National Account Manager – Direct Sales & New Business – Home Based (With regular travel to Ashford)

• As a National Account Manager reporting to our Business Manager, within the highly successful Growth Division, your overall challenge will be to gain new profitable business within the Direct Sales Sector and achieve/exceed our budget requirements.
• A detailed knowledge of Brakes structure and capabilities will be required and this knowledge will be used to build internal and external relationships to enable you to develop high volume category sales. This role will work closely with the current Direct Sales Business Manager and will focus on selling product via Procurement Managers and Food Development Teams.
• The pipeline customer base will be high profile corporate sector prospects with estimated annual revenues in excess of £10m. These prospects are some of the most important prospects in our division.
• The role needs a strong sales person who adopts a skilled approach to managing and owning a matrix team approach which ensures that opportunities to win and deliver success with prospect customers are realised.
• To be successful you will have intimate knowledge of the foodservice industry ideally within a distributor environment, strong financial acumen, high energy levels, a hunger for exceeding customer expectations and supporting our mission of ‘helping businesses that serve food to thrive'.
• You will also be passionate about developing the new business process to ensure success is delivered by winning product supply within their chosen distribution provider. The role involves developing a really deep understanding of the top market opportunities by attending industry functions and networking events alongside regular high level customer engagement to build a compelling customer insight database.
• Additionally through taking ownership of the pipeline, you will build effective cross-functional internal and external business relationships which will translate into the development and presentation of innovative customer solutions. This is all measured through the setting and achievement of demanding new business KPI's

Key responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Taking responsibility for the performance of a defined prospect pipeline and sales results to achieve budget.
• Working with your product sales colleagues to deliver tender submissions and implement new business.
• To work with the Business Manager to create a ‘product’ focussed sales plan by customer which identifies specific products and details joint plans to increase category usage.
• An understanding of customer product requirements will be obtained and the plan will ensure that we trade in line with our contractual agreements.
• To identify product consolidation opportunities.
• To be responsible for keeping the product tender tracker updated in partnership with the Team Support Exec, based in Ashford.
• To identify product opportunities and liaise with the Category & Procurement teams to ensure that we maintain & extend existing ranges as well as provide competitive and commercially sound new proposals.
• Benchmark products with the Category teams to ensure that the correct range is proposed.
• Work with Development Chefs to present category reviews to the customer during the tender process.
• Be fully supportive and contribute toward the new business objectives, principles and strategic initiatives.
• Proven track record in delivering against demanding financial and non-financial targets especially within a new business generation environment.
• The analytical capability to fully understand and recommend a P&L modelling process in conjunction with Finance heads for all new pipeline business.
• The ability to engage in high level questioning to build a knowledge of customer needs/buying behaviour to develop bespoke offerings and educate the development of the sector propositions.
• Have the skill set and adaptability to be engaging in order to positively influence senior level customers.
• Preferably educated to degree level, you will have a proven track record of winning profitable new business and subsequent sales delivery, ideally within the public sector marketplace.
• A natural entrepreneur, able to convey and implement innovative ideas and creative solutions within the business limits, you will also have that critical skill of building instant rapport with potential customers.

A strong, all-round leader and communicator, IT-literate, with high level sales, commercial, negotiating and project management skills, you will also bring the ability to: work to tight deadlines in a high-pressure environment, prioritise tasks, delegate, organize, self-motivate, develop contact strategies along with the ability to engage relevant people at all levels.