Area Sales Manager - North of England & Scotland

Carlisle Source: WhatJobs

£40,000–£64,000

Position: Area Sales Manager - North of England & Scotland

Brands: AL-KO, MITOX and WEIBANG

Location: The candidate will be field-based and must be located centrally within the area of responsibility.

Employment Type: Full-time

Company Overview:

AL-KO Gardentech UK is a leading provider of high-quality garden and landscape machinery. Now part of the DAYE group, AL-KO Gardentech UK is the sole UK importer for the AL-KO, Mitox and WEIBANG brands which cater for both professional and domestic users. Known for innovation, performance and reliability, our company and brands are trusted across the horticultural industry and held in high regard by our core customer base: the specialist garden machinery dealer network.

AL-KO Gardentech UK is based in Wincanton, Somerset, where we have a 75,000 ft² purpose-built warehouse that stores all our machinery and spare parts under one roof to supply our customers on a next-day service. We boast a strong and experienced management team, as well as in-house customer care, technical, logistics, accounts and marketing departments to support our specialist dealer network. We pride ourselves on our online B2B dealer portal and utilise a range of reporting and CRM business tools to maximise our efficiency.

Position Summary:

With our drive for continued growth and expansion, we are looking to strengthen our current team with a bright, driven, passionate and experienced Area Sales Manager. We are seeking a candidate with a good knowledge and understanding of the specialist garden machinery or similar industry.

The Area Sales Manager role is a key customer-facing position, responsible for achieving budget targets on a monthly and annual basis. You will be an integral part of the AL-KO UK business and Sales Team, being the face of our three brands to the dealers in your region. Your role will ensure continued product visibility amongst the dealer network, and you will play a vital part in building long-term relationships with our dealer network and customer base.

A satisfied retail customer is key to our success; therefore, the standard of our dealer network needs to be developed to a level that ensures every dealer is a destination store for the retail/end user.

The role requires a good communicator with the drive and selling ability to develop and maintain a strong retail dealer network that meets and exceeds brand standards. The successful candidate must be able to confidently promote our brands, provide excellent sales and aftersales support, be able to demonstrate product and educate customers on the features and benefits of being a brand partner.

The role will be focused on developing our current dealers as well as seeking out new prospect and dealership opportunities.

The ideal candidate will be proactive and will always provide fast, accurate and timely responses to our dealers. They will be a professional person capable of developing relationships with customers and peers, built on integrity, a strong work ethic and a team-first mentality.

AL-KO Gardentech UK offers the right candidate the opportunity to join a growing business, where an enthusiastic team supported by solid business infrastructure results in an enjoyable working environment.

The role will incorporate UK-wide travel for industry events and scheduled meetings and training at HQ.

A comprehensive induction training will be provided at HQ.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties:

Represent the brands professionally at all times, upholding company values and standards.
Conduct regular business meetings with dealers to ensure retail success that drives strong wholesale performance through the monitoring and management of brand standards.
Assist dealers in establishing wholesale and retail goals, with an understanding of market demands within their local area.
Advise on the correct stocking of products that fit the dealer’s customer demographic.
Take a 360-degree approach to business to enhance the customer journey (service, parts, accessories, warranty etc.).
Coordinate and conduct sell-in presentations for new and existing products, programmes and events.
Advise and coordinate showroom set-up, branding and shopfitting.
Encourage and drive dealer participation in all product training, seminars, demo events and technical training.
Promote dealer involvement in marketing, promotions, local shows, open days, product demonstrations, positive social media PR and events.
Identify and target territory specialist dealer open points through prospecting activities.
Gather and report on market, industry and competitor information.
Use CRM tools proactively.
Deliver all administration requests in a timely and reliable manner.
Connect proactively with the internal HQ team to provide excellent dealer and customer support.
Prepare for and attend regular sales meetings and annual dealer business seminars/events.
Embrace and promote the values and ethos of AL-KO.
Strive to achieve No.1 status in all multi-franchise dealer business, while encouraging dealers to represent a broad selection of our product ranges.

Skills and Qualifications:

Sales, distribution, retail, branding and customer service experience with a proven track record.
Satisfactory school and college/university qualifications.
Comfortable using IT, with experience in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Teams.
Able to understand profit and loss calculations and basic business finance.
Understanding of the garden machinery industry and related markets such as horticulture, agriculture and forestry.
A background working with dealer/distributor networks.
Familiarity with professional and domestic horticultural markets.
Experience within the garden machinery industry or similar outdoor power equipment.
A strong mechanical aptitude and hands-on experience operating and maintaining machinery.
Previous experience with robotic lawnmowers, with a strong understanding of the technology and practical experience in product demonstrations, installation, boundary and mapping setup, app connectivity, software configuration, fault diagnosis and troubleshooting. The role will also involve supporting dealers and customers with technical queries, providing product guidance and helping ensure successful installation and ongoing operation of robotic lawnmowers.

Personal Attributes:

Enthusiastic and passionate about garden machinery and providing the very best level of customer service.
Professional, courteous, well-presented and excellent communication abilities.
Reliable, self-motivated and adaptable to change.
Self-driven, results-oriented and reliable with a positive outlook.
Honest and trustworthy.
Organised, disciplined and a natural forward planner.
Able to work independently, manage time effectively and travel extensively.
A team player with strong interpersonal skills.

Working Conditions:

Extensive travel within the territory, with business-related hotel stays likely (up to 3 nights per week at certain times of year).
Quarterly sales meeting attendance at our Wincanton HQ.
Travel to remote locations and attendance at corporate functions.
Home-office working, supported by the UK HQ.
Occasional weekend and/or evening work to support dealer/business events.
Involvement in industry shows and events and occasional international travel.