Produce Sales and Business Development Manager - Confidential #7af0

Full Time  |  Regional Travel Required

Build our wholesale produce business across northern and central Ohio and southern Michigan. As the Produce Sales and Business Development Manager for an Ohio agricultural cooperative, you will open and grow business-to-business accounts with grocery stores, retail chains, distributors, and other wholesale buyers. You will work directly with customers, growers, packing operations, and cooperative leadership to match customer needs with seasonal product supply and profitable programs.

This is a field-facing sales role with regular in-person visits and meaningful ownership of a regional territory. You will plan outreach, advance opportunities, negotiate programs, and follow through on the details that turn first orders into lasting accounts. The strongest candidate combines commercial judgment with the emotional intelligence to earn trust across our customer and grower network. Produce is seasonal and perishable, so supply, quality, timing, and specifications can change. We value clear communication, practical flexibility, and efficient follow-through when they do.

Key Responsibilities

Sales and Account Growth

• Build and manage a regional pipeline of new business with grocery, retail, distribution, and wholesale customers.
• Prospect, qualify, and win new accounts while increasing sales and strengthening relationships with existing buyers.
• Learn each customer’s needs and recommend products, pricing, packaging, volumes, and programs that fit available supply and support profitable growth.
• Negotiate contracts, pricing, volume, and customer programs. 
• Represent the cooperative at customer meetings and industry events.
• Review market conditions, pricing, account performance, sales volume, and margins to focus time on the strongest opportunities.

Customer and Grower Coordination

• Build respectful, dependable relationships with buyers, growers, suppliers, packing operations, and distribution centers.
• Share customer demand, forecasts, specifications, and volume needs with growers and operations so the team can plan against available supply.
• Communicate changes in availability, timing, or product condition early and set clear expectations with customers.
• Respond to customer concerns promptly and coordinate quality, delivery, or service issues through resolution.

Territory Planning and Follow Through

• Plan customer visits and outreach efficiently across the territory, balancing new business development with care for existing accounts.
• Keep customer pricing, sales activity, quotes, forecasts, and account information accurate and current.
• Follow through reliably on customer requests, open opportunities, and agreed next steps.

What Success Looks Like

• A healthy pipeline that converts qualified prospects into new, repeat customers.
• Growing account sales while protecting margins and matching customer needs to available product.
• Clear forecasts, dependable follow-up, and trusted relationships with customers and growers.

Qualifications

• B2B sales or business development experience, with a record of winning new accounts and growing existing business.
• Strong communication, negotiation, organization, and follow-through skills.
• High emotional intelligence: listens carefully, adapts communication to the person and situation, earns trust with growers and buyers, and handles concerns respectfully.
• Self-directed work habits, sound commercial judgment, and the ability to prioritize high-value work and manage multiple commitments efficiently.
• Flexibility and composure when seasonal supply, customer demand, timing, or specifications shift.
• Ability to travel regularly throughout northern and central Ohio and southern Michigan.

Preferred Background  

Experience in fresh produce, agriculture, wholesale food, distribution, brokerage, or produce buying is strongly preferred. Familiarity with produce seasonality, packaging, logistics, and the needs of growers is valuable.

Compensation and Benefits

Competitive salary based on experience, health insurance, paid vacation, and retirement benefits. 

Regional Travel and Work Arrangement

Regular travel across northern and central Ohio and southern Michigan is an essential part of this position. Visits include customers, retailers, distribution centers, growers, suppliers, and industry events. The schedule should be planned around customer and grower needs. A hybrid arrangement with partial work from home may be available for planning, follow-up, and administrative work when field responsibilities and business needs allow.

Equal Opportunity Employer  We consider qualified applicants without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.