Area Sales Manager

Area Sales Manager
Territory: Eastern England, Midlands & Home Counties
Sector: Manufactured Packaging Solutions
Package: Basic annual salary up to £55,000 (dependent on experience), plus bonus (OTE £10k), Company Car, healthcare & company benefits
Are you an experienced and successful new business sales professional with a good technical background in selling solutions Or perhaps you’re an experienced sales individual seeking something a little different
If you’re keen to join a genuine market leader in bespoke packaging design, then please read on....
The Company
Suttons Performance Packaging (A E Sutton Ltd) has recently been acquired by Macfarlane Group, the UK’s largest packaging distributor. Having been a market leader in the design and manufacture of bespoke protective packaging for over 60 years we are now searching for an experienced sales professional to join our team.
Having already gained significant traction across several key market sectors, we are seeking to appoint the best available individual to assume responsibility as Area Sales Manager, heading up and driving sales growth within the wider Eastern Region, Midlands and Home Counties.
The Area Sales Manager Role
Reporting to the Operations Director, this role is responsible for growing sales of bespoke packaging solutions (protective packaging) across the Eastern & Central UK Regions.
This shall be undertaken primarily by managing our established customer base and by gaining introductions and referrals to the wider Macfarlane Group customer portfolio.
Effective networking within the wider group, working in alliance with key stakeholders will therefore be key to ensuring a team approach to securing new sales.
From the referral/introduction stage, you will attend meeting appointments to help assess customer requirements, enabling you to tailor effective solutions. Sales cycles can typically be anywhere from 3-6 months so you will be expected to build a healthy pipeline via a dual approach (both acting as ‘product champion’ within the wider Group to gain referrals, but also seeking to build a separate pipeline of new sales opportunities via traditional direct sales in terms of identifying and targeting your own prospects).
Area Sales Manager Key Responsibilities

• Act as the lead point of contact within the region for any fresh sales enquiries
• Develop an expert understanding of the product/solution, current product line variations and its potential application to multiple business scenarios
• Create demand for the solution, generating territory growth in line with defined commercial targets
• Acting as product ‘champion’ across the Group, to actively network & liaise closely with all relevant distribution sites to increase awareness, build understanding and secure ‘buy in’ from key colleagues, this to ultimately help facilitate customer referrals & key customer introductions
• Provide internal support to internal colleagues, management & sales teams as required incorporating training & sales visits, product design, demonstration, and application support with customers
• Via consultative sales approach, analyze & problem solve to present appropriate solutions
• Develop a trusted advisor relationship with key customer stakeholders and decision makers
• Working closely with the National Product Manager, provide support when required in relation to specific customer needs for new product design and innovation

Do you have the correct profile
To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate a strong track-record of new business sales generation and ideally either come from a distributor sales/channel distribution sales background (experienced in pulling sales through via a third-party distributor model) or packaging sales direct to end user.
We would also prefer someone to have been accustomed to selling a technical product/application-based solution, whilst some understanding of packaging would be advantageous this is not imperative as training can be provided. You will naturally have first rate presentation, customer facing and influencing skills accompanied by strong commercial acumen and problem solving/analysis capabilities. A full valid UK driving license is required in line with this being a field-based sales role and ideally, applicants will live within a ‘sensible’ commutable distance of our main manufacturing site located in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
Our Benefits

• We provide a competitive basic starting salary and operate a range of rewarding bonus/incentive schemes. Our flexible employee benefits can include: -
• 22 days annual leave (rising to 24 days with service) plus all public/bank holidays
• Contributory pension scheme
• Company Car
• Extensive range of training/development & potential progression opportunities
• BUPA cover for qualifying roles

A E Sutton Ltd (Macfarlane Group) is also dedicated to maximizing every employee’s potential, by providing career development plans and pathways in an environment that fosters personal growth and continuous improvement.
How to apply/next steps
This is an urgent appointment whereby we will be working to identify and review the very best of applicants swiftly in the hope of selecting the successful candidate to commence with us ASAP. Please note that Macfarlane Group supports ‘hybrid working’ where possible and we often conduct our first stage interviews via video.
To make an application please simply click ‘apply’ ensuring that your CV is up to date and relevant. All applications will be acknowledged, shortlisted applicants normally hearing from us within a week or two. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified at the end of our process, although if you haven’t heard from us within 2-3 weeks of applying, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.
NO RECRUITMENT AGENCIES PLEASE