Sales Manager

Role Overview

The Sales Manager will provide day-to-day functional management of a small technical Sales team in addition to being assigned their own personal territory. The candidate will initially take over responsibility for the promotion and revenue growth of the full range of the company's products with a view for this to expand in the future to directly support the Head of Global Sales on specific larger-scale regional and OEM campaigns. In addition to territory and team line management, the candidate will provide sales operational support including ownership of CRM and monthly reporting.

Role and Responsibilities

Key responsibilities related to order intake and sales revenue within assigned territories in addition to the day-to-day management of the Sales team include:

* Achieve or exceed own sales quota and objectives, while maintaining profitability and ensuring 100% customer satisfaction
* Promote the company's full portfolio of products and services within assigned territories
* Sell directly in assigned territories at selected accounts as identified by the Head of Global Sales
* Prepare and submit tender documents and quotations
* Maintain contact with existing customers to promote new products, close deals and grow sales, as well as develop new prospects
* Identify new prospects for company products and make exploratory visits to potential new customers
* Develop strong working relationships with purchasing staff at key accounts
* Maintain customer database and reference lists for the assigned territory
* Monthly reporting of Sales team performance against targets
* Weekly submission of itineraries with details of anticipated visits and activities
* Monthly submission of expense claims
* Attend all required sales meetings and training sessions, consequently implementing new skills gained

Key responsibilities relating to supporting the rest of the organisation in delivering customer satisfaction include:

* Develop a strong working relationship with Sales Admin, Customer Service, Marketing and Production
* Track the sales order process for the assigned territory from initial query through to delivery and installation
* Oversee communication with customers around stock availability, lead times, product updates, etc.
* Ensure customer requirements, deadlines and goals are communicated to team members
* Represent the voice of the customer in marketing discussions

Key responsibilities relating to applications support within assigned territories include:

* Organise and conduct product demonstrations, technical seminars and workshops, both off-site and at the factory
* Develop a strong working knowledge of assigned products and services as well as applications utilised by our customer base, as well as strong working knowledge of the features and benefits of competitive products
* Participate in regional and national exhibitions and conferences as required
* Provide quality customer service, including interacting with customers, answering customer enquiries and effectively handling customer complaints
* Ensure that quality issues raised by customers are entered in the NCP process and act as the owner of that issue until it is fixed or flagged for new product development
* Ensure that data entry in SAP B1 is carried out correctly, consistent with the requirements for reporting
* Review documentation such as End User Statements, Sales Order/Contracts, etc., to ensure compliance with customer requirements and legislation in the UK
* Possible coverage of key functions of the sales office, particularly during holiday periods

Performance Measurement

* Revenues and margins from sales and service in the assigned territory
* Promotion of the company brand within assigned territory
* Concise, detailed and accurate reporting of past results, future forecasts and KPIs as required by Senior Management
* Timely submission of reports, itineraries and expense claims
* Ability to meet customer expectations and to maintain the company's established reputation
* Ability to ensure that all established administrative routines and records are kept accurately and up to date

Skills and Experience Required

* Strong experience selling scientific or similar capital equipment
* Ability to understand, use and demonstrate EM sample preparation equipment to a professional level
* Possess an understanding of electron microscopy and related analytical techniques
* Ability to cope with rapidly changing demands on time and prioritise jobs according to urgency
* Excellent communication skills
* The ability to challenge and question whilst maintaining positive relationships
* Computer literacy and familiarity with Microsoft Office 365
* Strong self-motivation
* Ability to work as part of a small team
* Experience in using SAP B1 and generating reports from it
* Experience in a B2B customer-facing position
* An understanding of vacuum technology
* Familiarity with the UK scientific community
* Interest and ability to understand the science and interface with key opinion leaders.
* Willingness to travel
* Holder of a full valid driving license

Education and Qualifications

* Degree in a Scientific field or equivalent practical experience