National B2B Sales Manager (Bellville )

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

National B2B Sales Strategy and Business Growth

• Develop and implement the national B2B sales strategy aligned with company objectives, growth plans and profitability targets.
• Translate national business objectives into clear regional sales strategies, targets and execution plans.
• Identify opportunities for geographic expansion, new customer segments and increased market penetration.
• Develop and oversee the national route-to-market strategy to maximise customer coverage, sales productivity and distribution efficiency.
• Analyse market trends, competitor activity, customer insights and industry developments to identify growth opportunities.
• Drive consistent execution of national sales initiatives, promotional campaigns and product category growth strategies.
• Lead national annual sales planning, budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Evaluate regional performance and implement corrective strategies where growth or profitability targets are not achieved.

National Sales Performance and Revenue Growth

• Take overall accountability for achieving national B2B revenue, gross margin, sales volume and customer growth targets.
• Establish and cascade sales targets and performance expectations across regions.
• Monitor national and regional sales performance against approved budgets and forecasts.
• Analyse sales performance by region, customer, territory, sales representative and product category.
• Identify underperforming regions and implement structured performance improvement and recovery plans.
• Drive profitable sales growth through effective pricing, product mix optimisation and customer portfolio management.
• Ensure consistent sales execution and accountability across all regional teams.
• Provide regular consolidated national sales performance reports, insights and recommendations to executive leadership.

National Key Account and Customer Relationship Management

• Provide strategic oversight of key customer relationships and major wholesale accounts across the national B2B portfolio.
• Lead or support negotiations with strategic customers on pricing, commercial terms, contracts and long-term partnerships within approved authority.
• Ensure consistent customer segmentation, account management and customer growth strategies across regions.
• Establish national customer retention and acquisition objectives.
• Oversee the management and resolution of significant escalated customer concerns.
• Drive increased product penetration, cross-selling and B2B Sales profitability.
• Develop strategies to improve customer experience, service levels and long-term customer loyalty.

Regional Sales Leadership and Team Development

• Provide direct leadership, coaching and performance management to Regional B2B Sales Managers.
• Build a high-performance national sales culture centred on accountability, customer obsession and commercial excellence.
• Set clear performance expectations and individual objectives for Regional B2B Sales Managers.
• Conduct structured regional performance reviews and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.
• Support the recruitment, succession planning and development of the Regional sales leadership and oversee it for the later B2B sales team.
• Establish consistent national sales management practices, reporting disciplines and performance standards.
• Ensure appropriate sales capability development, including product knowledge, negotiation, selling skills, customer retention and commercial acumen.
• Conduct regular regional visits and strategic customer engagements to assess execution effectiveness.
• Drive engagement, talent retention and leadership development across the national sales organisation.

Route-to-Market Strategy and Sales Effectiveness

• Develop and oversee the national route-to-market model to maximise customer reach and profitable sales growth.
• Establish national standards for territory planning, customer call cycles, route efficiency and sales representative productivity.
• Review regional territory coverage and identify opportunities to improve market penetration.
• Evaluate sales productivity and the effectiveness of resource allocation across regions.
• Drive improvements in sales processes and sales reporting.
• Ensure Regional B2B Sales Managers implement effective customer visitation and territory management practices.
• Identify opportunities for sales automation, improved systems and operational efficiencies.
• Partner with Logistics to align sales growth plans with distribution capacity and service delivery.

Financial and Commercial Management

• Take accountability for national B2B sales budgets, forecasts and commercial performance.
• Drive gross margin improvement through effective pricing strategies, customer profitability management and product mix optimisation.
• Provide commercial input into pricing structures, discounts, rebates and customer trading terms.
• Monitor customer and regional profitability and implement appropriate improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Finance to manage customer credit exposure, overdue accounts and commercial risks.
• Ensure commercial agreements and customer terms comply with company policies and delegated authorities.
• Assess the financial viability of new customer opportunities, market expansion and sales initiatives.
• Balance revenue growth with sustainable profitability and effective cost management.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Operational Excellence

• Work closely with Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Merchandising, People Operations and other relevant functions to support national B2B objectives.
• Align sales forecasts and customer demand plans with inventory availability and distribution capacity.
• Collaborate with Merchandising on product range opportunities, category performance, pricing and promotional execution.
• Partner with Finance to strengthen sales reporting, margin management, customer credit control and commercial governance.
• Drive improvements in sales processes, systems, customer service and operational efficiency.
• Ensure regional sales operations adhere to agreed national processes and service standards.
• Escalate and resolve significant operational challenges impacting customer service, revenue or profitability.
• Lead relevant sales transformation and continuous improvement initiatives.

Compliance, Governance and Risk Management

• Ensure national compliance with company sales policies, pricing approvals, customer agreements, trading terms and credit policies.
• Maintain ethical standards and sound commercial governance across all regional sales operations.
• Identify and mitigate commercial, customer, operational and financial risks.
• Ensure accurate and reliable sales information is maintained through approved CRM and reporting systems.
• Oversee appropriate controls relating to discounts, rebates, customer accounts and sales transactions.
• Ensure regional leaders manage sales-related stock loss risks in collaboration with the responsible operational functions.
• Promote accountability, integrity and adherence to the company's HO HOLA values.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Grade 12
• Bachelor's Degree in Sales / Marketing / Business Management, Commerce or related field will be an advantage.
• Postgraduate qualification in Business Management or Commercial Leadership
• 8–10 years progressive sales experience within FMCG, Wholesale or Food Distribution
• Minimum 5 years' experience in senior sales leadership, preferably with multi-regional or national responsibility
• Proven experience leading and developing Regional Sales Managers and geographically dispersed sales teams
• Demonstrated success in achieving significant sales revenue, growth and profitability targets
• Experience managing large sales portfolios and strategic customer relationships
• Proven experience in national sales strategy, budgeting, forecasting and commercial planning
• Experience