KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
National B2B Sales Strategy and Business Growth
- Develop and implement the national B2B sales strategy aligned with company objectives, growth plans and profitability targets.
- Translate national business objectives into clear regional sales strategies, targets and execution plans.
- Identify opportunities for geographic expansion, new customer segments and increased market penetration.
- Develop and oversee the national route-to-market strategy to maximise customer coverage, sales productivity and distribution efficiency.
- Analyse market trends, competitor activity, customer insights and industry developments to identify growth opportunities.
- Drive consistent execution of national sales initiatives, promotional campaigns and product category growth strategies.
- Lead national annual sales planning, budgeting and forecasting processes.
- Evaluate regional performance and implement corrective strategies where growth or profitability targets are not achieved.
National Sales Performance and Revenue Growth
- Take overall accountability for achieving national B2B revenue, gross margin, sales volume and customer growth targets.
- Establish and cascade sales targets and performance expectations across regions.
- Monitor national and regional sales performance against approved budgets and forecasts.
- Analyse sales performance by region, customer, territory, sales representative and product category.
- Identify underperforming regions and implement structured performance improvement and recovery plans.
- Drive profitable sales growth through effective pricing, product mix optimisation and customer portfolio management.
- Ensure consistent sales execution and accountability across all regional teams.
- Provide regular consolidated national sales performance reports, insights and recommendations to executive leadership.
National Key Account and Customer Relationship Management
- Provide strategic oversight of key customer relationships and major wholesale accounts across the national B2B portfolio.
- Lead or support negotiations with strategic customers on pricing, commercial terms, contracts and long-term partnerships within approved authority.
- Ensure consistent customer segmentation, account management and customer growth strategies across regions.
- Establish national customer retention and acquisition objectives.
- Oversee the management and resolution of significant escalated customer concerns.
- Drive increased product penetration, cross-selling and B2B Sales profitability.
- Develop strategies to improve customer experience, service levels and long-term customer loyalty.
Regional Sales Leadership and Team Development
- Provide direct leadership, coaching and performance management to Regional B2B Sales Managers.
- Build a high-performance national sales culture centred on accountability, customer obsession and commercial excellence.
- Set clear performance expectations and individual objectives for Regional B2B Sales Managers.
- Conduct structured regional performance reviews and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.
- Support the recruitment, succession planning and development of the Regional sales leadership and oversee it for the later B2B sales team.
- Establish consistent national sales management practices, reporting disciplines and performance standards.
- Ensure appropriate sales capability development, including product knowledge, negotiation, selling skills, customer retention and commercial acumen.
- Conduct regular regional visits and strategic customer engagements to assess execution effectiveness.
- Drive engagement, talent retention and leadership development across the national sales organisation.
Route-to-Market Strategy and Sales Effectiveness
- Develop and oversee the national route-to-market model to maximise customer reach and profitable sales growth.
- Establish national standards for territory planning, customer call cycles, route efficiency and sales representative productivity.
- Review regional territory coverage and identify opportunities to improve market penetration.
- Evaluate sales productivity and the effectiveness of resource allocation across regions.
- Drive improvements in sales processes and sales reporting.
- Ensure Regional B2B Sales Managers implement effective customer visitation and territory management practices.
- Identify opportunities for sales automation, improved systems and operational efficiencies.
- Partner with Logistics to align sales growth plans with distribution capacity and service delivery.
Financial and Commercial Management
- Take accountability for national B2B sales budgets, forecasts and commercial performance.
- Drive gross margin improvement through effective pricing strategies, customer profitability management and product mix optimisation.
- Provide commercial input into pricing structures, discounts, rebates and customer trading terms.
- Monitor customer and regional profitability and implement appropriate improvement initiatives.
- Collaborate with Finance to manage customer credit exposure, overdue accounts and commercial risks.
- Ensure commercial agreements and customer terms comply with company policies and delegated authorities.
- Assess the financial viability of new customer opportunities, market expansion and sales initiatives.
- Balance revenue growth with sustainable profitability and effective cost management.
Cross-Functional Leadership and Operational Excellence
- Work closely with Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Merchandising, People Operations and other relevant functions to support national B2B objectives.
- Align sales forecasts and customer demand plans with inventory availability and distribution capacity.
- Collaborate with Merchandising on product range opportunities, category performance, pricing and promotional execution.
- Partner with Finance to strengthen sales reporting, margin management, customer credit control and commercial governance.
- Drive improvements in sales processes, systems, customer service and operational efficiency.
- Ensure regional sales operations adhere to agreed national processes and service standards.
- Escalate and resolve significant operational challenges impacting customer service, revenue or profitability.
- Lead relevant sales transformation and continuous improvement initiatives.
Compliance, Governance and Risk Management
- Ensure national compliance with company sales policies, pricing approvals, customer agreements, trading terms and credit policies.
- Maintain ethical standards and sound commercial governance across all regional sales operations.
- Identify and mitigate commercial, customer, operational and financial risks.
- Ensure accurate and reliable sales information is maintained through approved CRM and reporting systems.
- Oversee appropriate controls relating to discounts, rebates, customer accounts and sales transactions.
- Ensure regional leaders manage sales-related stock loss risks in collaboration with the responsible operational functions.
- Promote accountability, integrity and adherence to the company's HO HOLA values.
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:
- Grade 12
- Bachelor’s Degree in Sales / Marketing / Business Management, Commerce or related field (will be an advantage).
- Postgraduate qualification in Business Management or Commercial Leadership
- 8–10 years progressive sales experience within FMCG, Wholesale or Food Distribution
- Minimum 5 years' experience in senior sales leadership, preferably with multi-regional or national responsibility
- Proven experience leading and developing Regional Sales Managers and geographically dispersed sales teams
- Demonstrated success in achieving significant sales revenue, growth and profitability targets
- Experience managing large sales portfolios and strategic customer relationships
- Proven experience in national sales strategy, budgeting, forecasting and commercial planning
- Experience in route-to-market optimisation and distribution-led sales environments
- Experience within Food Service
- Experience in CRM, sales analytics and business intelligence reporting
KEY PERFORMANCE AREA (KPA'S)
- Revenue Growth: Achievement of national B2B sales revenue budget and growth targets
- Gross Margin: Achievement of national gross margin targets and profitable sales growth
- Sales Volume: Achievement of national volume targets
- Customer Acquisition: Growth in new active and profitable B2B customers
- Customer Retention: Retention and growth of existing customer base and strategic accounts
- Market Expansion: Achievement of approved market penetration and geographic growth objectives
- Regional Performance: Percentage of regions achieving sales and profitability targets
- Sales Productivity: Improvement in sales per representative, customer coverage and route effectiveness
- Forecast Accuracy: Accuracy of national sales forecasts against actual performance
- Commercial Discipline: Compliance with pricing, discount, trading terms and credit policies
- Team Leadership: Performance, engagement, retention and development of Regional B2B Sales Managers
- Operational Excellence: CRM data quality, sales process compliance and cross-functional execution
Specific numerical targets and KPI weightings should be approved through the annual business planning and performance management process.
SKLLS & COMPETENCIES REQUIRED:
Technical Knowledge and Skills
- National Sales Strategy Development and Execution
- Strategic and Commercial Leadership
- Advanced Financial Acumen, Margin and Profitability Management
- Pricing Strategy, Negotiation and Contract Management
- National Route-to-Market Planning and Optimisation
- Sales Budgeting, Forecasting and Performance Management
- FMCG, Wholesale and Food Distribution Market Knowledge
- Strategic Customer and Key Account Management
- Leadership of Multi-Regional Sales Teams
- Data-Driven Decision Making and Sales Analytics
- CRM, Advanced Excel and Business Intelligence Reporting
- Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals
- Sales Process Improvement and Automation
Leadership and Behavioural Competencies
The National B2B Sales Manager must demonstrate strong leadership capability and behaviours aligned with the company's HO HOLA values.
- Strategic Thinking
- Leadership and People Development
- Commercial Thinking
- Decision Making
- Delivering Results
- Planning and Organising
- Critical Thinking
- Communication and Influence
- Building Relationships
- Resilience
- Ethics and Values
- Collaboration
- Adaptability
- Creativity and Innovation
- Applying Expertise and Technology
Key Leadership Expectations
The National B2B Sales Manager is expected to:
- Lead through Regional Managers: Establish accountability and empower Regional B2B Sales Managers to deliver results rather than directly managing day-to-day sales representative activities.
- Think Nationally, Execute Regionally: Ensure a consistent national strategy while accommodating regional market opportunities and challenges.
- Drive Profitable Growth: Balance customer acquisition and revenue growth with margin protection, customer profitability and operational sustainability.
- Build Leadership Capability: Develop a strong pipeline of regional sales leaders and create a performance-driven, customer-focused sales culture.
- Lead Cross-Functionally: Influence and collaborate with executive leadership and operational functions to achieve shared business objectives.
- Live HO HOLA: Demonstrate Helpfulness, Obsession for Customers, Humility, Ownership, Learning and Appreciation
CLOSING DATE
30 OCTOBER 2026