About the position
ENVIRONMENT:
A development company specializing in agricultural technologies, with offices in Stellenbosch and Johannesburg, seeks a proactive Sales Associate. The role involves assisting the Commercial team in onboarding and retaining clients, crucial for maintaining and expanding the global client base. The position requires strong relationship management and business development skills. Responsibilities include nurturing existing client relationships, ensuring satisfaction, and identifying growth opportunities. Additionally, collaboration with the operations team to enhance client experience is essential. BCom or Agri Economics qualifications are preferred.
DUTIES:
Business Development:
- Developing their client’s base in specific geographic area where the Employee is situated (Change based on employee and area (ranging across different commodities) based on internal agreement and strategy
- Ensuring new clients are engaged and committed in the implementation process
- Identifying new growth opportunities and integrations where they can add value to their customers
- Interact and work with the Client Strategy Team to create an internal client strategy roadmap and client management system that is scalable
Client Engagement And Management:
- Manage and drive different communication forums for your clients to ensure the best feedback and interaction
- Ensure all the clients under your management is comfortable and confident on the system by providing the necessary training and support
- Ensuring orders are up to date from a grower’s perspective: Order management and timely order loading
- Assisting with the maintenance of training material and user manuals
- Coordinating day-to-day business operations with growers and collating their feedback
- Maintain growers document databases (NDA, Signed rates agreement)
- Maintaining the internal CRM dashboard to ensure up to date information is available for the broader business (currently using [URL Removed] a client management strategy that fits with the specific client’s needs which includes (but is not limited) to regular visits, open communication channels and daily system support
- This role involves regular travel to clients as part of the client management strategy
- Aim to establish the Group as a daily operational tool for their clients
- Assist clients with “Good Practices” to ensure their processes and data benefits them and fits into their system profile
- Maintaining a client priority metrics based on internal guidelines
- Creating and updating training material
- Managing their Clients Onboarding Process, which Includes:
- Growers:
- Installation of the Group’s on-premises application by being liaison between the client and engineering team
- Populating the onboarding sheet through the relevant data processed from the client’s database and ensuring the information needed for smooth operations are accurate and up to date
- Exporters:
- Ensure that all the necessary permissions and cold store letters are signed and up to date for the exporters connected to your managed growers
System Development:
- Client experience/satisfaction: Feedback to Developers on client requirements or product inefficiencies
- Manage clients’ expectations of development deadlines
- Collate client feedback for discussion of feasible development and giving relevant feedback to clients
- Give guidance about client’s needs and ensure software development goals are aligned with that.
- Role Integration:
- For the first three months there will be an integration period where a senior client strategist will assist with ensuring you understand what it takes for autonomous client interactions and training.
- Full handover of existing accounts to the operations controller taking over the account
- General system & industry knowledge transfer to operations
- Client-specific knowledge transfer to operations
- Overall accountability for operational performance on your account base. Operational issues are to be escalated if they cannot be resolved by yourself.
REQUIREMENTS:
Formal Qualifications:
Knowledge, Competencies & Skills:
- Intermediate to advanced level of data skills
- Excellent problem solving and organisational ability
- Proven ability to be part of a team and collaborate across departments
- Strong numerical and analytical skills
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and influence credibly and effectively at all levels
- Ability to work under pressure
- Proven verbal and written communications skills in English
- Must be able to build strong internal client relationships
- Excellent attention to detail
Job Related Experience:
- 2 – 3 years’ experience in a logistics provider, perishable commodity agent / retailer or commercial farming company in a planning, operational, logistics or solutions role.
- Experience in managing client / supplier relationships
- Experience in analysing operational processes and/or logistics operations
While we would really like to respond to every application, should you not be contacted for this position within 10 working days please consider your application unsuccessful.
COMMENTS:
When applying for jobs, ensure that you have the minimum job requirements. OnlySA Citizens will be considered for this role. If you are not in the mentioned location of any of the jobs, please note your relocation plans in all applications for jobs and correspondence. Apply here [URL Removed] e-mail a Word copy of your CV to [Email Address Removed] and mention the reference number of the job.
Desired Skills:
