SUMMARY:
Sales Manager -Account Managers -Sandton
POSITION INFO:
Job Purpose:
The Sales Manager is pivotal in driving revenue growth, ensuring strategic alignment, and fostering a high-performing sales culture.
The Sales Manager needs to achieve consistent growth in the company’s customer base and national sales figures by :
- managing the activities of the sales team so that current activities are optimised and new business growth is achieved
- supervising, directing, and assisting the decision making of the sales team so that they are motivated and trained for optimum performance and achieving/exceeding the sales targets; and, finally
- carrying out competitive negotiations at a senior level and contributing as a member of the management team to the ultimate success of the company as a whole and the achievement of its strategic objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
Sales Management
• The role encompasses several key responsibilities, including strategic leadership, performance management, enabling Account Managers success, client relationship growth, innovation & adaption, cross-functional collaboration, and building scalable sales operations.
Strategic Leadership:
Goal Setting: Define sales targets and objectives for Account Managers based on company goals and market opportunities.
Market Analysis: Provide insights into market trends, customer needs, and competitor activities to guide the Account Managers efforts.
Alignment with Business Goals: Ensure Account Managers strategies align with the company’s overarching objectives, such as expanding into new markets, launching new products, or acquiring specific customer segments.
Performance Management:
Tracking Progress: Monitor Account Managers pipelines, deal closures, and overall performance metrics.
Feedback and Coaching: Offer regular guidance to enhance sales techniques, relationship management, and negotiation skills.
Motivation: Foster a results-driven culture, providing incentives and recognition for achieving targets.
Enabling Account Manager Success:
Providing Resources: Equip Account Managers with the tools, technology, and collateral needed to approach clients effectively.
Training and Development: Organize training on fintech products, regulatory compliance, and industry trends.
Fintech solutions often involve complex, intricate financial solutions & products requiring deep industry knowledge, so the Sales Manager ensures Account Managers can articulate value propositions effectively.
Collaboration Facilitation: Act as a bridge between Account Managers and other departments (e.g., product development, marketing, or sales support) to resolve challenges and streamline processes.
Client Relationship Oversight:
Strategic Accounts: Directly oversee key or high-value clients to ensure satisfaction and growth opportunities.
Pipeline Review: Support Account Managers in refining their approaches to prospective clients or stalled deals.
Innovation & Adaption:
Encouraging Innovation: Push Account Managers to explore new business opportunities, partnerships, and revenue streams in a dynamic fintech landscape.
Agility in Response: Help the team adapt to changing market conditions, regulatory shifts, or technological advancements.
Innovation-Driven Sales: Lead efforts to position the company as a forward-thinking partner, leveraging cutting-edge technology.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Integration with Marketing: Work with marketing teams to develop effective campaigns and generate quality leads.
Feedback Loop: Relay client and market feedback from Account Managers to influence product development and strategy.
Building a Scalable Sales Operation:
Process Optimization: Collaborate with Sales Operations to develop and refine sales processes, ensuring scalability and efficiency.
Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize CRM and analytics tools to make informed decisions and predict trends.
Core Responsibilities:
Sales and Operations Management:
- Recommend and manage the P&L and budget for the relevant business unit within the company and monitor financial performance so that the business is aware of anticipated costs and revenues, areas of unsatisfactory performance and improvement opportunities and that the team focuses on delivering against P&L targets to meet financial performance targets.
- Lead demand-generating marketing and sales activities in the assigned market for the assigned solution.
- Convert sales opportunities to wins and invoice. Track billing and survey customer satisfaction
- Source and distribute relevant thought leadership and marketing material to customers.
- Advise the Pricing and Decision Support function on the most appropriate solution Pricing Schedules to be applied during bid / proposal / quote development.
- Manage all targeted accounts customer relationships in collaboration with Pre-Sales and Service Delivery Management.
- Collate details on new business (pipeline, pending and actual new business) and present the progress and successes of performance against Account Management objectives, targets, as well as against competitive benchmarks.
- Attract new relationships with new customers by supporting collaborative sales efforts.
- Collaborate with the group of Companies to leverage opportunities in our chosen industries.
- Actively drive and follow through on qualified opportunities. Establish ongoing productive and professional relationships with key personnel in assigned new customer accounts; and provide continuous, accurate and consistent feedback to prospective customers.
- Ensure an in-depth understanding of the business unit strategy, growth plan, value drivers (revenue and profit trends), and risks.
- Direct and participate in acquisition and growth activities to support overall business objectives and plans. Build and maintain collaborative and cohesive relationships with the management team across the business.
- Collaborate with executive and senior leadership across Business Units to initiate and integrate the design and development of new solutions to grow the business, or to terminate those that are no longer viable.
- Play a consultative role in reviewing and developing functional plans and budgets to ensure that plans are realistic and stretching but capitalizing upon commercial/operational opportunities.
- Identify and assess market opportunities and new ideas within the company and for collaboration with other business units.
- Lead own team to make a professional assessment and present appropriate recommendations to the Managing Executive and the EXCO team.
- Provide regular performance reports to the Managing Executive and participate with EXCO in business reviews.
- On an ongoing basis, examine current operational processes to identify and implement potential operational improvements that will positively impact service, profitability, and cost performance for the business unit.
- Ensure the provision of subject matter expertise for operations management and provide counsel to the company and operations leadership on all related areas to facilitate the achievement of the company strategy.
- Identify and facilitate sales and business growth opportunities and constantly keep the commercial goals on the operations leadership teams’ radar.
- Provides active input into new Account Management strategies and how opportunities will impact revenue for the business units.
- Drive collaboration across industries and service lines, including collaboration, performance, cross and upsell opportunities.
Staff Leadership and Management:
- Manage the effective achievement of the company’s objectives through effective leadership and by setting of individual objectives, managing performance, developing, and motivating team to maximise performance.
- Build and manage a high performing team by providing leadership, role clarity, training, and career development.
- Ensure open communication channels with staff and implement change management interventions where necessary.
- Definition roles, responsibilities, individual goals, and performance objectives for the team.
- Set KPIs and provide regular performance feedback through a well-defined and implemented performance review program within the business unit.
- Encourage knowledge transfer through development and implementation of a knowledge transfer plan and drive continuous improvement philosophy through the knowledge transfer plan.
- Performance manages resources as per policies and legislation where necessary.
- Promote a company centric’ and ‘partnership approach’ to develop strong relationships with other working groups and ensure adherence to Group governance.
Governance, Risk and Business Continuity Management:
- Ensure that appropriate governance systems are in place and in line with future requirements, i.e. policies, procedures, and reporting structures.
- Continually assess the competitiveness of all operations programs and practices against the relevant comparable companies, industries, and markets.
- Stay up to date of new trends and innovations in operations.
- Manage business risk, through continuous internal and external monitoring of business impact, as well as changes in stakeholder needs.
- Lead and guide improvement projects that will increase profits or protect against risks in the function.
- Establish and maintain the highest ethical standards in operations practices.
- Ensure that the business unit is fully compliant with all the company’s initiatives through conducting regular audits and taking corrective action.
External Parties and Relationship Management:
- Oversee relationship with service providers and ensure all the services are delivered properly, evaluate the performance of consultants and report any deviations to the relevant department for any corrective actions.
- Manage relationships with operational Heads and other Group Executives and act as a trusted advisor.
Education:
- Account Management degree or equivalent qualification
- Management/Leadership program
- MBA or equivalent qualification (Desirable)
Experience:
- At least 8 years progressive experience within a professional services business, including the demonstrated ability to manage, deliver and grow a professional services/solutions practice.
- At least 8 years solutions sales experience with a documented successful track record in selling high end services, rich and complex IT solutions in the relevant industry.
- At least 3 years’ experience in managing a sales team.
Other requirements:
- Good Business Acumen
- Corporate Governance
- Auditing processes
- Solution Sales Methodologies
- Relevant Industry/Domain knowledge
- Entrepreneurial
- Assertiveness
- Leadership
- Attention to detail
- Conflict management
- Professionalism
- Presentation
- Entrepreneurial
- Customer relationship management
