Smithfield Foods earned a spot on Selling Power’s list of the 50 Best Companies to Sell For in 2021, recognizing its sales organization and entrepreneurial-focused culture.
Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield Foods is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. It boasts a portfolio of brands, such as Smithfield, Eckrich and Nathan’s Famous, among many others.
Selling Power is a digital magazine for sales managers that produces daily digests, e-newsletters, as well as videos featuring interviews with top business executives.
To assemble this year’s list, the company’s research team gathered data across four main categories – compensation and benefits, sales culture, onboarding and sales enablement strategies, as well as sales training and coaching. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the publication focused on companies who pivoted their strategy to give sales representatives the tools and skills needed to succeed in today’s digital, remote selling environment.
With superior onboarding, an ongoing sales training and a strong response to the pandemic, Smithfield ranked 27th on the list. Among other factors that were cited, Smithfield:
- Invested in and offered thorough training specific to virtual selling in response to the
pandemic; - Instituted a lengthy onboarding process and a six-month mentoring program providing entry
level employees with the opportunity to work with senior leadership; - Has leadership programs that specialize in developing high-potential employees and ongoing
one-on-one coaching with supervisors; - Is driven to succeed by leveraging teamwork to grow sales; and
- Has a learning program that helps educate employees in company history, food safety,
product and industry knowledge.
Smithfield Foods recently completed the first renewable natural gas project in Utah through its joint venture with Dominion Energy. See story, here.
The company also has announced that it will conduct a comprehensive watershed and water-use analysis across its vertically integrated operations to increase the company’s water use efficiencies and ensure sustainable sourcing and practices companywide. See story here.
