Senior Sales Officer

Job Summary

The Senior Sales Officer (SSO) is responsible for driving business growth by achieving primary and secondary sales targets across the assigned area. This role involves managing distributors, expanding market reach, ensuring strong execution in the market, and delivering sustainable, profitable growth.

Responsibilities

• Achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual primary and secondary sales targets.
• Develop and execute territory-wise sales plans to meet business objectives.
• Drive numeric and weighted distribution across the assigned area.
• Ensure successful launch and execution of new products and promotional activities.
• Identify new business opportunities, appoint distributors, and expand market coverage.
• Lead, coach, and mentor Sales Officers, Sales Representatives (SR), and Promotional Sales Representatives (PSR).
• Conduct regular market visits with team members to improve execution.
• Set individual Key Result Areas (KRAs), review performance, and provide continuous feedback.
• Ensure adherence to beat plans, productivity norms, and reporting discipline.
• Build a high-performance, result-oriented sales culture.
• Appoint and develop financially sound distributors.
• Monitor distributor Return on Investment (ROI), inventory norms, and working capital.
• Ensure healthy stock levels and effective replenishment.
• Review distributor performance regularly and implement improvement plans.
• Ensure superior in-store execution, merchandising, and product visibility.
• Monitor product availability and minimize stock-outs.
• Drive retail coverage, outlet expansion, and market penetration.
• Ensure compliance with company merchandising and promotional standards.
• Monitor claims, schemes, and trade spends for effective utilization.
• Control sales expenses within approved budgets.
• Improve business profitability through efficient resource management.
• Monitor competitor pricing, schemes, product launches, and market trends.
• Provide actionable market insights and recommend growth strategies.
• Identify emerging opportunities and risks within the assigned area.
• Review sales performance through regular Management Information System (MIS) and business reviews.
• Ensure timely submission of reports, forecasts, expense statements, and market updates.
• Maintain compliance with company policies, sales processes, and statutory requirements.

Qualifications

• Graduate in any discipline.
• Minimum 1.5 years of experience in FMCG General Trade Sales.
• Experience in Confectionery, Bakery, Cake, Foods, Snacks, or Biscuits is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of distributor management, sales planning, and retail execution.
• Proven track record of consistently achieving sales targets.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the assigned area.
• Valid two-wheeler or four-wheeler driving license preferred.

Preferred Skills

• Leadership and people management.
• Distributor development.
• Sales planning and forecasting.
• Negotiation and influencing skills.
• Business analysis and MIS.
• Market development.
• Problem-solving and decision-making.
• Communication and relationship management.
• Strong execution focus with a result-oriented approach.

Experience

• At least 1.5 years of relevant experience in FMCG General Trade Sales, preferably in Confectionery, Bakery, Cake, Foods, Snacks, or Biscuits sectors.

Environment

• Location: Kerala.
• The role requires extensive travel within the assigned territory.
• Work involves frequent market visits and distributor interactions.
• Likely a field-based role with team management responsibilities.

Benefits

• Salary and benefits as per company policy.
• Performance-linked incentives.
• Provident Fund (PF) and statutory benefits.
• Travel Allowance (TA/DA), mobile reimbursement, and other applicable benefits.