Area Sales Manager - South

Our client is a multi-brand distributor across a number of leading brands within the toy and nursery industry. One of the world's largest manufacturers of toys made from renewable raw materials and our products have the strictest international quality and safety standards. Behind the innovative design and meticulous quality is the even more pronounced ethos of Love, Play, Learn.

Besides wooden toys, they offer construction toys, sand toys, arts & crafts, puzzles, stationery, and an entire range of nursery accessories & baby products. The portfolio is constantly expanding to offer our customers the widest possible and well-chosen assortment.

Their mission is threefold - to shape the future of the business within the children’s market, to make their brands even better known and established and to reinvent ourselves with proactivity to drive sales, marketing, and our business forward.

The Area Sales Manager role is vital to the expansion and development of new business and growth within independent & buying group accounts across the southern territory.

Reporting to the Head of Sales the key criteria for the role are: -

Key Job Functions

• Maintain and grow our independent account base across the southern territory and maximise sales opportunities within these accounts.
• Identify and prioritise new business accounts in line with customer strategy.
• Maintain excellent product knowledge across the portfolio of brands.
• Maintain a good awareness of market and competitor activities and report as necessary.
• Close liaison with customer services and accounts teams on order book management and credit risks.
• Attend and actively participate in sales and marketing meetings.
• To participate in marketing activities as required such as product launches, promotions, advertising, exhibitions, and trade shows. This will require overnight stays.

Candidate Requirements

• You will have an excellent track record of sales and driving high sales value opportunities.
• You will have experience of selling premium quality branded items in the toy, gift and nursery market. 
• You will be an enthusiastic, dynamic, and hands-on salesperson who is comfortable working in a very small team environment. 
• You will be used to working for a business which operates at a fast pace but with structure and attention to detail.
• You will have the ability to establish long term relationships with new and existing accounts.
• You will be comfortable with taking on a role which requires a lot of new business development as well as nurturing existing business.
• Ideally you will be located a maximum of 2.5 hours of Leicestershire and be located to the South to allow access to the office when required. There will be considerable travel involved across the length and breadth of the territory.
• You will have strong skills in numeracy and communication (both written and verbal).
• You will be happy to take direction from the Head of Sales but also be able to work autonomously without too much hand holding.
• Last but by no means least - you will bring energy, drive and a good sense of humour.