Sales Director
Any business, whether they’re mass producing widgets or selling their consultancy services, needs a steady flow of new customers to achieve growth or replace those that are lost.
In a competitive sector, that can’t be done with placing ads in industry newspapers and building a website – it needs an overarching sales strategy that takes the board’s growth and sustainability goals and achieves them through winning new clients and keeping existing clients happy.
This strategy is the responsibility of the director of sales, an executive level position that ensures the commercial health of the company is assured, at least from the revenue perspective.
The sales director accomplishes this strategic goal by managing a team of sales consultants, which might have its own hierarchy or could be just a few people, depending on the size of the business.
Sales Director skills required
Sales director jobs always require a good understanding of the basics of sales: marketing, networking, negotiation and contracts. A vital component of the skill set will be an ability to fully understand the products and services they are selling, as they may well be asked very technical questions whether it’s a sales meeting or a trade fair, and full knowledge is impressive and expedient.
They’ll also need to know the capabilities of the production team, supply chain and logistics when they are promising to supply goods or services to customers. That means they should be able to communicate effectively internally and externally, and to maintain good working relationships across the board.
Sales Director Jobs in Harlow
During the post-war period as Britain was faced with rebuilding millions of shattered homes and re-housing their inhabitants, a radical solution was to build a series of new towns. Most cities of the UK have some form of new town within them or in their orbital range. Harlow in Essex was one such town. Situated 20 miles (33 km) north east of the centre of London, it was a grand project, with thousands of homes as well as industrial, shopping, entertainment and communications infrastructure being built around what was a village dating back at least to the Domesday Book.
Expansion was steady, taking place between the late 1950s and the 1970s, as jobs were created and the town became a reasonably attractive place to live. Although manufacturing was once a major industry in Harlow, it has since declined, and now the economy is largely service-based. The large factories have recently been demolished and smaller units for start-ups have been built with the hope of kickstarting a new tech sector. However the town is still home to some major employers, most notably GlaxoSmithKline and American defence firm Raytheon.
The town is well placed to serve London, situated as it is on the M11 that runs from the capital to Cambridge, and there are also good rail links to both cities. Stansted Airport is just 20 minutes up the motorway, too. With much regeneration going on in the town, it’s likely that the demand for Sales Director jobs will grow over the coming years. Keep checking back or get in touch if you’d like us to search the area for such positions.
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Sales director jobs at Cast UK
Cast UK specialises in executive-level recruitment in a wide range of industries. We are a hub for both those seeking to take a step up the career ladder and those looking for top quality talent.
If you need to find that director of sales to realise your goals and strategies, get in touch with Cast UK on 0333 121 3345 today or contact us here.
If you’re a sales director or are ready to use your experience to become one, please register with us here to get ahead of your next career move.
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