide support for customer service issues and coordinate use of company resources to provide value-added services based on a thorough understanding of the customer’s needs.
• Develop and execute annual sales strategies for assigned accounts based on strategic importance, understanding of market / industry trends, and firsthand customer information.
• Prepare presentations / proposals that effectively communicate relevant information for both internal and external discussions.
• Communicate and collaborate with Zinpro’s Product Develop and technical teams to develop strategies for future research and value-added tools for our customers.
• Work in team environment with Sales, Marketing and Product Development to support and maintain responsiveness to customer, collaborate on ideas, and address customer issues and concerns.
• Monitor, evaluate, and report on the activities and products of the competition. Review and follow market movements, production changes, and industry news and events.
• Represent company at Trade Shows and Association meetings to promote our products.
• Review served market to determine and clarify customer needs / expectations, market pricing, technology advancements or opportunities and report back to within the group with supporting details.
• Maintain monthly sales reports, business growth charts identifying business opportunities and areas of focus for product development.
• Effective and efficient use of Zinpro assets, including; marketing funds, direct expenses, company vehicle and all tools and equipment provided by Zinpro.
• Other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Required :

• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture or Business, preferably Animal Science.
• Minimum of 3 years of feed industry sales and account management experience, and a thorough understanding of the feed and livestock industry in the designated market.
• Strong communication and public speaking skills.
• The ability to interact and communicate with individuals at all levels of business.

Preferred :

Master’s degree in agriculture / animal science or MBA preferred.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

• The work environment consists of a multiple different environment : standard office, long periods in a motor vehicle, farms, animal producers, manufacturing facilities, and / or at client / customers facilities.
• Positions in this class typically require typing, talking, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions.
• Sedentary Work : Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and / or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.

Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Schedule Requirements

This position is expected to work within core business hours and requires participation in after-hours and weekend calls, customer / client events & meetings, and industry events.

Travel Requirements

The position requires domestic travel; approximately 50% travel time.

Competencies and Core Values

Must represent the following skills and qualities that align with Zinpro’s Core Values :

Build Trust : We believe in being purposeful with our words and actions. We work to build trust with customers, vendors, and co-workers through being truthful and fulfilling our commitments.

We honor our word and are accountable for our actions.

Win Together : We believe we can better achieve when we work united, internally and with customers. When we embrace and pool our individual talents, we create a team that’s stronger and smarter than any one individual.

We are all bound by the conviction that when we work together, we can realize greater potential.

Serve Generously : We believe in putting people first, supporting each other’s efforts and treating all with kindness and respect.

We work in partnership with customers and ourselves to create opportunities; a win for another is a win for us.

Always Improve : We believe in what’s right and pursuing continuous growth and improvement for customers, our company and ourselves.

Our high expectations drive us to consistently and reliably deliver the highest quality. We work to be better each day.

Dream Big : We believe advancement starts with an unquenchable curiosity. We embrace the freedom to explore, create and express ideas without the fear of failure.

We always learn from each other and our customers, from our successes and our mistakes.

Zinpro is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.