State Sales Manager

Good Boy Vodka

Location: Assigned State / Remote-Based

Department: Sales

Reports To: Regional Director

Territory: Assigned State

Travel: Up to 50%, including occasional evenings and weekends

Who We Are

Good Boy Vodka is a rapidly growing, purpose-driven beverage company offering premium vodka and a dynamic portfolio of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. Our mission, Every Pour Helps a Pup®, reflects our commitment to giving back to animal rescues, military veterans, service dogs, and organizations making a difference in our communities.

We are building one of the most exciting brands in the beverage alcohol industry and are looking for driven, accountable individuals who thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Position Summary

Good Boy Vodka is seeking an experienced, results-driven State Sales Manager to lead sales performance, distributor relationships, and market execution throughout an assigned state.

This individual will be responsible for driving depletion growth, expanding distribution, increasing account-level velocity, and strengthening Good Boy Vodka's presence across on-premise and off-premise channels.

The State Sales Manager will work closely with distributor leadership, distributor sales teams, regional sales leadership, and internal marketing partners to develop and execute annual business plans, establish measurable market objectives, and ensure consistent execution of company priorities.

This is a highly hands-on position requiring strong distributor management, strategic sales planning, relationship building, and a willingness to spend significant time in the market driving results.

Key Responsibilities

Distributor Management & Business Planning

• Own and manage day-to-day relationships with distributor leadership, portfolio managers, sales managers, chain teams, and field sales representatives.
• Develop and execute annual state business plans in partnership with the Regional Director and distributor leadership, including volume, distribution, velocity, and revenue objectives.
• Conduct regular monthly business reviews and quarterly business planning meetings to evaluate distributor performance against established KPIs.
• Establish clear distributor expectations around new distribution, account execution, inventory management, promotional programming, and sales priorities.
• Hold distributor partners accountable for agreed-upon objectives, commitments, and execution timelines.
• Build strong relationships at all levels of distributor organizations to improve focus, engagement, and brand performance.
• Identify distribution gaps and develop targeted plans to capture new accounts and increase market penetration.

Sales Execution & Market Development

• Drive depletion growth, points of distribution, account-level velocity, and overall state sales performance.
• Develop and execute strategies to grow Good Boy Vodka across liquor, grocery, convenience, independent retail, and on-premise accounts.
• Conduct regular market visits and joint account calls with distributor sales representatives.
• Personally support high-priority accounts, distributor opportunities, and strategic new placements.
• Work closely with Key Accounts and National Accounts teams to execute authorized chain placements, resets, promotional programs, and merchandising initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for incremental displays, shelf placements, menu features, well placements, and promotional visibility.
• Monitor account-level performance and proactively address opportunities where distribution is strong but consumer pull-through is below expectations.
• Ensure products are properly positioned, priced, merchandised, and supported throughout the market.

Sales Planning, Programming & Communication

• Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual sales plans aligned with regional and national company objectives.
• Build and maintain a state-level sales calendar incorporating launches, promotional periods, distributor incentives, focus weeks, retail programs, and key selling seasons.
• Coordinate distributor programming and incentives designed to accelerate new placements and drive incremental volume.
• Maintain consistent communication with distributor leadership regarding inventory, pricing, new products, sales priorities, and promotional opportunities.
• Attend distributor general sales meetings and regional planning sessions to communicate company initiatives and expectations.
• Partner with Marketing and Field Marketing teams to ensure activation and promotional support aligns with state sales priorities.

Distributor Training & Field Execution

• Lead regular distributor sales meetings, brand trainings, and product education sessions.
• Equip distributor teams with the brand knowledge, selling tools, competitive insights, and product information needed to successfully represent Good Boy Vodka.
• Conduct frequent distributor work-withs and market visits to evaluate execution and identify sales opportunities.
• Follow up on distributor commitments, including new placements, display execution, POS orders, and promotional programming.
• Ensure distributors are actively ordering and utilizing appropriate point-of-sale materials to support account-level execution.
• Maintain visibility in the marketplace and serve as an engaged, accessible resource for distributor sales teams.

Financial & Analytical Management

• Own assigned state-level volume, distribution, velocity, and performance objectives.
• Analyze depletion reports, distributor sales data, syndicated market data, and account-level performance to identify opportunities and challenges.
• Monitor state performance against established sales goals and develop corrective action plans when needed.
• Prepare accurate sales forecasts and communicate inventory needs to regional leadership and Sales Operations.
• Maintain a strong understanding of pricing structures, distributor margins, promotional costs, and competitive positioning.
• Manage assigned sales budgets, distributor incentives, promotional expenditures, and travel expenses.
• Evaluate promotional effectiveness and return on investment to ensure resources are directed toward programs that generate measurable results.
• Provide consistent reporting on state sales performance, distributor execution, competitive activity, and market opportunities.

Marketing, Events & Brand Development

• Partner closely with Marketing and Field Marketing teams to identify priority markets, accounts, and activation opportunities.
• Support execution of retail samplings, on-premise promotions, sponsorships, festivals, and other brand-building activities.
• Ensure sales teams are actively selling into surrounding accounts before, during, and after major marketing activations.
• Coordinate with Field Marketing to align sampling and event activity with account acquisition, distribution growth, and consumer trial objectives.
• Provide market feedback to help optimize POS materials, promotional programming, and brand initiatives.
• Represent Good Boy Vodka professionally at distributor meetings, trade shows, industry events, and key customer functions.

Reporting, Systems & Compliance

• Utilize company systems, including VIP Karma, CRM, depletion reporting, expense management, and sales analytics platforms.
• Maintain accurate and timely reporting of account activity, distributor performance, market visits, and sales opportunities.
• Communicate consistently with regional leadership on progress against state objectives, challenges, and action plans.
• Ensure all sales activities, promotions, samplings, and marketing initiatives comply with applicable federal, state, and local beverage alcohol regulations.
• Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Required Experience & Skills

• 5+ years of experience in beverage alcohol sales, preferably within spirits or ready-to-drink beverages.
• Demonstrated experience managing distributor relationships and driving performance within the three-tier distribution system.
• Proven track record of increasing distribution, depletion volume, and account-level sales performance.
• Strong understanding of on-premise and off-premise sales channels, including retail chains, independent accounts, grocery, liquor, and convenience.
• Strong relationship-building, negotiation, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to influence and motivate distributor sales teams without direct supervisory authority.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret sales data and translate insights into actionable market strategies.
• Experience developing sales plans, managing budgets, and tracking KPIs.
• Highly organized, self-motivated, resourceful, and accountable.
• Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with VIP Karma, NielsenIQ, Circana, Encompass, or comparable sales reporting platforms preferred.
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and ability to meet company driving requirements.
• Must be at least 21 years of age.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field.
• Existing relationships with distributor management and key retail or on-premise accounts within the assigned state.
• Experience managing Anheuser-Busch distributor relationships.
• Experience launching and scaling emerging beverage alcohol brands.
• Strong familiarity with RTD category trends, retail velocity metrics, and distributor sales management.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This role may provide day-to-day direction and performance guidance to Area Sales Managers, Sales Representatives, or other assigned field sales personnel, depending on the state structure.

The State Sales Manager is also expected to lead through influence by motivating and holding distributor sales teams accountable for achieving established market objectives.

Work Location & Travel

This is a remote, home-office-based position requiring residency within the assigned state or designated territory.

The role requires regular travel throughout the market, including distributor meetings, account visits, work-withs, sales meetings, and company events. Travel may include evenings, weekends, and occasional overnight stays.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

• Frequent driving and travel throughout the assigned territory.
• Regular visits to retail stores, bars, restaurants, distributor facilities, and event locations.
• Ability to lift and transport product cases, POS materials, and promotional supplies weighing up to 45 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Ability to stand, walk, and assist with field activities or events for extended periods, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Regular computer and mobile device usage for reporting, communication, and sales analysis.

Ideal Candidate

We're looking for someone who takes ownership of their state and operates with urgency, accountability, and a strong desire to win.

The ideal candidate is not simply a relationship manager. They are a hands-on sales leader who knows how to motivate distributors, build strong account relationships, identify market opportunities, and translate strategic plans into measurable results.

They are equally comfortable presenting an annual business plan to distributor leadership, reviewing depletion data, conducting market work-withs, negotiating placements, and walking into accounts to help close new business.

Success in this position requires a strong balance of strategic thinking, analytical ability, relationship management, and relentless follow-through.

Why Join Good Boy Vodka?

• Join one of the fastest-growing brands in the premium vodka and RTD beverage industry.
• Play a direct role in expanding market share and building a nationally recognized beverage brand.
• Work in an entrepreneurial, collaborative environment where initiative and results matter.
• Competitive compensation, perform