Job Description: Sales Manager

Location: Chennai, India

Reporting To: Sales Leader

Role Objective:

The Sales Manager will be responsible for driving revenue growth, developing new business opportunities, strengthening relationships with key customers and expanding the company's presence across identified industrial segments.

The role requires a commercially strong and customer-focused sales professional with experience in industrial B2B sales. The successful candidate will be responsible for achieving sales and profitability targets through effective key account management, market development, channel engagement and disciplined commercial execution.

The Sales Manager will work closely with the Sales Leader, technical teams, operations and other internal stakeholders to identify growth opportunities, strengthen customer relationships and improve market penetration.

Business Context:

The business has a revenue base of approximately 400 crore, with gross margins in the mid-20% range, and is targeting mid-teens CAGR growth.

Key Industry Segments:

- Automotive Non-Structural Applications

- Telecom Cable Components

- Industrial Pipes & Tanks

- Windmill Blades

Key Customers:

- Industrial manufacturers

- OEMs

- Large distributors and channel partners

Market Environment:

The business operates in a competitive market with several established players, including significant price competition from Chinese suppliers. The organization holds leading positions across key target segments and is focused on strengthening its market presence while developing new growth opportunities.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Sales & Business Growth:

- Achieve assigned revenue, volume and profitability targets.

- Drive growth across existing customers and identified market segments.

- Identify and develop new customers, applications and business opportunities.

- Increase market penetration and strengthen the company's presence within target industries.

- Develop and maintain a healthy sales pipeline to support short- and long-term growth.

2. Key Account Management:

- Build and maintain strong relationships with key industrial customers and OEMs.

- Understand customer requirements and identify opportunities for additional business.

- Improve account penetration, customer retention and long-term relationships.

- Act as a key point of contact between customers and internal technical and commercial teams.

- Develop account plans for strategic customers and ensure regular engagement.

3. Market & Business Development:

- Identify new market segments, applications and customer opportunities.

- Monitor market trends, competitive activity and customer requirements.

- Work with internal technical teams to position suitable products and solutions for customers.

- Support the introduction of new products and applications in the market.

- Provide regular market intelligence and customer feedback to the Sales Leader.

4. Channel & Distributor Management:

- Develop and maintain productive relationships with distributors and channel partners.

- Identify opportunities to expand and strengthen the distribution network.

- Support channel partners in developing new customers and applications.

- Monitor distributor performance and ensure alignment with business objectives.

5. Pricing & Commercial Management:

- Support profitable growth through effective pricing and commercial negotiations.

- Ensure adherence to established pricing and margin guidelines.

- Participate in customer negotiations and commercial discussions.

- Identify opportunities to improve profitability through product mix, pricing and value-based selling.

- Work with the Sales Leader on strategic pricing and key commercial decisions.

6. Cross-Functional Coordination:

- Work closely with technical, manufacturing, supply chain and customer service teams to ensure effective customer support.

- Coordinate internally to address customer requirements and resolve commercial or operational issues.

- Support demand planning and provide accurate sales forecasts.

- Ensure timely follow-up on customer opportunities, enquiries and commitments.

Key Performance Expectations:

The Sales Manager will be expected to:

- Deliver assigned sales and revenue targets.

- Grow existing accounts and develop new customers.

- Improve market penetration across identified segments.

- Build strong relationships with OEMs, industrial customers and channel partners.

- Maintain pricing discipline and support margin improvement.

- Develop a strong and sustainable sales pipeline.

- Provide timely market intelligence and competitive insights.

- Strengthen customer retention and long-term account relationships.

Key Challenges:

- Driving growth in a highly competitive industrial market.

- Managing price pressure, including competition from Chinese suppliers.

- Developing new customers and applications while retaining existing business.

- Balancing revenue growth with profitability.

- Strengthening customer relationships and improving account penetration.

- Coordinating effectively with multiple internal stakeholders to deliver customer requirements.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

- 6-8 years of experience in B2B sales, business development or key account management.

- Experience in industrial products, specialty chemicals, composites, polymers, advanced materials or related manufacturing industries will be preferred.

- Engineering qualification preferred, ideally in Metallurgy, Materials Science, Mechanical, Chemical or related disciplines.

- A management qualification in Sales, Marketing or Business Management would be an advantage.

- Demonstrated experience in managing industrial customers, OEMs and/or distributor networks.

- Strong track record of achieving sales and business development targets.

- Experience in commercial negotiations, pricing and customer relationship management.

- Good understanding of industrial buying processes and multi-stakeholder sales.

- Financial and commercial acumen with an understanding of revenue, margins and profitability.

- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with technical, operations and supply chain teams.

- Demonstrated career stability and sustained contribution in previous roles.

Core Competencies:

- Industrial B2B Sales

- Business Development

- Key Account Management

- Market Development

- Customer Relationship Management

- Channel & Distributor Management

- Commercial Negotiation

- Pricing & Margin Management

- Value-Based Selling

- Sales Planning & Forecasting

- Market Intelligence

- Cross-Functional Collaboration

Support Structure Available:

The selected candidate will have access to:

- World-class manufacturing capabilities

- Strong global supply chain infrastructure

- Experienced technical and commercial teams

- Structured sales and commercial processes

- Transparent HR and compensation frameworks

- Strong leadership guidance

- Access to industry and technical expertise across the global organization