Sales & Commercial Manager (Head Office)

SUMMARY:
Sales & Commercial Manager (Head Office)

POSITION INFO:

Position Summary

B2K is a leading supplier to the industrial sector, specialising in bearings and related products. The company services a broad customer base across MRO and OEM environments, as well as an established reseller network, with a focus on reliable supply, technical support and long-term customer partnerships.

The Sales & Commercial Manager (Head Office) will run the Germiston Head Office as a fully-fledged sales branch, leading both the internal and external sales teams, while owning key reseller and export relationships and managing the contract sales portfolio at a high level. The single most important focus of this role is to shift the internal sales function from “order-takers” to proactive “order-makers”, using structured processes, disciplined follow-up and effective use of tools and data. The role is responsible for driving sustainable sales growth, margin improvement and customer retention across MRO, OEM, reseller and export channels, and for ensuring contracts are effectively activated, commercially healthy and strategically targeted. This position will ensure consistent execution of the company’s sales strategy, strengthen key customer and reseller relationships, and build a high-performance, commercially minded sales culture at the Germiston branch.

Key Responsibilities

Internal Sales – From Order-Takers to Order-Makers

• Lead and manage the internal sales team day to day, ensuring disciplined execution of core processes (quotations, order processing, follow-ups, customer updates, issue resolution).
• Drive the shift from reactive order-taking to proactive selling by:
  • Implement and manage the customer classification and margin framework (developed with senior leadership), ensuring it is applied consistently in pricing, service levels and account focus.
  • Build and maintain a clear operating rhythm for the internal team (daily huddles, weekly reviews, dashboards) to keep proactive selling front and centre, even when the branch is busy.
  • Embedding structured quote follow-up routines, courtesy calls and customer check-ins.
  • Ensuring the team actively promotes the full product range and value-added services.
  • Using call and activity plans to generate opportunities, not just respond to enquiries.

External Sales – Discipline, Pipeline and Conversion

• Manage the external sales team and Key Account Managers day-to-day, including call cycles, territory coverage and visit plans.
• Own the discipline around the Opportunity Engine in the CRM:
  • Plan and run weekly and monthly opportunity and sales meetings, using CRM data to review pipeline health, conversion, lost deal analysis and next actions.
  • Support external team members with deal strategy, pricing, presentations and negotiations, while holding them accountable for execution.
  • Ensure accurate, timely capture of opportunities, activities and outcomes.
  • Use the CRM to drive higher conversion rates through structured follow-up.

Reseller and Export Business Development

• Personally own and manage strategic relationships with selected local resellers and export resellers (owners, senior management), distinct from end-user accounts.
• Develop account plans for focus resellers/export resellers, identifying growth opportunities, share of wallet and joint initiatives.
• Use the internal sales team as the engine to service and grow these accounts, ensuring clear communication, service standards and commercial discipline.
• Coordinate with logistics, operations and finance to ensure reliable supply, appropriate stock positions and service levels tailored to reseller and export needs.

Contract Sales Management (High-Level Ownership)

• Take overall accountability for the commercial health of the contract book at Head Office, including contract activation, stock health, pricing and margins.
• Work with the supply chain team who prepare the spreadsheets, reports and tender documentation; review the outputs, interpret the numbers and drive appropriate actions.
• Identify and prioritise the right new tenders and contract opportunities, aligned with company strategy, capacity and margin expectations.
• Build and maintain relationships with contract and procurement stakeholders on the customer side, positioning B2K as a reliable, value-adding partner.
• Monitor contract performance regularly and initiate corrective actions where required (pricing adjustments, stock optimisation, service improvements).

Sales Performance, Tools and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Monitor and report on sales performance, pipeline activity, margins, customer trends and market developments, providing accurate forecasts, insights and recommendations to management.
• Ensure effective use of CRM and other sales tools for opportunity management, forecasting, territory planning and maintaining accurate customer and contract data.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Operations, Procurement and Finance to align campaigns, promotions, inventory, pricing and service levels with branch and group sales objectives.
• Work closely with the General Manager – Operations to identify opportunities to improve the customer experience and implement improved processes and ways of working.

People Leadership and Culture

• Lead, coach and develop internal and external sales team members, with a strong focus on sales discipline, commercial thinking and proactive behaviour.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training and ongoing development of sales staff; conduct regular performance discussions and contribute to development and succession planning.
• Build a high-performance, accountable and customer-focused culture at the Germiston branch, aligned with B2K’s values and standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ sales management experience in a B2B environment, preferably within industrial, engineering or technical product sectors.
• Proven track record of achieving or exceeding sales and margin targets across multiple channels (e.g. MRO, OEM, reseller and/or export).
• Experience managing both internal sales teams and field-based / Key Account Managers; exposure to leading export sales or contract / tender-based sales will be advantageous.
• Experience in bearings, MRO, industrial distribution or related sectors will be advantageous.
• Strong commercial acumen, including experience with pricing, rebates, contracts and basic P&L understanding.
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Sales, Marketing, Commerce or a related discipline will be advantageous.
• Proficiency in MS Office and familiarity with CRM and ERP systems.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial and analytical skills with the ability to interpret sales and contract data, develop forecasts and translate insights into clear commercial actions.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, presentation and negotiation skills, including at senior customer and reseller level.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong customer, reseller, channel partner and internal stakeholder relationships.
• Leadership and people management skills with a focus on coaching, team development and performance improvement.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to identify growth opportunities across channels (MRO, OEM, reseller, export, contracts) and implement effective sales initiatives.
• High discipline around CRM and process usage, with the ability to drive adoption and consistency in the team.
• Proficiency in CRM systems and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint; comfortable working with reports and dashboards.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, territories, accounts and contracts while delivering results to deadlines.
• High level of resilience, accountability and problem-solving ability in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.