An exciting role has come up working for a Fresh Foods business – They are ever growing in success and due to this, they are keen to recruit an experienced Business Development / Account Manager to join their team!

Our client is a well-respected and successful Food Service company. Their customer catchment area is a wide Band across central England. This covers Merseyside in the West, Leicestershire in the east, Lancashire and Derbyshire in the North and Oxfordshire and Midlands further South

The primary focus for this position is researching prospective accounts that fit the business model of our client’s company, pursue new leads and follow them through to a successful agreement.

Equally important is new business retention through nurturing and continually improving the relationship with every customer. It is essential that the role holder provides an exceptional level of dedicated customer service, making sure that customers are completely satisfied.

This is largely an autonomous role, but you will be expected to communicate frequently with the Head of Sales.

The role holder must be proactive, flexible and reliable, with excellent negotiation, communication, and organisation skills and exhibit a solid business acumen.

The role holder should expect to deal with day-to-day challenges associated with a fast-paced business that has a client list of challenging customers. A strong attention to detail with a ‘can do’ attitude is essential for this role.

Key activities and responsibilities and our requirements and expectations of you.

The following are illustrative duties and the role holder is expected to become involved in a range of tasks so the department can respond effectively to both the requirements of the business and its customers.

· As Business Development/Account Manager, you are required to form outstanding business relationships with our customers. You will dedicate time to engage with customers via regular visits to their businesses for face-to-face conversation/discussion, as well as frequent phone calls/emails.

· You are to provide our customers with a level of service they cannot experience elsewhere. You should respond to their demands/needs but also have the courage to challenge (when necessary), any unreasonable expectations/demands. You should ensure our customers’ requirements match what the company is able to offer.

· You are required to make appointments and ensure said appointments are kept. You are required to have a plan, objectives, and a desired outcome for all appointments.

· You are required to identify new prospects for potential business within your given area of responsibility that meet the suitability and requirements of the business. Then follow up these opportunities with visits (cold-calling and appointments), and any other communication methods required i.e. telephone, email, social media.

· You will be issued with new prospect business sales targets and you will possess the drive and ambition to smash said targets. Your performance will be measured against these targets and will form part of the KPIs for your performance evaluation by the Head of Sales.

· You will actively promote and develop new sales opportunities within your customer base. You are to explore upsell opportunities by identifying competitor products within your customers’ businesses.

· You are required to maintain a high standard of personal appearance when conducting meetings with customers. This also applies to company property (i.e. vehicle), to reflect the professional standards expected by the company.

· You are expected to provide weekly sales’ forecasts. You will work closely with customers, other departments and the Sales Manager to ensure these forecasts become reality.

· You are expected to adopt a proactive approach to manage customer retention.

· You will complete a weekly call report, detailing your movements each day and reporting on meetings including progress made and next steps.

· You will make sure your line manager is kept updated with all opportunities and likewise, any threats that could impact the business, via both formal and informal meetings.

· You will engage frequently with fellow account managers to report on progress, discuss objections and problems and to share news of success stories.

· You should have the courage to listen to and heed the advice of those around you.

· You will use weekly sales and margin reports to ensure your customers’ pricing strategy is managed effectively whilst maintaining the margins agreed with the Head of Sales.

· You are expected to monitor customer accounts, measure weekly expenditure and fluctuations and understand any significant changes.

· You are to ensure your customers understand and are compliant with the order cut-off times within our business.

· You will be proactive in improving your product knowledge and keeping up to date with any changes, to gain a full understanding of our complete product range, so you can hold confident discussions with customers.

· You should ensure the best commercial fit to customer and business (with a minimum spend of £500 per week), and be able to interpret, understand and act upon financial data to achieve required business targets and customer solutions.

· You are charged with keeping all customer relationships vibrant and engaging, assisting with menu seasonality, introducing new and exciting products, discussing food trends etc.

· You should forge strong professional relationships with any suppliers you are required to engage.

· You must have the ability to hold business like and credible conversations with customers, peers and senior members of the team.

· You must be highly self-motivated, able to work for long periods unsupervised, use your initiative, ensure your diary is maximised efficiently and manage a robust outlook calendar.

· You are expected to understand that sometimes the demands placed on our business will result in you having to accept your hours of work will require a degree of flexibility.

· You are expected to gain and maintain a full understanding of our core customers, their line of business, their expectations, requirements and their key personnel.

· Provide ongoing intelligence/data/information that can be used by other departments to make more informed decisions.

· You will ensure that all data held by the company regarding customers, employees, marketing or our commercial activities is accessed appropriately, only during working hours and not shared with any person or organisation outside the company.

· You will ensure any administrative duties are completed within the required deadlines and following the relevant procedures.

· You should liaise with the accounts team to minimise credit exposure.

· You will act in accordance with all COSSH and company fire, health and safety, and security guidelines.

· You will observe and adhere to all guidelines as set out in the company handbook.

· You are expected to contribute to improving the business and enhancing the reputation of the company by putting forward new ideas and by implementing changes when requested to do so.

· You are expected to seek workable solutions to challenges presented by the business and our customers.

· You should attend training sessions as and when required by the company.

· You are expected to assist in specific projects or activities as required by your line manager.

Contact the FMK Consulting team on 07539 315482 / 07734 861080 to have a chat about this role, or send over a copy of your CV to georgina@fmkconsulting.co and we will get in touch ASAP!