Inside Sales Associate

Position Summary:

The Inside Sales & Sales Support Associate plays a critical role in supporting Outside Sales Representatives while directly contributing to customer satisfaction, sales growth, and account profitability. This hybrid position serves as an extension of the outside sales team by managing day-to-day customer needs, assisting with account setup and maintenance, analyzing sales and profitability data, and identifying growth opportunities within assigned accounts.

This role requires strong communication skills, analytical capability, attention to detail, and a proactive, customer-centric mindset. The associate will support 2–4 Outside Sales Representatives and maintain responsibility for select key accounts.

What you’ll do:

Support 2–4 Outside Sales Representatives as a primary point of contact for assigned customers

Assist with new account setup, onboarding, and ongoing account maintenance

Manage customer orders, order add-ons, credits, adjustments, and special requests

Communicate out-of-stock items, substitutions, and order changes proactively to customers and sales reps

Review incoming orders (phone, email, fax, voicemail) for accuracy and completeness

Ensure accuracy of entered and outgoing orders

Suggest and sell additional or complementary items when appropriate

Run and analyze reports related to:

Account profitability

Gross profit per drop

Penetration and line growth opportunities

Identify trends, risks, and opportunities within assigned accounts and share insights with the outside sales team

Maintain responsibility for select key accounts, ensuring service levels, pricing accuracy, and issue resolution

Work closely with sales, operations, purchasing, and customer service to deliver a seamless customer experience

Escalate issues, irregularities, or customer concerns to the appropriate team members

Document and track customer complaints and assist with quarterly reporting

Assist with special orders, customer price lists, and program maintenance

Provide backup coverage for Outside Sales Representatives during vacations or absences

Attend inside and outside sales meetings and participate in sales initiatives as needed

Maintain a professional attitude and sense of urgency in a fast-paced environment

Other duties and projects as assigned by management

About you:

Minimum education: High School Diploma (college coursework a plus)

Prior experience in foodservice distribution, inside sales, customer service, or sales support preferred

Strong understanding of foodservice products, categories, and customer dynamics preferred

Comfortable working with reports, data analysis, and profitability metrics

Strong verbal, written, and telephone communication skills

High attention to detail with strong follow-through

Self-motivated, organized, and able to manage multiple priorities

Team-oriented with the ability to collaborate across departments

Able to work under pressure with a sense of urgency

Data entry and 10-key experience required

Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus