Area Sales Manager - General Trade - FMCG

Area Sales Manager- GT - Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Summary:

The Areas Sales Manager is responsible to develop plans to increase sales, customer base and expand distributors across all Hershey India products in an assigned geographical area as per sales targets.

The key responsibilities of the role include connecting with distributors to increase customer base, setting targets for each sales officer, evaluating performance of the sales team and analyzing sales figures.

Customer Infrastructure & Satisfaction:

The Area Sales Manager is responsible for ensuring a robust Customer Infrastructure is in place in the territory. Distributors are appointed by the ASM wherever necessary, and it is her/his responsibility to track their overall performance on key metrics. ASM is supposed to optimize the quantity and quality of customers in his area such that there are no service gaps while ensuring adequate service levels for trade and financial viability for customers. He/She monitors the financial health and profitability of all Customers. The ASM also needs to step in from time to time to resolve customer level issues which cannot be handled at a sales officer level. Along with his/her team ASM is also responsible for primary and secondary customer complaint resolution.

Growth & Execution:

The Area Sales Manager drives Top-line growth in the area and ensures all execution metrics are also in place. He/She will also need to monitor channel-wise and category-wise growths in the territory. It is also the ASM's responsibility to ensure all merchandising activities are run well. Execution metrics are the input metrics for delivering share gaining growth and are hence very important.

Drive a Team:

Team handling & team building are the most important aspects of an ASM's role. The ASM is responsible for managing the team, motivating them, and getting them to deliver their metrics. He/She needs to understand the working style and strengths and weaknesses of each person to get them to reach their potential and needs to provide developmental inputs on a continuous basis. How an ASM binds his team together is often a make-or-break factor in performance of a team.

Liaising with key partner functions:

The ASM liaises with the Supply Chain Team to ensure packwise SKU wise estimates are built correctly for the area. He also ensures norms build up at a distributor level are hygienic and supplies from depots are in order. He/She also ensures that the stock build up at Customer points are at the acceptable level. The ASM works with the Commercial Team to ensure customers are healthy and that payments to company are in order.

Ensuring Controls & Financial hygiene:

Along with Commercial & Supply Chain team, ASM is supposed to have check on system hygiene at customers on aspects like extent of sales return, extent of damage/shortage claims, mismatch between primary & secondary, physical vs books stock mismatch, trade discount. ASM needs to play an active role in probing cases of deviation from norms on the above-mentioned aspects.

Negotiation & Forecasting:

Close the deal with top retailers by negotiating trade terms, trade funding & counter parts according to the company strategy. Manage overall category investments for the customer. Share of Shelf, Face ups alignment with the retailer. Overall health share of shelf to be ensured in the category. In store visibility/highlight display, continuously improve share of shelf vs competitor to amplify impact of product visibility on consumers.

Preparing volume and value forecasts and plans as per sales trend and continuously delving into data to arrive at certain decisions.

Knowledge:

- Must be from FMCG industry.

- Must have General Trade experience

- Experienced in handling multiple categories.

- Must have experience in Modern trade.

- Awareness of the regional language of area assigned preferred.

- Experience in the market assigned.

Skills:

- Good analytical and problem solving skills

- Good communication skills

- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications

- Excellent management, leadership and organizational skills

- Exceptional customer service skills

- Outstanding negotiation and consultative sales skills

- Education: MBA from Tier1/Tier2 Business Schools are preferred

- Experience: 2- 6 years of Experience. Has worked in FMCG industry in sales