Sales Manager Job at Talented Recruitment Specialists

• We are looking for a commercially driven, hands-on Sales Manager who can lead and grow the sales team while personally contributing to new business generation and revenue growth.
• The ideal candidate should have a strong background in sales, preferably within asset finance, equipment finance, commercial vehicle finance, plant and machinery, or a related industry.

Duties and Responsibilities: 
Sales strategy, planning and execution:

• Set and keep refining the sales strategy for the company, in line with the group's commercial objectives and approved business plans.
• Break the company's growth targets down into monthly, quarterly and annual targets for the team and for each marketer.
• Maintain a written sales plan that names target industries, prospective clients, referral partners, geographic opportunities and funding channels.
• Concentrate business development on mining, construction, transport, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture and power generation, plus any other sector that fits the company's risk appetite and return requirements.
• Plan separately for internally funded deals and for deals brokered through third-party finance houses.
• Look for new revenue streams, partnerships, referral channels and markets.
• Keep a rolling sales forecast built on real opportunities, realistic deal values, expected approval dates and expected payout dates.

Sales team leadership and accountability:

• Recruit, onboard, train and develop marketers and business development staff within the approved staffing structure.
• Agree targets, activity standards and performance expectations with each team member.
• Hold regular one-on-ones and team meetings to review progress, deal with obstacles and agree corrective action.
• Track individual and team results against target: new leads, qualified opportunities, applications submitted, approvals, signed contracts and payouts.
• Pick up underperformance early and put documented improvement plans in place, with clear actions and deadlines.
• Make sure every marketer carries an active, credible pipeline and owns each opportunity from first contact through to payout.
• Handle disciplinary and performance matters in line with company policy and labour legislation.
• Build a culture where accountability, commercial discipline and results are expected of everyone.

Lead geenrationg and business development: 

• Own the flow of qualified opportunities into the business.
• Run structured lead-generation initiatives: direct prospecting, industry networking, referrals, strategic partnerships, client visits and marketing campaigns.
• Expect marketers to go out and prospect for new business, not wait on inbound leads, existing clients or referrals.
• Build and maintain relationships with equipment dealers, manufacturers, auctioneers, contractors, transport operators, mining companies, brokers and other industry players.
• Set timeframes for allocating, contacting, qualifying and following up leads, and hold the team to them.
• Plan targeted campaigns and industry promotions together with Marketing.
• Review conversion rates to see which channels and activities give the best return.
• Point lead generation at clients with a genuine funding need, the capacity to repay and suitable assets or transactions.

Deal qualification, structuring and commercial oversight:

• Before a deal goes to Credit, confirm it is commercially viable, properly priced and within the company's funding mandate and risk appetite.
• Coach marketers in assessing the client's business model, funding requirement, purpose of the transaction, repayment ability, asset suitability and overall commercial rationale.
• Make sure deals are properly qualified before significant time is spent processing them.
• Oversee preliminary structuring and pricing, including fees, deposits, rental terms and repayment structures, within approved guidelines.
• Decide the funding route for each deal: funded internally or placed with an external finance house.
• Review complex or material transactions before submission so the proposal is realistic, complete and well motivated.
• Work with Credit to answer queries, improve application quality and resolve structuring issues without lowering credit standards.
• Stop sales staff from promising approvals, pricing, terms or turnaround times that have not been authorised.
• Escalate transactions that need management approval in line with the delegation of authority.
• Protect returns by making sure fees, commissions and other agreed revenue are priced in and properly recorded.

Sales pipeline and transaction conversion:

• Keep direct oversight of the whole pipeline, from lead and qualification through application, credit assessment, approval, contracting and payout.
• Make sure all leads and deals are captured and kept up to date on Monday.com or the designated CRM.
• For every transaction, know its status, owner, outstanding requirements, next action, expected completion date and any risks or delays.
• Run a pipeline review that picks out stalled deals, overdue actions, material risks and deals that need management intervention.
• Give every active opportunity a next action, an accountable person and a realistic payout date.
• Monitor conversion at each stage and act where deals are being lost or delayed.
• Work with Credit, Legal, Administration and Operations to clear bottlenecks and shorten the time from lead to payout.
• Move approved deals to signed contract and payout without unnecessary delay.
• Look into lost, declined, withdrawn and stalled deals, and apply what is learned.
• Make sure forecast revenue is backed by credible, documented opportunities.

Client relationship management and revenue growth: 

• Build and maintain relationships with key clients, strategic accounts, referral partners and industry stakeholders.
• Get personally involved in significant transactions and high-value opportunities that need senior attention.
• Grow existing relationships into repeat business, further asset-finance opportunities and referrals.
• Manage client expectations professionally and keep communication consistent throughout a transaction.
• Handle escalated client concerns and coordinate with the relevant departments to resolve them promptly.
• Stay visible in the market through client meetings, site visits and industry events.
• Build relationships for the long term rather than for once-off deals.

Sale reporting, forecasting and management information: 

• Give executive management accurate sales reports on time, at the agreed intervals.

Report actual performance against target, covering:

• Qualified leads generated and new opportunities opened
• Applications submitted and credit approvals obtained
• Approval-to-acceptance conversion
• Contracts signed and transactions paid out
• Total transaction value and company revenue generated
• Internally funded versus externally placed business
• Pipeline value and expected payout dates
• Average turnaround time and the reasons for delays
• Lost and declined deals, with the reasons
• Individual marketer performance against forecast
• Provide a rolling forecast of expected approvals, signed deals and payouts, and flag any gap against budget.
• Explain material variances between forecast and actual, and take corrective action.
• Share commercial insight with management: market feedback, competitor activity and ideas for improving sales performance.
• Report outcomes, not meetings held, calls made or leads captured.

Cross-functional coordination: 

• Work with Credit, Finance, Legal, Administration, Operations and Marketing to keep transactions moving through the business.
• Make sure applications reach Credit meeting the agreed minimum information and documentation standards.
• Agree handover and communication requirements between Sales and the departments that assess, document and pay out deals.
• Work with department heads to fix recurring delays and process inefficiencies.
• Pass on accurately to the relevant teams any commitments Sales has made to clients.
• Attend management and pipeline meetings, update on material transactions and follow through on agreed actions.
• Respect the independence of Credit and the other control functions. Sales targets must never override risk-management requirements.

Group cross-selling and opportunity identification:

• Look for cross-selling opportunities across all group companies, and where appropriate use relationships built by one company to generate business for the others.
• Understand each group company's products, services, funding capabilities and target markets, so that complementary solutions can be offered to existing and prospective clients.
• Build cross-selling into the sales strategy, the client engagement process and each marketer's performance expectations.
• Set up a structured process to identify, record, allocate and track cross-selling opportunities.
• Refer opportunities to the right group company and follow them through until they are converted, declined or otherwise closed.
• Work with the relevant management teams to find opportunities arising from existing clients, prospective transactions, referral partners, asset-finance requirements, equipment sales and rental needs.
• Record each opportunity in the group's CRM or pipeline system, including the referring company, receiving company, responsible person, potential value, next action and outcome.
• Report on the number, value and conversion rate of cross-selling opportunities and the revenue they generate.
• Encourage collaboration so that opportunities are not lost to internal silos, unclear responsibilities or poor communication.
• Handle cross-selling arrangements, referrals, revenue attribution and any intercompany fees or commissions in line with approved group policies and agreements.

Process, compliance and sales governance: 

• Comply with company policies, approved pricing structures, mandates, the delegation of authority and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Keep client information, application documents, quotations and supporting records accurate, complete and properly maintained.
• Record all material client engagements and transaction developments on the designated systems.
• Prevent unauthorised commitments, misleading representations and any attempt to bypass credit and approval processes.
• Make sure referral arrangements, commissions, fees and third-party relationships are authorised and documented.
• Keep client information confidential and handle it as the applicable requirements demand.
• Spot weaknesses in sales processes and recommend practical improvements to controls, accountability and turnaround times.

Performance management and continous improvement:

• Set measurable performance standards for the sales function and review them regularly with executive management.
• Analyse the causes of underperformance, such as too little prospecting, poor lead quality, weak qualification, low conversion or slow progress on deals.
• Agree specific corrective actions with owners and completion dates.
• Identify training needs and build the team's ability to find, qualify, structure and present sound transactions.
• Review the sales incentive scheme and recommend changes that reward profitable, completed transactions rather than activity or approvals alone.
• Review sales processes, market positioning, customer feedback and competitor offerings on a regular basis.
• Feed lessons from unsuccessful deals back into future sales practice.

Personal business development and commercial contribution:

• Stay hands-on in winning new business and building strategic relationships. The role is not purely administrative.
• Personally pursue selected strategic accounts, referral relationships and material opportunities that can contribute meaningfully to growth.
• Know the company's products, funding criteria, target markets, margins and competitive position well.
• Lead by example through disciplined prospecting, professional client engagement and ownership of deals.
• Contribute directly to the company's revenue and payout targets.

Requirements: 

• Experience of 3+ years in a sales leadership role.
• A proven track record of achieving sales and revenue targets.
• The ability and experience to create a sales plan to generate new business and establish referral partnerships.
• Experience in recruiting good BDO`s and building a sales team.
• Experience managing, developing and holding a sales team accountable.
• Strong commercial judgement and an understanding of finance transactions.
• Effective pipeline management, forecasting and deal-conversion capabilities.
• The ability to identify and develop cross-selling opportunities across the group.
• A willingness to remain actively involved in prospecting, client relationships and closing deals.