Sales Market Manager - Virginia or Maryland - North East US

Description

Market Manager: Virginia & Maryland

Full-Time, Exempt • Field-Based • Reports to Region Director, North East • Blake’s Beverage Company

Department: Sales (Field Sales), North East Division

Location: Richmond, VA preferred; Washington, DC metro area also considered. Field-based, with travel across both states

Who We Are & About This Role

THE RISING TIDE LIFTS MORE GLASSES. When the apples align, greatness emerges. Introducing Blake’s Beverage Co., a force born from the union of Avid Cider Co., Blake’s Hard Cider, and Austin Eastciders. Our united mission: To reclaim cider’s rightful place as America’s drink. With a passion for bold, fruit-forward flavors, we craft beverages that resonate with a diverse audience. Fresh ingredients, a commitment to craft, and a rich 78-year history of family farming fuel our relentless dedication to the cider cause. With our feet firmly grounded in the soils of MI, TX, OR, and NY, we press on.

Blake’s Beverage Co. (BBC), the multi-brand home of Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and Avid Cider Co., is hiring a Market Manager to own distributor performance and retail results across Virginia and Maryland.

The Market Manager drives Effective Distribution and depletions through distributor team engagement (crew drives, GSM meetings and priority alignment) and personally sells and closes key independent and regional retail accounts. The territory runs through 9 distributor partners:

• Virginia (5): Hop & Wine Beverage, M. Price Distributing, Hoffman Beverage, Lawrence Distributing (Danville), Specialty Beverage (Richmond)

• Maryland (4): Chesapeake Beverage (fka FP Winner), Bob Hall, Kelly Distributors, Guy Distributing

Success is measured on market revenue, Effective Placements (EPs), depletions, pricing execution and local budget spend to plan.

Your Role With Blake’s — Key Responsibilities

Distributor Management

• Own the day-to-day relationship with all 9 VA/MD distributors: pricing, forecasting, orders, add suggestions, logistics, chain execution and trade programs.

• Prepare, attend and present at monthly distributor meetings and GSMs with top wholesalers, on priorities aligned with the Region Director.

• Review latest inventories each month; complete order reminders and order revisions for top wholesalers.

• Plan and run crew drives and distributor incentives; track their execution against KPIs.

• Execute a minimum of one ride-with per month with assigned distributors.

• Build and present Quarterly Business Reviews for top wholesalers.

• Hold distributors accountable for agreed pricing and PINC periods.

Selling in the Market

• Spend a minimum of 2.5 days per week in market, averaging 10–12 calls per day.

• Personally sell and close key independent and regional retail accounts, on- and off-premise.

• Hunt non-buys and new accounts while farming and strengthening current ones.

• Gain draft and package Effective Placements; sell in displays, on-premise specials, venues, sponsorships and events.

• Conduct a minimum of 2 on/off-premise activations per month (6 per quarter): pint nights, tap takeovers, samplings, staff training, festivals, crew and chain drives.

• Pursue chain, independent, c-store, sponsorship and festival opportunities across the territory.

Planning, Budget & Reporting

• Build target non-buy lists; set, monitor and communicate monthly goals.

• Track quarterly KPI goals, quarterly budget and quarterly pricing variance.

• Contribute to Annual Business Plans, pricing strategy and innovation strategy for VA/MD.

• Report actively from VIP and Circana; log all market activity in Karma.

• Complete budget recaps and invoice coding for the territory; manage local spend to plan.

• Submit a bi-weekly market recap and plan of action to the Region Director.

• Submit expenses through Paylocity; keep the team calendar current with market events and travel.

Team & Development

• Coach and support any Field Sales Representative covering the territory: review weekly recaps, run a team-selling day each month, approve expense reports.

• Complete required training; maintain an individual learning plan and keep current on VIP/Circana industry trends.

• Complete an annual performance review.

How Success Is Measured

The role carries BBC’s shared field KPI framework (Revenue, Effective Distribution, Depletions, ASP) against VA/MD targets set by the Region Director.

Performance KPIs

• Market Revenue: to plan.

• Effective Placements (EPs): division EPs goal, VA/MD share.

• Depletions: to plan.

• Pricing Execution / ASP: agreed pricing held; quarterly variance reviewed.

• Local Budget Spend: to plan.

Performance Cadence & Targets

• Days in Market: minimum 2.5 per week.

• Account Calls: 25 per week / 100 per month.

• Activations: 2 per month / 6 per quarter.

• Distributor Ride-Withs: minimum 1 per month.

• Team-Selling Days: minimum 1 per month with the Field Sales Representative.

• Ride-With with Region Director: 1 per quarter, as permitting.

• Market Recap & POA: bi-weekly.

Requirements

What Great Looks Like — Qualifications & Experience

Required

• 3+ years in beverage alcohol, CPG or distributor/wholesale sales, including direct management of distributor relationships.

• A track record of building distribution and growing depletions across multiple distributors.

• Strong selling, negotiation and presentation skills in on- and off-premise channels, from GSM meetings to independent account owners.

• Working command of depletion and scan data (VIP, Circana or equivalent) and comfort building a business review from it.

• Self-directed, able to plan and run a two-state field schedule with minimal supervision.

• Comfort with sales technology: Karma, Paylocity, CRM and calendar tools, Excel/PowerPoint.

• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and a clean driving record.

• At least 21 years of age.

Preferred

• Existing relationships with Virginia and Maryland wholesalers and key retail accounts.

• Experience with Virginia and Maryland three-tier and pricing rules.

• Experience with craft beer, cider or other beyond-beer categories.

• Experience building Annual Business Plans or distributor scorecards.

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience.

Physical & Travel Requirements

• Field-based role with regular travel across Virginia and Maryland, including overnight travel between markets (Richmond, Danville, the Eastern Shore, central and western Maryland).

• Daily start and stop times are flexible but must match key retailers’ availability; schedules outside the norm need Region Director approval.

• Evening and weekend work for activations and events. When weekend work runs over 4 hours, the following week’s schedule is adjusted with Region Director approval; weekend time does not roll forward.

• Ability to lift and move cases of product, point-of-sale materials, draft equipment and tap handles (up to ~50 lbs).

• Ability to stand, walk and travel between accounts for extended periods.

What’s Next — How to Apply

Don’t just send a resume into a void. Reach out on LinkedIn, visit a location, try the cider. Show us you want in. We can’t wait to meet the right person.

Blake’s Beverage Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other protected status under applicable federal, state, or local law.