Export Sales Manager Andover, England
Job description
Först is a brand driven by energy and passion. We are a family, a winning team of like-minded individuals who exist to produce more than woodchippers, together our mission is to back our customers to create a better environment.
Each one of our valued team members plays a vital role in helping us to advance Arboriculture by delivering customer experiences, products and business partnerships that enable our customers to run their businesses more efficiently. In turn, this achieves our vision to shape a sustainable environment through innovation and customer-focused solutions.
Our Export Sales Manager plays a crucial role in supporting our mission to turn the planet orange by acting as the Dealer Ambassador within Först! They will nurture solid, trusted relationships with all valued Dealer partners and provide them with all the support they need to achieve ambitious targets in their markets.
This role will be responsible for £16M of business from existing dealers in our EU and ROW markets, specifically the focus will be on developing markets outside of the UK, Germany and North America as these territories already have a dedicated site-lead in place. Först is a relatively young brand but it is already 4 times the size of its nearest UK competitor with big plans for future growth!
Key Responsibilities:
To contribute to, implement and execute a core segment of the Först sales strategy, primarily focussed on building trusting relationships with our small pool of Dealers.- To gain a deep understanding of each Dealer’s market and the challenges/opportunities they face; applying strategic thinking to generate a tailored sales plan and develop impactful marketing strategies.
- To set newly onboarded Dealerships up for success by educating them on the Först sales strategy and work in close collaboration with their sales teams to ensure they are fully acquainted with the Först products and USPs.
- To maximise sales by joining Dealership personnel on high profile prospect demonstrations and appointments.
- To embed policies, processes and metrics to ensure a consistent yet bespoke approach for each market.
- To manage a calendar of regular Dealer meetings and visits, this will include holding quarterly performance reviews with Dealers to ensure optimum performance in each market.
- To ensure complete understanding, alignment and compliance with Först’s values and standards in all business areas; including Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.
- To proactively identify areas of underperformance, taking swift action to set development plans to realise the required improvements or, if necessary, end the working arrangement and find a replacement Dealer Partner.
- To collaborate with the Group Sales Director to develop the Export Sales Strategy and plans for new areas/markets.
- To scope out new areas with a view to establishing dealer networks in markets where the Först brand isn’t yet represented.
- To launch new product ranges to existing dealers
- To produce forecast revenue results as accurately as possible for each market
Person Specification:
Demonstrable tenacity in a similar role requiring commercial flair combined with a structured and systematic approach to embed the right partnerships in the right places in order to grow existing markets and introduce new products.- Previous experience in communicating with influence to secure mutually beneficial business relationships. This role requires tough negotiation skills and the ability to manage distributor expectations in a helpful but firm manner.
- Experience in providing robustly accurate sales forecasts that inspire confidence and demonstrate sound commercial awareness.
- Successful track record in building international distribution networks and significantly growing sales with relevant international export experience, preferably within the capital equipment/machinery industry.
- Demonstrable experience working with a broad range of customers, showing respect for cultural diversity.
- Confident user of phone/video calls to identify and meet with prospective dealers demonstrating the ability to build productive and lucrative relationships virtually in the first instance.
- Possesses the necessary Strategic/Commercial skills to assess priorities and develop/implement short, medium and long-term plans
- Energetic, enthusiastic and results-oriented management style but also a team-player, able to receive feedback and take corrective action in response.
- Ability to speak French would be a huge bonus!
- Prepared to travel up to 1 – 2 weeks per month outside of the UK. Travel will include driving long distances and towing machinery e.g. when a new machine needs launching to our dealer network.
- A fun and outgoing attitude with a desire to support the growth of an industry-leading brand (whilst enjoying professional growth at the same time)
We are Först, our values represent who we are as a company, they guide our decisions, underpin our relationships and govern the way we conduct ourselves and our business. To spread the Först effect on a global scale we need the right type of people on the journey with us. We are proud to hire dynamic people whose values, talent, experience and skills match ours. The Först Values are:
You’ve got our back, we have yours.
Whether you are a customer, supplier or colleague we understand that we can’t achieve our mission without you. We’re in this together and we respect each other.
Every Customer is a VIP.
We get it. Without delivering first class customer experiences we won’t retain customers; without customers we can’t achieve our mission. It’s simple.
Excellence as standard.
It’s what we strive for every day, in every area of our business. We build high performance machines and provide an aftercare service that is second to none because our customers deserve it.
Enjoy the ride.
We love this industry, we’re on a journey to sustain landscapes and livelihoods. Every person who shares this journey with us is vital to it. Enjoy it.
