Sales Representative - FMCG / Beverages

Languages: English, Somalian, and Xhosa (advantageous)

Job Purpose

To implement a market-driven differentiated service that builds sustainable competitiveness within clearly identified channels, thereby delivering sustainable growth in brand equity, sales volume, market share, competitive advantage, and corporate reputation.

Key Accountabilities and Outputs

Customer Development

• Manage and build customer relationships with outlet owners.
• Drive weekly customer calls per outlet to build effective partnerships and resolve customer issues.
• Ensure all current, correct customer master data is captured onto Rapid Trade and is maintained.
• Ensure each outlet buys directly from the Company consistently on a weekly basis.

Execution Guidelines

• Ensure the delivery of product availability, merchandising, promotions, pricing, and space in each outlet.
• Monitor volumes by outlet to ensure 100% availability of key brands and packs through forward planning.
• Manage stock rotation to ensure 100% availability.
• Drive the effective execution of selective merchandising implementation in the consumption and purchase zones.
• Negotiate and execute interior and exterior price communication; capture price priorities; ensure price point compliance and execute on the overall price and promotion campaigns throughout the year.

Asset Management

• Manage the Company refrigeration assets by driving governance and compliance.
• Manage all the Company assets in the outlets including permanent merchandising and signage.
• Ensure the Company products are stocked in fridges as per guidelines.
• Assist customers with managing stock replenishment to minimize stock outs.
• Manage stock rotation and quality.

Qualifications and Experience

• Grade 12 / Matric / NQF level 4.
• Up to 2 years experience (Operational Execution) in a sales/marketing/FMCG environment.
• Basic knowledge of PC, or potential to acquire it.

Key Qualities

Critical Success Factors

• Customer Perspective.

Communication

• Routine communication with customers or clients.

Problem Solving

• Proactive identification of functional problems related to a specific process or policy, determine cause and impact, and choose the best alternative to solve the problem based on guidelines provided and an understanding of the theory or practices underpinning the problem.

Relationships Maintained

• Others outside of own work area but inside the organisation.

Customer Relations

• Asks questions to identify customer needs or expectations.
• Follows through and meets personal commitments to others on time.
• Takes responsibilities seriously and consistently meets the clients’ expectations for quality, service, and professionalism.
• Continuously monitors delivery to make sure the customer is receiving good service.
• Shows a strong commitment to exceeding customer expectations.
• Able to own responsibility for mistakes, apologise and make suitable changes to services.

Negotiation

• Able to recognise a situation in which negotiations are required.
• Able to listen to the opposition's argument attentively with the aim of reaching an effective outcome.
• Able to tactfully present facts on a “need to know basis” so as to ensure a successful outcome.
• Able to refer to facts presented by the opposition to strengthen argument.
• Possesses the interpersonal skills necessary to negotiate an effective outcome.

Planning and Organising

• Manages time effectively, ensuring effective completion of tasks under stressful deadlines.
• Able to prioritise activities and resources, ensuring that results are achieved effectively.
• Able to evaluate progress and make appropriate adjustments to initial plans, ensuring a successful outcome.

Knowledge of Business

• Follows systematic, multi-source learning regimen designed to educate oneself quickly: keeps oneself current.
• Describes the important impacts that one has on the success of one’s functional area and on company results; demonstrates a knowledge of the customer's business.
• Uses business understanding to make sound decisions and influence the decisions of others.
• Increases performance expectations when success has been achieved.
• Seeks out sources of information, including trade associations, “best practice” companies, customers, peers, subordinates, etc.
• Finds ways to fast-adapt improvement ideas to work processes.
• Proactively seeks out resources, alliances, etc., needed to quickly introduce improvements.