About the Company
The company is a premium provisioning business supplying superyachts across the Mediterranean with high-end fresh produce, speciality foods and galley essentials. Its clients include yacht chefs, chief stewardesses, captains and other senior crew members who require exceptional product quality, fast response times and highly personalised service. The business is looking for a commercially driven Sales & Business Development Executive to strengthen its relationships within the South African yachting community and generate new business for the Mediterranean market.
About the Role
This is first and foremost a sales and new business development role. While the primary commercial market remains the Mediterranean, a significant number of yacht chefs, chief stewardesses and other crew members working in this market originate from South Africa and regularly return home between yachting seasons. The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying and building relationships with current and future yacht crew while they are in South Africa, converting them into clients before they return to the Mediterranean. The role will also take responsibility for maintaining and growing relationships with an existing client base.
The position combines:
- New business development.
- Prospecting and lead generation.
- Client relationship management.
- Account growth and retention.
- Pipeline management.
- Industry networking.
- Commercial reporting.
This is an excellent opportunity for a strong salesperson who enjoys relationship-based selling, is comfortable working independently and wants to build a strong network within the international yachting industry.
Key Responsibilities
New Business Development
- Prospect, engage and win new clients within the South African yachting community.
- Target current and future:
- Yacht chefs.
- Chief stewardesses.
- Interior crew.
- Other relevant senior yacht crew.
- Develop relationships with prospective clients before they return to work in the Mediterranean.
- Generate leads through:
- Crew training academies.
- Yachting networks.
- Industry events.
- Professional referrals.
- Social media.
- Direct outreach.
- Present the company's provisioning services and value proposition professionally.
- Convert qualified prospects into first-time customers.
Pipeline Management
- Build and manage a structured sales pipeline.
- Maintain accurate records of prospects, conversations and opportunities using the company's CRM system.
- Follow up consistently with prospective clients.
- Track opportunities from initial contact through to first order.
- Coordinate with the international operations team to ensure new clients are successfully onboarded.
- Maintain a disciplined approach to lead management and conversion.
Existing Client Management
- Take ownership of the day-to-day relationship with an allocated existing client base.
- Maintain regular communication with customers through WhatsApp and other appropriate channels.
- Communicate:
- Seasonal offers.
- Product information.
- Service updates.
- Order follow-ups.
- Maintain strong relationships throughout the yachting season.
- Encourage repeat orders and increased account activity.
- Identify opportunities to grow revenue from existing customers.
- Support customer retention and long-term loyalty.
Networking & Industry Development
- Build a strong presence within the South African yacht-crew community.
- Develop relationships with training academies, crew networks and relevant industry stakeholders.
- Attend key yachting events and networking opportunities where required.
- Identify emerging trends and opportunities within the yacht-crew market.
- Position yourself as a trusted point of contact for clients and prospective customers.
Reporting & Market Feedback
- Provide weekly sales reporting against agreed targets.
- Monitor:
- New prospects generated.
- Pipeline activity.
- Conversion.
- New clients secured.
- Existing account performance.
- Provide feedback on market trends and competitor activity.
- Share relevant customer insights with the wider business.
Ideal Candidate Profile
Sales Experience
The most important requirement is strong sales capability.
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- A strong hunter mentality.
- Proven ability to generate new business.
- Persistence and resilience.
- Strong relationship-building skills.
- Commercial confidence.
- A track record of achieving sales targets.
- Ability to prospect, pitch and close new customers.
- Confidence managing both new and existing client relationships.
Yachting & Industry Experience
- Previous exposure to the yachting industry would be advantageous but is not essential.
- Relevant backgrounds could include:
- Yacht crew.
- Interior crew.
- Galley or culinary environments.
- Yacht provisioning.
- Hospitality.
- Luxury services.
- Industry training and support will be provided to the successful candidate.
- Existing relationships within the South African yacht-crew community would be advantageous.
Skills & Competencies
- Excellent spoken and written English.
- French-language ability would be advantageous but is not required.
- Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
- Confident using WhatsApp as a professional client communication channel.
- Comfortable working with CRM and basic digital sales tools.
- Strong prospecting and business-development skills.
- Excellent follow-up and organisational ability.
- Comfortable working independently.
- Reliable and accountable in a remote-working environment.
- Able to manage their own diary, pipeline and priorities.
- Comfortable communicating with international colleagues and customers.
- Strong commercial awareness.
- Professional and customer-focused approach.
Working Arrangements
- Fully remote position based anywhere in South Africa.
- The successful candidate must be willing to travel to key yachting hubs, crew events and industry activities as required.
- Some working hours will need to overlap with European business hours to support clients and international operations.
- Employment will be managed locally through a compliant Employer of Record arrangement.
Key Performance Indicators
Performance will be measured against:
New Client Acquisition
- Number of validated new clients secured during each Mediterranean yachting season.
Revenue Contribution
- Contribution towards collective revenue targets through both new and repeat orders.
Pipeline Performance
- Number of qualified prospects generated.
- Pipeline activity and progression.
- Conversion of qualified prospects into active customers.
Existing Account Growth
- Retention of existing customers.
- Repeat-order activity.
- Growth in revenue from managed accounts.
- Successful re-engagement of inactive customers.
***Salary - R25,000 - R30,000 CTC + Commission (Negotiable, based on skills, experience and in relation to current package)
