Area Sales Manager

Roles & Responsibilities

Achieve monthly/quarterly sales target, Add distributors, wholesalers and retail outlets , Recruit, train, manage and motivate sales executives, Build beat plans and ensure outlet coverage, Ensure distributors actually sell through to retailers, Availability, visibility, schemes, merchandising , Collections, stock, reporting, competition and claims,

1. Sales Management

• Achieve monthly, quarterly and annual sales targets.
• Drive primary and secondary sales.
• Prepare territory-wise sales plans.
• Monitor daily, weekly and monthly sales performance.
• Identify gaps and implement corrective actions.
• Develop new markets and increase sales productivity.

2. Distributor Management

• Identify and appoint suitable distributors.
• Develop distributor relationships.
• Monitor distributor stock and inventory.
• Ensure healthy distributor ROI.
• Ensure timely collections.
• Monitor claims, returns and ageing stock.
• Drive secondary sales from distributors to retailers.

3.Team Building

• Recruit Sales Officers/Executives as per territory requirements.
• Train and onboard new team members.
• Set individual targets.
• Conduct daily/weekly reviews.
• Accompany team members in the market.
• Coach underperformers.
• Develop high-performing salespeople.
• Maintain discipline and accountability.

4. Market Expansion

• Identify new outlets and new markets.
• Increase numeric distribution.
• Expand into new towns/localities.
• Develop wholesale and retail channels.
• Ensure availability of priority SKUs.

5. Beat & Outlet Management

• Design effective beat plans.
• Ensure regular outlet coverage.
• Monitor productive calls.
• Track new outlet additions.
• Improve strike rate and outlet productivity.

6. Market Execution

• Ensure product availability.
• Implement schemes correctly.
• Improve product visibility.
• Monitor merchandising.
• Track competitor pricing, products and promotions.
• Provide market intelligence to management.
• Drive secondary sales from distributors to retailers.

7. Reporting

• Daily sales reporting.
• Weekly territory review.
• Monthly sales forecast.
• Distributor stock reports.
• Team productivity reports.
• Competitor intelligence.
• Outlet expansion reports.

Required:

• 3 to 7 years FMCG/beverage sales experience.
• Experience managing distributors and retail channels.
• Experience managing a field sales team.
• Proven track record of achieving sales targets.
• Strong knowledge of the assigned market.
• Good communication and negotiation skills.
• Strong leadership and analytical ability.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the assigned territory.

Preferred Candidates from:

• Beverage/soft-drink/juice/energy-drink/FMCG experience.
• Existing knowledge of local distributor/retailer network.
• Experience launching new products.
• Experience building new territories.
• Knowledge of sales reporting/CRM/SFA systems.

Perks and benefits