Technical Sales Manager, Valida

Sappi Biotech is looking to hire a Technical Sales Manager for our Valida product. The Technical Sales Manager will develop and grow a new customer base, manage revenue and volume targets and implement product portfolio strategies; and maximize business opportunities through a unique understanding of the product application, market and customer dynamics within a specific sales region.

Main Responsibilities:

• Identifies, actively pursues and engages with potential new and existing customers from lead generation to generating sales
• Manage distributor performance and achieve sales targets
• Develop customer specific offerings from the product and service portfolio in order to capitalise on commercial opportunities in collaboration with business management and product management
• Liaise with R&D and product management in order to initiate and steer product improvement and new product development according to market needs and opportunities
• Own and manage customer relationships, to foster customer alliances and partnerships
• Negotiation of contracts and supply agreements with customers
• Collaborate with internal sales and manage the total order to cash transaction with customers
• Achieve clear targets in terms of revenue and volume for specific customers and region
• Document customer feedback through structured Customer Relationship Management, with scheduled visits per customer.
• Implement sales and marketing strategy for the portfolio
• Manage customer specific initiatives in line with the sales and marketing strategy
• Handle the resolution of customer complaints related to sales, quality and service
• Gather and analyse market information for product portfolio in each region
• Manage debtors book for product portfolio and facilitate account query resolution between customers and Sappi
• Coordinate technical support to facilitate the incorporation of Valida into customer products and processes
• Liaise with Technical Product Specialists, Mills and Logistics personnel regarding any non-conforming products or deliveries to customers
• Work with the Supply Chain Team to analyse customer needs and the effective routes to market
• Anticipate business opportunities and act promptly to capture value
• Support Business management in setting up and Implementing sales and marketing strategies for the product portfolio
   
  Requirements:
• Minimum of 5 years of appropriate Sales and new business development experience
• Sales experience in personal care and home care markets is considered an advantage
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
• Must have a strong account management focus and a proven track record of winning sales in a tough selling environment, a technical background in Chemical Engineering, or chemistry related education would be advantageous
• Fluency in English is required (knowledge of any other language such as French and Spanish will be considered as an asset)
• Excellent reporting and systems skills: MS office, Salesforce, CRM
• Experience with innovation processes in a B2B environment
• This position will require multi day traveling on a regular basis