About the position
A well-established South African supplier of tungsten carbide cutting tools and tooling solutions to the manufacturing industry is seeking an experienced National Sales Manager to lead and develop a team of eight Technical Sales Engineers across South Africa based in Edenvale. This is a hands-on leadership role combining sales leadership, B2B sales, team development and strong technical credibility.
The successful candidate will drive sales performance, accountability and sustainable revenue growth while engaging confidently with customers and technical stakeholders. Strong knowledge of metal-cutting tools, machining processes and industrial manufacturing is essential to succeed in this technically focused role.
Responsibilities:
Sales Leadership & Performance
- Lead, motivate and develop the national Technical Sales Engineer team.
- Drive achievement of sales targets and performance standards.
- Conduct performance reviews, coaching and development.
- Build a high-performance, accountable and customer-focused culture.
- Provide credible technical leadership to the sales team.
Coaching & Team Development
- Conduct field visits to coach sales and customer engagement skills.
- Develop individual growth plans and support recruitment and onboarding.
- Encourage knowledge sharing and collaborate with the Technical Applications Manager on technical development.
Sales Strategy & Execution
- Develop and implement sales strategies aligned with company growth objectives.
- Identify market opportunities, competitive threats and industry trends.
- Drive territory planning and disciplined customer development.
Forecasting & Commercial Management
- Prepare sales forecasts and budgets.
- Monitor revenue, gross profit, market share and key performance indicators.
- Analyse sales data and manage pricing and commercial decisions within authority.
Sales Process Excellence
- Improve sales processes, systems and CRM usage.
- Drive effective pipeline and opportunity management.
- Ensure adherence to company policies and procedures.
Key Customer Engagement
- Support strategic customer relationship development and key customer visits.
- Assist with significant customer and commercial matters.
- Promote a customer-focused sales culture.
- Engage confidently with technical decision-makers and translate technical solutions into commercial value.
- Engage confidently with engineering, production and technical decision-makers, translating technical solutions into commercial value
Requirements:
- Relevant engineering, technical, sales or business qualification.
- An engineering/technical qualification or equivalent hands-on industrial manufacturing experience is strongly preferred.
- Minimum 5 years experience leading a B2B sales team.
- Proven track record of growing revenue through effective team leadership.
- Strong commercial and financial understanding.
- Solid knowledge of metal-cutting tools, machining processes or industrial manufacturing operations.
- Ability to hold credible technical discussions with customers and Technical Sales Engineers.
- Valid driver's licence.
- Willingness to travel nationally.
Advantageous:
- Sales Management qualification or equivalent management training.
- Experience managing a geographically dispersed sales team.
- Experience with CRM and sales management systems.
- Formal engineering or technical trade background, such as Mechanical/Production Engineering, Toolmaking or a related qualification.
Key Comptencies:
- Strong sales leadership and people management.
- Excellent coaching and mentoring ability.
- High emotional intelligence.
- Strong commercial acumen and business awareness.
- Technical credibility within an industrial/manufacturing environment.
- Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
- Analytical and data-driven approach.
- Strong accountability and results orientation.
- Customer-focused mindset.
- Sound judgement and decision-making ability.
- Calm and decisive under pressure.
- Ability to build trust and engagement across different levels of an organisation.
- Proactive, self-motivated and performance-driven.
Benefits:
- Pension Fund contribution.
- Group Life and Funeral Cover.
- Participation in the company bonus and incentive scheme.
Desired Skills:
- B2B
- Machining processes
- Industrial Manufacturing Operations
- Sales
- Budgets
- CRM
- Technical development
