General Sales Manager

• Role is to lead and implement an integrated synergy of departments from Market research, Feasibility Studies, Mystery shopper Administration, Business Planning, Consultation and Business planning.
• Through this company, we have managed to secure contracts with big businesses and some government departments.
• We have worked with organizations like The Eastern Cape Liquor Board, Department of Health in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape.
• We have also done some work with Wholesale and  Retail Seta in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

• Amongst the responsibilities which I had was the following:
• To develop and implement a strategic sales plan aimed at achieving specific sales targets.
• To also achieve trade marketing and distribution objectives in line with the strategic/ general sales plan.
• One of the mandates, I was given was to increase the commercial sales from 11% to 25% and to reduce the turnaround time (TAT) of orders from 48 hours to 24 hours (online orders from 7days to 4 days).
• The commercial sales came from Independent Wholesalers (Traders), Independent and Key accounts Supermarkets, Forecourts, Schools, Liquor Traders, Taverns, Hotels, Restaurants, Township Spaza’s and other commercial businesses.
• As part of the sales plan I restructured the business development team  aligned the segments, resourced the fulfillment team and outsourced the online deliveries.
• The results was that, we were able to move the commercial sales to 17% at a period of six months and moved our TAT for orders to 24 hrs and online orders to 5 days.

• Management and achievement of sales volumes and KPI targets
• Support recruitment and lead the functional/leadership development of a team through inspirational infield and classroom coaching.
• Drive the highest standards of executional excellence through implementation of business plans, trading term compliance, cycle activities, perfect store activation and category management in trade.
• Deliver business results for the Sales Area
• Manage the Human Resources and Budget allocated for the area
• Manage the operations or productivity for the Sales Area.
• Drive relationships between key stakeholders i.e. Customers, suppliers, operations and employees.
• Manage the Customer Master data to ensure accuracy in segmentation and tiering.
• Identify new opportunities for sales growth in the assigned region and make recommendations to exploit these growth opportunities
• Review and develop territory or Quarterly sales plans
• Ensure profitable and effective execution of all sales plans within the different clusters in the region
• Liaise with Marketing, Trade Marketing and other internal and external partners to manage implementation of sponsorships and events within the assigned region
• Prepare and monitor recommended incentives for Sales Representatives
• Coordinate sales of the company’s products to the retail trade from Distributors(Agents)/SSDs/and company-operated depots
• Liaise with distributors in the assigned region to manage distributor stock inventory movement sand avoid out-of-stock incidences
• Conduct periodic visits to all Distributors in the Region
• Submit timely and accurate routine and market information reports to the HQ Sales office
• Manage weekly meetings with the direct reports
• Effectively coordinate the maintenance and effective utilization of all trade infrastructures in the territory with particular emphasis on fridges, draught machines, neon signs and other equipment
• Promptly execute all ad-hoc projects
• Lead and motivate sales teams with the overall objective of achieving sales KPIs
• Coach and develop team members.
• Conduct regular one on ones and Performance Reviews with the team.

• Reported to the Regional Manager who reported to Trade and Marketing Director.
• Had 12 direct reports that were three Trade Marketing Reps, 3 Pre-Sales Reps and 6 Prompt Reps. I also had 2 indirect report that worked for Imperial Distributors as Warehouse Controller and Distribution Supervisor.
• Channels here included Big Independent Wholesalers, Key Account Wholesalers, Cash and Carry’s (Jumbo), Modern Trade Independent and Key Accounts Supermarkets, Forecourts, Township supermarkets, Spaza shops, Tobacconists and other retailers.
• Challenge here was to launch Prompt/van sales without losing out on presales volumes.
• At the time my team was doing 5 million sticks and we needed to move to at least 6 million sticks a week.
• After introducing different ways of working (such as working hours and calling schedules) we hit our targets in a three months period and achieved the best distribution targets in the region.

• Reported to the Director of Industry Business who reported to the Country President.
• Had no direct reports but supported the all the different national sales teams.
• Focused on all the channels including government departments and NGO’s.
• My target was to achieve at least R8 million-rand sales of my product line.
• My other responsibilities included lead the product marketing push strategy and coverage to the relevant Sales Channels of related product ranges, by working in close collaboration with the dedicated sales teams pulling business from these sales channels.
• Also, to analyze and monitor market requirements to provide a suitable solution to the market
• Analyzing competitor offering, pricing and promotion to ensure competitive advantage
• Preparing and ensuring effective promotion and launches
• Managing product life-cycle planning to grow market share
• Preparing a communication strategy to ensure customers are kept informed of product development
• Monitoring and managing expenditure to ensure product profitability
• Accurate monthly reporting and analysis of figures
• After linking up with NGO’s and governments of Foreign countries we were able to sell more than R10 million rands of solutions within one year.

• Overseeing the regional route to market sales channel
• Management and achievement of sales volume, value targets and KPI targets
• Drive the highest standards of executional excellence through the implementation of business plans, trading term compliance, cycle activities, perfect store activations and category management.
• Timely and accurate completion of all administration including database and credit management.
• Fostering outstanding collaboration and building relationships with key customers.
• 100% customer calls completed on time with due frequency and to defined standards.
• Also acted a number of times as a Sales Manager of the Kei Region

• Reported to the Sales Manager who reported to the District Manager
• Achieving the sales volumes and targets
• Had no direct reports, but indirectly managed the two merchandisers in my area.

Was responsible for the following:

• Ensuring that the SAB products are available to the right customers at the right time.
• Ensuring that customers have enough credit.
• Overseeing the merchandising at all customers based on the volume.
• Analyzing competitor actions and consolidating some response.
• Responsible for promoting all SAB products.
• Educating customers about stock Rotation thereby ensuring good quality in all brands.
• Market development, segmentation and smart penetration.
• Called on Independent Wholesalers, Key Account Wholesalers, Cash and Carry’s, Modern Trade Independent and Key Accounts Supermarkets, Independent Wholesalers, Bulk Breakers, Taverns and Sheebens.
• Won the Regional Award on Operational Excellence
• My team was nominated for a gold award in 2008
• To build sustainable competitiveness within clearly identified channels which delivers sustainable growth in brand equity, sales volume, market share, competitive advantage and corporate reputation

• Recruitment and selection
• Managing Disciplinary hearings
• Representing the company at the CCMA.
• Labour Reconciliation
• Benefits administration which included liaising with pension funds, provident funds and medical aids
• Later when  was appointed as a Senior HR Officer  included the following duties as my responsibilities
• Was the Coordinator of HIV and Aids Committee and CSI Committee.
• Was a member of the Samancor Provident Fund Administration Committee.
• Managing and maintaining employee personal files.