Regional Sales manager

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader, creating breakthrough science to improve people’s health. We’re always looking towards the future, anticipating changes in medical science and technology.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You will have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This position works out of our Johannesburg location in the Nutrition Division. In this division, our nutrition business develops science-based nutrition products for people of all ages, from helping babies and children grow, to keeping adult bodies strong and active. Millions of people around the world count on our leading brands – including Similac, PediaSure, Ensure and Glucerna – to help get the nutrients they need to live their healthiest life.

A Regional Sales Manager is responsible for the sale of a business’ product or services in a specified region or geographic area. Provides ongoing support to distribute and produce to product or service. Additionally, the Regional Sales Manager manages a sales team in the specified area and ensures profitable growth in sales and revenue through planning, execution, and management of a supportive team.

What You’ll Do

• Provide clear guidance to the sales team to ensure flawless and timely execution of the marketing strategy.
• Achieve sales numbers monthly with a quarterly target for incentive payouts.
• Achieve SFE targets focusing on coaching with 80% in-field time (4/5 days) per quarterly cycle.
• Analyze performance of each rep and SRAs on a monthly basis to monitor growth - in conjunction with category analysis report and areas of concern - work with the sales team to achieve the targets and goals for your team. Establish metrics for monitoring performance of sales representatives.
• Regular coaching of sales representatives (in-field days – 4 days per week) – use these days to ensure strategies are being executed flawlessly, fill knowledge gaps, provide sales techniques to employees as well as provide support to customers with field visits with reps or personally also note to reinforce personal safety in-field for the sales representatives.
• Work closely with marketing to provide insights and competitor feedback to tailor marketing strategies to be more impactful, create demand, and have better ROI.
• Initiate discussion and plan for long-term sales growth for different products in different areas of coast with each sales representative.
• Share responsibility of analyzing outputs from salesforce.com (CONNECT) to monitor and guide sales team to have focus in targeting of customers - right coverage and frequency, spending the right amount of time on products in portfolio etc.
• Organizing monthly reviews and quarterly sales meetings for the team to have presentation of performance and plan for the quarter - monitor the executions of this.
• Manage relationships with KOLs and Key heads of regions in different provinces.
• Manage expenses of sales team and self – cost to company.
• Responsible for own recruitment of sales representatives (to replace those who have resigned or retired) and final selection and approval to be made by General Manager and HR. Also responsible for on-boarding activities and agenda for new reps to ensure on-boarding and training is done.
• Manage leave of sales representatives.
• Ensure team remains compliant with all Abbott policies and demonstrate Abbott behaviors in their day-to-day work.
• Feedback stores and distribution issues to trade Manager and work closely with trade agents and partners to ensure stock availability of stock to customers.
• Manage sponsorship requests made by customers to sales representatives – although budget is held by marketing – discuss with marketing to support any requests that are valid.
• Critical to ensure positive team morale and cultivate team spirit – will to win, sense of urgency, learning agility, and integrity.
• Assist the sales representatives in achieving their development goals.

Required Qualifications

• BA/BSc Degree
• MBA/Postgrad desirable with preferred focus on strategy, marketing, and finance.
• Seasoned experience in sales and/or marketing.
• Strong project experience in the commercial area.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3-5 years’ experience as a successful regional sales manager within the pharmaceutical field, experience having dealt with pediatricians and dietitians would be advantageous.
• 3-5 years’ experience as a successful sales representative within the pharmaceutical field, experience having dealt with pediatricians and dietitians would be advantageous.

Apply Now

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

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