Sales Manager

Sales Manager

Location: Southampton

Salary: £50,000 – £60,000 per annum, 15-20% performance related bonus

Reporting to: Commercial Operations Manager / Managing Director

Department: Sales & Commercial

Direct Reports: Sales Executives / Account Managers

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 8:30am – 5:30pm Monday to Friday

Role Purpose

The Sales Manager will lead, develop and grow the sales function, ensuring strong customer account management and proactive new business development. This role is responsible for building a high‑performing sales team, driving increased turnover, expanding market reach, and strengthening customer relationships.

Working closely with the Commercial Operations Manager, the Sales Manager will ensure sales activity aligns with operational capability, commercial strategy and long‑term business growth.

Essential Experience needed

• Proven experience in sales management within manufacturing, packaging, plastics or FMCG.
• Strong leadership skills with experience developing and mentoring sales teams.
• Track record of managing customer accounts and winning new business.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to influence pricing, margins and strategy.
• Confident working cross‑functionally with operations, customer service and commercial teams.
• Experience using CRM systems and sales reporting tools.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach and develop the sales team to achieve individual and collective targets.
• Recruit, train and mentor new sales team members, building capability and performance.
• Set clear objectives, KPIs and development plans for the team.
• Create a positive, accountable and commercially driven sales culture.

Account Management

• Oversee management of existing customer accounts, ensuring excellent service and retention.
• Strengthen relationships with key customers through regular communication and strategic engagement.
• Ensure accurate forecasting, pipeline management and reporting.
• Resolve customer issues quickly and professionally, escalating only when necessary.

New Business Development

• Drive proactive new business activity to expand the customer base and increase turnover.
• Identify new market opportunities and emerging sectors.
• Lead outreach, prospecting and conversion of new accounts.
• Support the development of pricing strategies, quotations and commercial proposals.

Commercial & Operational Alignment

• Work closely with the Commercial Operations Manager to ensure sales activity aligns with production capability and customer demand.
• Provide accurate sales forecasts to support planning and capacity management.
• Collaborate with operations, customer service and admin teams to ensure smooth end‑to‑end delivery.

Desirable

• Understanding of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations.
• Experience in plastics, extrusion, converting or packaging manufacturing.
• Background in process improvement or commercial optimisation.

Embracing diversity in all its forms, our client is an equal opportunity employer. They welcome individuals from all walks of life, irrespective of race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or belief.

By applying through Green Folk Recruitment, you consent to share your information with our client for recruitment purposes. We handle your data with care, aligning with our privacy policy for recruitment-related activities. Please be informed that all final hiring decisions rests solely with our client. Should you have any inquiries, kindly direct them to Green Folk Recruitment for a transparent and streamlined recruitment experience. Green Folk Ltd is acting as a recruitment agency in relation to this vacancy.