Brighton Area Sales Manager
Location: Brighton and Hove with travel across Sussex
Salary: £45,000 per year plus performance related bonus and car allowance
Reporting to: Head of Sales
About CN Foods
CN Foods is a fast growing food and drink distributor supplying independent retailers, cafés, delis, restaurants, hospitality businesses and specialist food outlets across the UK.
We work with an exciting and constantly evolving portfolio of premium, specialist and high growth food and drink brands. Having built a strong customer base across London and the South East, we are now looking to significantly expand our presence in Brighton, Hove and the surrounding Sussex area.
The Role
We are looking for an experienced, commercially minded and highly hands on sales professional to lead the development of our Brighton business.
This is not a traditional management role where you will inherit an established team and customer base. You will be responsible for getting the area off the ground by identifying new opportunities, winning new customers and building strong relationships with independent retailers, cafés, delis, restaurants, bars, hotels and other food and drink businesses.
You will also manage and grow existing customers in the area, regularly visiting them, introducing new products and helping them develop their ranges.
As the Brighton business grows, we expect to recruit additional local salespeople and account managers who will report to you. You will therefore play a central role in building the local sales operation, helping recruit the right people and creating an effective, high performing team.
The successful candidate will combine strong account management and new business development experience with commercial awareness, excellent product knowledge and the ability to lead from the front.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a sales plan for Brighton, Hove and the surrounding Sussex area
- Identify, prospect and win new independent retail and hospitality customers
- Build strong, long term relationships with new and existing accounts
- Visit customers regularly to take orders, introduce new products and identify growth opportunities
- Develop a strong understanding of each customer’s business, product range and commercial requirements
- Present products and brands confidently to retailers, buyers and business owners
- Manage pricing, margins, promotions and commercial agreements responsibly
- Monitor customer sales performance, credit position and account profitability
- Work closely with the Head of Sales, account management, buying, supply chain and transport teams
- Represent CN Foods at local events, trade shows and networking opportunities
- Help recruit, train and manage future salespeople based in the Brighton area
- Establish clear sales targets, routines and standards for the developing local team
- Provide regular forecasts, pipeline updates and commercial feedback to senior management
About You
You will be entrepreneurial, energetic and comfortable building something from the beginning. You will enjoy being out in the market, meeting customers and creating opportunities rather than waiting for leads to come to you.
You should have:
- Previous experience in B2B sales, account management or business development
- A strong track record of prospecting and winning new customers
- Experience managing and growing existing accounts
- Ideally, experience within food, drink, wholesale, hospitality, FMCG or independent retail
- Strong commercial awareness, including an understanding of pricing, margins, credit and profitability
- Excellent communication, presentation and relationship building skills
- Good product knowledge and a genuine interest in food and drink
- Experience managing, coaching or supporting salespeople
- The confidence to work independently and take ownership of a developing region
- Strong organisational, planning and reporting skills
- A full UK driving licence and the ability to travel regularly around Brighton, Hove and Sussex
What We Are Looking For
This role would suit someone who is currently working as an Area Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Senior Account Manager, Business Development Manager or Field Sales Manager and is ready to take ownership of a developing territory.
You must be prepared to be hands on from day one. Initially, much of your time will be spent visiting potential customers, opening accounts and personally managing customer relationships. Over time, the role will develop into leading and growing a wider Brighton based sales team.
What We Offer
- £45,000 base salary
- Performance related bonus with strong earning potential
- Car allowance to support travel across Brighton, Hove and Sussex
- The opportunity to build and lead a new regional sales operation
- A broad and exciting portfolio of food and drink products
- Significant autonomy and responsibility
- Direct access to senior leadership
- Genuine progression opportunities as the Brighton business grows
- The opportunity to join an ambitious and rapidly expanding company
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