Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wholesale Account Executive

🎯 Role Definition

A Wholesale Account Executive is a B2B sales professional responsible for driving revenue and margin growth through wholesale and distribution channels. This role manages distributor and retailer relationships, develops territory and channel strategy, executes trade promotion plans, and works cross-functionally to ensure product availability, competitive positioning, and excellent customer service. The Wholesale Account Executive is accountable for pipeline development, sales forecasting, contract negotiation, and meeting or exceeding quarterly and annual sales targets.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Inside Sales Representative (Wholesale)
Channel Sales Coordinator or Sales Support
Territory Sales Representative or Distributor Sales Rep

Advancement To:

Senior Wholesale Account Executive
Channel Sales Manager / Regional Sales Manager
Head of Wholesale / Director of Sales (Channel)
National Accounts Manager

Lateral Moves:

Key Account Manager (Retail)
Business Development Manager (New Channels)
Trade Marketing Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a territory and channel sales plan to achieve revenue, margin, and distribution goals across assigned wholesale, distributor, and retail partners.
Build, maintain, and expand strong relationships with distributors, wholesalers, brokers, and key retail accounts to maximize shelf placement and promotional support.
Prospect, qualify, and onboard new wholesale partners and distributors to extend product reach and open new routes-to-market.
Manage the end-to-end sales cycle for wholesale accounts: opportunity identification, pricing and discounting, proposal development, negotiation, contracting, and order confirmation.
Prepare and present compelling sales proposals, product presentations, and business cases tailored to distributor and retailer needs, emphasizing ROI and sales velocity.
Own sales forecasting and quota attainment for assigned accounts and territories; produce accurate weekly and monthly revenue and pipeline reports.
Maintain CRM (Salesforce or equivalent) with up-to-date pipeline, account activity, deal stages, and forecasting assumptions to enable accurate sales operations and leadership decisions.
Execute trade promotion and merchandising programs with distributors and retail partners, monitoring lift, ROI, and post-promotion reconciliation.
Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, and contractual agreements with distributors and large wholesale customers while protecting margin and brand positioning.
Collaborate with supply chain and logistics teams to ensure order accuracy, on-time delivery, and optimal inventory levels at distributor and retailer locations.
Monitor competitive activity, market trends, and retailer assortment changes; provide timely market intelligence and recommend tactical responses.
Develop and implement pricing strategies, trade spend plans, and promotional calendars to drive incremental volume and profitably manage trade allowances.
Coordinate with marketing and brand teams to support product launches, in-store activations, sample programs, and co-op marketing initiatives that increase awareness in wholesale channels.
Track key performance indicators (distribution points, sell-through, fill rate, gross margin) and deliver monthly business reviews with action-oriented plans to drive account performance.
Resolve escalated customer issues, claims, or disputes with distributors and wholesale partners, ensuring timely resolution and preserving long-term relationships.
Lead cross-functional meetings with product, finance, operations, and marketing to align on commercial priorities and remove execution barriers for wholesale accounts.
Facilitate product assortment planning and planograms with retailers and wholesalers to optimize shelf placement and increase category share.
Train and enable distributor sales teams and wholesale partners on product features, pricing strategies, merchandising standards, and selling techniques.
Manage promotional accruals, claim processing, and reconciliation with finance and sales operations to ensure accurate payment and cost control.
Drive continuous improvement in sales processes and tools by providing feedback on CRM workflows, reporting needs, and route-to-market challenges.
Oversee account performance improvement plans for underperforming distributors, including cadence of business reviews, joint action planning, and KPIs to measure progress.
Participate in industry trade shows, category events, and customer meetings to represent the brand, gather competitive insights, and generate new leads.
Ensure compliance with company policies, distributor agreements, regulatory requirements, and pricing guidelines across wholesale channels.
Support commercial analytics initiatives to identify high-potential growth pockets, customer segmentation, and targeted selling strategies.
Manage credit and payment terms in coordination with finance; escalate and mitigate overdue accounts or credit risks to protect cash flow.
Drive new product adoption among wholesale partners by creating launch packages, training materials, and sampling programs to accelerate trial and distribution uptake.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc sales analyses and business cases for strategic wholesale initiatives and new channel pilots.
Provide ongoing feedback to marketing and product teams on customer insights, competitive moves, and unmet channel needs.
Assist in developing channel-specific sales collateral, sell sheets, and digital assets to support distributor selling efforts.
Coordinate with operations to streamline order-to-cash workflows, returns processing, and logistics exceptions.
Help manage co-op marketing funds and distributor marketing requests, ensuring alignment with company objectives and ROI tracking.
Participate in cross-functional sprints or project teams for new product launches, pricing changes, or route-to-market experimentation.
Maintain professional presence and knowledge by attending industry webinars, trainings, and certifications relevant to wholesale and distributor management.
Mentor junior sales staff and provide coaching on relationship management, negotiation, and territory planning.
Support sustainability, compliance, and supplier code-of-conduct initiatives where distributor channel activities intersect with corporate policies.
Contribute to continuous improvement projects for CRM hygiene, data accuracy, and sales reporting processes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

CRM proficiency (Salesforce experience preferred): account management, pipeline tracking, and accurate forecasting.
B2B sales and channel sales expertise with demonstrable experience selling to distributors, wholesalers, or retailers.
Sales forecasting, quota management, and territory planning using quantitative methods and historical data.
Strong negotiation and contract management skills, including pricing strategy, discounting, and commercial terms.
Trade promotion planning and execution, including PO management, allowances reconciliation, and promo lift analysis.
Advanced Excel for sales modeling, reporting, and margin analysis (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic macros).
Familiarity with ERP/order management systems and order-to-cash processes.
Category management and planogram collaboration experience to influence shelf placement and assortment strategy.
Basic financial literacy: gross margin, COGS, trade spend, ROI calculations, and P&L impact awareness.
Sales analytics and KPI tracking; ability to interpret sell-through, distribution metrics, and inventory data to inform decisions.
Product knowledge and technical selling ability for the assigned product range or industry vertical.
Experience with route-to-market strategies, distributor segmentation, and multi-tier channel structures.
Contract lifecycle management and compliance awareness for commercial agreements.

Soft Skills

Exceptional relationship-building and interpersonal skills to influence distributors, buyers, and internal stakeholders.
Strategic thinking and business acumen to develop high-impact account plans and territory strategies.
Excellent verbal and written communication for presentations, proposal writing, and negotiation.
Problem-solving and critical-thinking ability to address order fulfillment, claims, and execution challenges.
Time management and prioritization skills in a field-sales environment with dispersed accounts.
Resilience and self-motivation; comfortable operating with autonomy and travel requirements.
Collaborative mindset to partner effectively with marketing, operations, finance, and product teams.
Adaptability and learning agility to thrive in dynamic market conditions and changing channel structures.
Coaching and mentoring ability to support distributor sales teams and internal junior colleagues.
Customer-centric orientation with a strong focus on service, responsiveness, and long-term partnership value.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in sales, business, marketing, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain, or Finance; MBA or relevant postgraduate degree is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Marketing
Supply Chain Management / Logistics
Finance / Economics
Sales & Distribution Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3 to 7 years of B2B wholesale, distributor, or channel sales experience.

Preferred:

5+ years selling through distributors or wholesale channels with proven quota attainment.
Demonstrable track record of territory growth, new distributor onboarding, and successful trade promotion execution.
Experience in the industry vertical (FMCG, Consumer Packaged Goods, Industrial, Tech hardware, or relevant sector) is highly desirable.