Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Major Market Sales Representative

🎯 Role Definition

The Major Market Sales Representative is a field-facing, strategic seller responsible for driving revenue and distribution with large-format retailers, national chains, and high-volume regional accounts. This role combines consultative selling, category management, retail merchandising, and promotional execution to expand shelf presence, optimize price and promotional structures, and build long-term partnerships with key buyers and category managers. Success requires a disciplined territory plan, strong CRM habits, excellent negotiation skills, and the ability to translate analytics into executable in-store initiatives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Territory Sales Representative
Account Manager (Retail or CPG)
Route Sales/Field Merchandiser

Advancement To:

Regional Sales Manager
National Accounts Manager / Director
Sales Director or Head of Major Accounts

Lateral Moves:

Trade Marketing Manager
Retail Execution / Merchandising Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own and execute a strategic territory plan to grow sales, distribution, and market share across major retailers, national chains, and high-volume regional accounts by establishing short- and long-term goals and measurable KPIs.
Manage a portfolio of key accounts (category buyers, regional managers, chain directors), building executive-level relationships to secure shelf space, planogram placement, promotional slots, and placement for new product launches.
Develop and implement account-specific business plans that align with customer objectives and internal sales targets, detailing pricing, promotions, merchandising, and forecasting to maximize revenue per account.
Drive category management initiatives by analyzing POS and syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen) to identify growth opportunities, adjust assortment strategies, and recommend planogram changes that improve velocity and margin.
Lead negotiations with buyers and procurement teams on pricing, promotional funding, listing fees, and contract terms to secure favorable placements and promotional support while protecting margin.
Create and manage promotional calendars with customers and internal marketing to optimize trade spend, measure lift from promotional activity, and ensure post-promo reconciliations and ROI analysis.
Execute new product introductions end‑to‑end at major accounts, coordinating cross-functional resources (marketing, supply chain, trade marketing) to plan sampling, in‑store demos, POS, and replenishment.
Maintain accurate and timely CRM records (Salesforce or equivalent) including opportunities, activity logs, forecast updates, and customer contact information to support pipeline transparency and accurate forecasting.
Build, own, and forecast a sales pipeline; perform weekly/monthly pipeline reviews with management, providing clear action plans to close opportunities and mitigate risk.
Conduct regular in-store visits and retail audits to ensure merchandising standards, pricing accuracy, shelf integrity, promotional compliance, and in-stock levels are maintained across all major accounts.
Provide competitive intelligence and market feedback to product and marketing teams about competitor activity, pricing, promo mechanics, and retailer initiatives in major markets.
Deliver persuasive sales presentations and business reviews to buyer teams and senior stakeholders, using data-driven insights and tailored solutions to win incremental space and promotional support.
Collaborate with supply chain and operations to manage order flow, prevent out-of-stocks at key accounts, and expedite critical replenishment to protect sales and customer relationships.
Implement retailer-specific vendor compliance programs, ensuring invoices, EDI transmissions, chargebacks, and promotional reconciliations meet retailer requirements.
Train and support retail store personnel and distributor partners on product benefits, sales tools, merchandising standards, and promotional execution to optimize point-of-sale performance.
Coordinate and oversee third-party distributor and broker activities in the territory to ensure alignment on coverage, execution standards, and sales goals for major accounts.
Monitor and manage gross margin and trade spend effectiveness across the territory, recommending price, promotion, or assortment adjustments to protect profitability.
Lead post-promo and post-execution analysis to capture learnings, validate ROI, and refine future approaches for major account programs.
Represent the company at trade shows, retailer vendor summits, and industry events to network with buyers, showcase products, and identify new business opportunities.
Resolve escalations and service issues for major accounts promptly, coordinating cross-functional resources and providing transparent communication to maintain trust and long-term partnerships.
Mentor and share best practices with junior field colleagues or indirect sales support to scale successful approaches across similar markets and accounts.
Prepare and present weekly/monthly sales reports, account P&L snapshots, and market share analysis to senior leadership to inform strategic decisions and resource allocation.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc analysis and competitive landscaping requests from sales leadership to inform strategic account initiatives.
Contribute to cross-functional planning for product assortment, packaging optimization, and trade promotion strategies intended for major retailers.
Participate in quarterly business reviews with cross-functional stakeholders to align on goals, promotional calendars, and supply commitments.
Assist supply planning teams with demand signals from key accounts to improve forecasting accuracy for major-market SKUs.
Provide front-line customer feedback into product development and marketing campaigns to ensure retailer resonance and sell-through.
Help develop sales enablement materials, playbooks, and deal templates tailored for large-format retail negotiations and national chain rollouts.
Support onboarding and field training for new hires that will interact with major accounts in adjacent territories.
Participate in ad-hoc task forces for special retailer initiatives (e.g., seasonal resets, category resets, major retailer promotions).

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Territory and major account management (experience managing national chains, club stores, grocery chains, or wholesale accounts).
Advanced CRM proficiency (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho) with disciplined pipeline, activity logging, and forecasting practices.
Category management & retail analytics (working knowledge of IRI, Nielsen, SPINS, or retailer POS data to drive assortment and promotional decisions).
Negotiation and contract management for listing agreements, promotions, pricing, and slotting allowances.
Trade promotion planning and measurement (TPRM) including deal modeling, ROI analysis, and post-event reconciliations.
Planogram and merchandising execution knowledge, including fixture planning and in-store reset processes.
Forecasting and demand planning coordination with supply chain teams to ensure on-shelf availability at major accounts.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic modeling) and PowerPoint for executive presentations.
Experience working with distributors, brokers, or third-party logistics providers to manage the route-to-market strategy.
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to manage account P&L, margin analyses, and promotional trade-offs.
Familiarity with EDI, vendor compliance requirements, and retailer chargeback processes.
CRM-driven territory segmentation and prioritization skills to maximize time-on-target accounts and ROI.

Soft Skills

Consultative selling mindset with excellent persuasion, presentation, and listening skills tailored to senior buyer audiences.
Relationship building and stakeholder management with the ability to influence cross-functional decision-making.
Strategic thinker who balances big-picture account strategy with disciplined day-to-day execution.
Strong problem-solving and escalation management skills; remains calm and decisive under pressure.
High emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity when working across diverse retailer organizations.
Self-motivated, results-oriented, and comfortable working autonomously in a field or hybrid environment.
Time management and route planning to maximize customer contact and minimize travel inefficiency.
Coaching and mentoring capability to uplift indirect sales teams and share best practices.
Adaptable and resilient to changing retail landscapes, promotional cadence, and supply chain disruptions.
Data-driven mindset with the ability to translate analytics into actionable sales tactics and presentations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent; proven track record in field sales with major retail accounts typically accepted in lieu of a degree.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain, Economics or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Marketing
Supply Chain Management
Economics
Retail Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of progressive sales experience, with at least 2 years managing major accounts or national/regional retail chains.

Preferred:

5+ years of demonstrated success in managing large-format accounts, national chains, club stores, or distributor-managed territories; experience with CPG products, grocery, or retail categories highly favored.