Career Path Of A Foodservice Senior Key Account Sales Manager At PepsiCo

I went to CU Boulder and majored in political science with a minor in business administration. My first internship was with USA Rugby during my junior year. I was a contracted marketer for them.

This experience didn't translate much into what I eventually did after college. I joined PepsiCo's campus hire program. Each PepsiCo location receives one campus hire nationally.

In that role, I started at the very bottom as a pre-sale representative. I called on convenience stores, gas stations, dollar stores, and smaller grocery stores. I woke up at 4:45 or 5:00 AM every day.

I was stocking shelves until 3:00 or 4:00 PM, trying to meet my daily account target of 20 to 30 different stores. I drove all over New Jersey, dealt with customer issues, and did upselling.

After nine months, I became a delivery supervisor. I managed all the truck drivers at my facility, which was 75 drivers. I was 22 or 23 years old and managing people who had been with the company longer than I had been alive.

I put in a lot of effort, rolled up my sleeves, and worked alongside them to gain their respect. I made sure they understood I wouldn't ask them to do anything I wouldn't do myself. It was a very hard, manual labor job, pulling cases off trucks and hand-trucking items into basements.

That was likely the hardest job I had at Pepsi. Due to some circumstances, I was doing a three-person job solo for about a year, working six days a week, Monday through Saturday. My days were a minimum of 12 hours, often between 13 and 15 hours. It was a tough role, and I almost didn't make it through.

Then, I became a sales manager, overseeing the sales team I had come up on. This was a much more comfortable role with better hours and was more enjoyable. It provided my first sales management experience.

I am currently a food service senior sales manager. In my territory sales manager role, I managed 14 sales representatives. It was rewarding because these were the people who mentored me when I was a pre-sale rep. I had a lot of respect for that team.

From there, I took over a key account sales manager role, my first stint in food service. I called on educational institutions (K-12, college, university), hospitals, healthcare accounts, and third-party vending operations. I managed PepsiCo's largest single customer in North America, which provided significant visibility with senior leadership.

I held that role for about two and a half years and really enjoyed it, even through COVID. I actually took over the position the week the country shut down. It was a sink-or-swim situation with supply chain issues. I was new to the role, and my boss lived in Delaware.

We didn't see each other for the first year and a half due to interstate travel restrictions at Pepsi. Then, I was fortunate enough to be selected to take the Vice President of Food Service Sales at PepsiCo out. I had to present to him and toured all my accounts, driving around with him all day.

He asked what I wanted to do next. My girlfriend, now fiancé, and I had been talking about moving back to Colorado. I told him I wanted to return. Two months later, I was in a food service senior sales manager role here in Denver, managing the bar and restaurant business for Colorado.

I have 12 food service sales reps and sales managers reporting to me. This role involves more big-picture responsibilities, like reviewing and approving financial contracts. I focus on empowering and enabling my team.

It's a great role that combines people leadership with individual contributing sales. I manage contracts for 10 to 15 of the more prestigious multi-unit accounts in Colorado, some of which are multi-state. I work with customers to renew their contracts, ensure their financials align with PepsiCo, and manage a great team.