Regional Sales Manager

Overview

A leading company in the nicotine and tobacco industry is looking for an experienced Regional Sales Manager with strong experience in regional sales leadership, key account management and FMCG distribution to join their team in the Eastern Cape.

Requirements

• Relevant tertiary qualification – BCom in Marketing, Sales or Business Management, NDip or equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years' FMCG sales experience.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in regional sales management or senior key account management.
• Proven responsibility for growing annual regional revenue of R18 million or more.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable sales growth, with specific and quantified results.
• Experience managing a large, geographically spread sales territory across multiple provinces/regions.
• Experience directly managing 5 or more field sales/merchandising team members.
• Direct experience personally managing major retail key accounts, including SPAR, Pick n Pay and/or Shoprite.
• Experience managing and growing major forecourt group accounts.
• Demonstrated ability to drive measurable growth in independent trade and wholesale channels.
• Proven experience opening new accounts and growing a customer base from scratch.
• Experience directly managing and leading a field sales team.
• Experience setting targets, conducting performance reviews and formally managing underperformance.
• Direct experience in FMCG, consumer goods or distribution.
• Experience managing accounts across retail, wholesale, forecourt and independent trade.
• Strong commercial understanding of margin, pricing, trading terms and their impact on profitability.
• Comfortable working with sales data, building regional forecasts and presenting to senior leadership.
• Experience producing weekly or monthly sales performance reports.
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on field level.
• Valid driver's licence.
• Own reliable vehicle.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across the Eastern Cape and Garden Route.
• Based in the Eastern Cape or willing to relocate to the region before the start date.

Responsibilities

• Own regional sales targets and revenue performance across all channels and provinces.
• Build and execute territory plans across the Eastern Cape, including the Garden Route.
• Identify and pursue growth opportunities across retail, wholesale, forecourt and independent trade.
• Drive new business through prospecting, pitching and closing new accounts.
• Track competitor activity, pricing and range within the region and respond appropriately.
• Own and grow relationships with major retail key accounts, including SPAR, Pick n Pay and Shoprite.
• Negotiate ranging, promotional and trading execution at regional buyer/regional manager level.
• Ensure key accounts are serviced to a high standard.
• Resolve account escalations and disputes professionally and efficiently.
• Drive volume and distribution growth through independent trade and wholesale channels.
• Build relationships with wholesalers and independent retailers to secure ranging and repeat orders.
• Maintain pricing, credit and stock discipline across independent and wholesale accounts.
• Lead, manage, coach and develop the regional field sales team, representatives and merchandisers.
• Set individual and team targets, conduct performance reviews, coaching and field accompaniments.
• Manage performance and address underperformance constructively.
• Build a disciplined, high-performance regional sales culture focused on results and execution.
• Recruit and onboard new sales team members as required.
• Maximise call coverage and route efficiency across the geographically spread territory.
• Ensure optimal product ranging, availability and visibility across all trade channels.
• Monitor sell-through, stock holding and returns across the regional account base.
• Uphold in-store execution and merchandising standards through audits and field activity.
• Produce accurate weekly and monthly regional sales reports.
• Provide reliable regional forecasts to support production planning and stock allocation.
• Track and report on KPIs including revenue, coverage, new accounts, key account growth and debtor performance.
• Work with Finance on credit risk and debtor discipline.
• Collaborate with Marketing on regional promotional calendars and trade activation.
• Partner with Operations on product availability, lead times and fulfilment.
• Deliver measurable regional revenue growth, new account acquisition, key account growth, independent and wholesale growth, call coverage and in-trade execution.

How to apply

Apply on source site