Sales Manager - Bridgestone

Bridgestone in Europe, CIS, Middle East, India and Africa (BSEMIA), headquartered in Zaventem (Belgium), is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions.

In addition to our premium tire products, we offer a growing portfolio of tire-centric and mobility solutions. Together with our partners and guided by "Serving Society with Superior Quality”, which has been our mission since Shojiro Ishibashi founded Bridgestone in 1931, we are working to accelerate sustainable mobility innovations and solutions. Through innovative technology, we are committed to easier, safer, smoother and seamless mobility for our society and customers improving how people move, live, work and play.

Bridgestone also benefits from a significant retail network throughout the region – in fact, our retail presence in the EMIA region is the largest in the tire industry. Through 17 distinct retail partners, we have around 3,500 outlets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as around 2,500 outlets through our partner network in India. This network offers a selection of services, concepts and mobility solutions.

At Bridgestone we pride ourselves on the strong relationships we maintain with everyday drivers and this extensive retail network is one of the core reasons why.

Bridgestone EMIA

In line with the “Bridgestone Essence”, our work environment is based on integrity and teamwork, where everyone can learn from each other and contribute with their own ideas to achieving the coming goals.

We want to hear from people who can take the challenge, unleash their creative potential and contribute to the company success demonstrating ownership, courage and agility. We want you to develop your skills, expand your knowledge and be proud of your work.

Job Purpose

We are looking for a Sales Manager: Africa reporting directly to the Business Segment Manager based in Midrand.

Direct and oversee an organization's sales policies, objectives and initiatives. Set short- and long-term sales strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of current sales programs. Recommend product or service enhancements to improve customer satisfaction and sales potential.

Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices and procedures. Rely on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Lead and direct the work of others. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to top management. The successful candidate will understand what motivates customers to buy and know how to tap into those needs and desires in an effective way.

Responsibilities:

• Determine annual unit and gross-profit plans by implementing marketing strategies; analysing trends and results
• Establish sales objectives by forecasting and developing annual sales quotas for regions and territories; projecting expected sales volume and profit for existing and new products
• Implement national sales programs by developing field sales action plans
• Maintain sales volume, product mix and selling price by keeping current with supply and demand, changing trends, economic indicators and competitors
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; participating in professional societies
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed

• Plan to ensure achievement of divisional and personal target, aligning with company sales policies and strategies
• Manage, develop, coach, control and motivate the sales force to develop their skill to ensure that a high professional standard is achieved and monthly sales target and KPI target are met
• Ensure targets are delivered through people management, performance review, reward and individual recognition

• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the sales team and manage the sales program accordingly
• Provide on-the-ground support for sales associates as they generate leads and close new deals
• Meet with customers to discuss their evolving needs and to assess the quality of our company's relationship with them
• Develop and implement new sales initiatives, strategies and programs to capture key demographics
• Provide daily report of field sales success and communicate VOC data to superiors
• Sell to existing and potential direct accounts as well as provide sales support to distribution partners to participate in closing and order or to facilitate and add value to the selling process
• Continually develop knowledge of the business climate, applications and competition for his/her defined geography and accounts
• Develop, maintain and execute a territory plan
• Continually assess current business distribution channels, develop and evaluate their performance and manage conflict ensuring alignment with territory plans
• Maintain data relative to partners, accounts and activities and will document customer interactions
• Prepare reporting as needed

Skills

• Meeting Sales Goals
• Negotiation
• Sell to Customer Needs
• Motivation
• Sales Planning
• Build Relationships
• Coaching
• Manage Processes
• Market Knowledge
• Develop Budgets
• Staffing

Requirements and Experience