Sales Manager

Sales Manager

Northwest

Specialist Chemicals

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a UK Sales Manager to join a growing specialist manufacturing business at an important stage of its development.

This is a newly created role reporting directly to the Sales Director, offering the opportunity to make a genuine impact within a technically differentiated business with an established customer base and significant potential for further growth.

The company supplies specialist chemicals and technical solutions into a range of manufacturing and industrial applications.

This is not a transactional sales position. The successful candidate will be expected to understand how customers manufacture their products, identify their technical and commercial challenges, and work collaboratively with internal technical specialists to develop the right solution.

The Role

You will inherit an established UK customer base while also being given the freedom to identify where further growth can be generated.

A key element will be developing existing relationships, identifying new applications and sectors, and winning new business.

You will work closely with colleagues across sales, technical, laboratory, marketing and distribution to ensure customers receive the right solution and level of service.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop strong, long-term relationships with existing UK customers.
• Act as a trusted commercial and technical point of contact.
• Understand customers' current requirements, future plans and challenges.
• Identify opportunities to increase the breadth of specialist chemical solutions supplied into existing accounts.
• Identify gaps in current customer spend and opportunities to introduce additional solutions.
• Work closely with technical colleagues to develop appropriate customer solutions.
• Ensure key customers receive a high level of service and ongoing commercial attention.
• Manage and develop relationships with existing distribution partners.
• Identify opportunities to increase sales through distribution channels.
• Support the development of new distribution opportunities where appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with suppliers, partners and customers across the distribution network.
• Take increasing ownership of the distribution business as experience and capability develops.

About You

The business is deliberately open-minded about the background of the successful candidate.

Technical capability, curiosity, attitude and commercial potential are considered just as important as previous sales experience.

The role could suit an established technical sales professional, but it could equally suit someone earlier in their commercial career who has developed strong technical expertise and now wants to move into a customer-facing sales position.

• You'll ideally have some experience within a technical manufacturing, chemical, or laboratory environment.
• Is naturally curious about how customers operate and manufacture their products.
• Asks good questions and listens before proposing solutions.
• Can translate technical understanding into commercial opportunities.
• Builds credible, long-term customer relationships.
• Is confident engaging with people at different levels of an organisation.
• Has the personality and resilience to develop new business.
• Enjoys being out in the market and meeting customers.
• Is commercially driven without being overly transactional or pushy.
• Can work collaboratively with technical specialists and colleagues across the business.
• Is organised and comfortable managing multiple accounts and opportunities.
• Understands the value of accurate CRM and customer data.
• Is hungry to learn and develop their technical and commercial capability.
• Wants to build something rather than simply inherit an established sales territory.

Why Join?

You won't be joining a large corporate sales organisation with a fixed territory, established processes and a defined customer list.

Instead, you'll have the opportunity to help shape the way a growing specialist business develops its UK commercial operation.

There is already a strong technical proposition and an established customer base. The opportunity is to unlock more of that potential.

As the business continues to grow, there is significant scope for the successful individual to increase their level of responsibility and ownership, potentially developing into a broader commercial or distribution leadership role over time.