Overall Objectives
The General Sales Manager is a member of the Engineering & Maintenance Group sales organisation and reports to the Regional Sales VP.
- New sales target: annual target of EUR 15-30 million (order of magnitude).
- Order book: annual target in the range of EUR 20-50 million, possibly reaching more than EUR 100 million for the largest contracts.
New sales turnover is generated by contracts signed during the budget year, which bring in turnover in the same year; backlog turnover is the aggregate value of contracts signed during the budget year, which will bring in turnover for additional years.
Key Responsibilities
1. Builds detailed prospection and account planning for his portfolio
Portfolio vision
- Receives a yearly set of targets for new sales and order book objectives per product
- Maps his/her portfolio (geographical area) by identifying and characterizing all entities (operators, asset managers…)
- Defines the market approach strategy, builds and updates the prospection plan, regularly shares it with the management and the back office
- Builds the account planning for existing customers to identify current performance or service delivery problems, anticipate and monitor contract renewal and new opportunities
Reporting and monitoring
- Reports on business opportunities and on-going sales campaigns (likelihood, difficulties, challenges, recovery plans if needed…)
- Ensures good communication with the Group Product functions, the Marketing, the Units, ensures thorough understanding of their products and strategy
- Contributes to the accounts receivables process in his/her portfolio
- Monitors the evolutions of existing contracts with customers of his/her portfolio in cooperation with the CSM(s) of the related BU(s) and in compliancy with internal processes
- Loads and updates information in Descartes related to the entities of his/her portfolio
2. Builds robust relationship and lobbying, identifies business opportunities
Pre-sales & sales phases
- Builds trustful and robust relationships with prospects and turn them into loyal customers
- Builds and maintains efficient and transparent relationships with the representatives of AFI KLM E&M MRO network within his/her portfolio
- Organizes and keeps close monitoring of his/her prospects & customers visits throughout the organization during pre-sales and sales phases, including AFI KLM E&M MRO network management involvement
- Anticipates business opportunities and sales cases by listening to the expectations, preparing the ground for the RFP or unsolicited proposal
- Creates business opportunities in Descartes and converts them as much as possible into sales cases
After-sales phase
- Regularly checks service level and performance issues using Descartes information, listens to his/her customers, predicts potential difficulties to solve with anticipation through internal feedback and alertness, in order to build the global satisfaction assessment
- Uses customer feedbacks and trip reports loaded by the CSM’s to identify risk areas or new business opportunities, alert management whenever necessary
Is pro-active and smart in adapting his/her behavior to the culture and expectations of his prospects and customers
3. Contributes to the negotiation process with the prospects
Sales case preparation
- Organizes a Kick-off meeting for each significant sales case with the TSD, discusses the need for a project team with the TSD and the Group Product
- Provide the TSD and the project team if any with intelligence on competition, target price, prospect expectations decision process, selection criteria….
Negotiation
- Contributes to the negotiation process with the prospect led by the TSD at all steps (commercial proposal, contract…)
- Together with the TSD, seeks and uses prospect’s input and information, to adjust the sales tactics and the offer content
4. Feeds the organization with feedback on sales activities, customers and the market
Sales activities
- Contributes to the won / lost case analysis organized by the TSD’s to provide all relevant inputs related to the sales case strategy, the decision process, the lobbying and relationship, the competition…
- Reports on his/her activities including trip reports to be loaded in Descartes after each customer visit, meeting, MRO or social event leading to share new information on the market
Market
- Feeds the marketing team and more generally the organization with field intelligence on operators, competitors, opportunities …
- Helps educating the back office to cultural and behavioral features within his/her portfolio
- Provides information on the market and his/her portfolio to the support team (TSD – marketing) for the budget elaboration
Customers
- Shares information with the Units management and support teams (CSM’s) to update the organization on the customer satisfaction level, the required improvements to the services delivered, the new potential needs not yet formalized.
5. Ensures the compliance with the internal commercial process, the competition and safety/security rules, the training and change management frame
Commercial process
- Creates and updates all relevant information in Descartes related to entities, opportunities, sales cases, customer satisfaction….
- Uses reporting capabilities of Descartes to build and share with his/her management the sales activities and business potential follow up: “pipeline” vision, customer mapping, debt situation….
- Checks customer feedbacks and questionnaire results loaded by the CSM’s
- Contributes to risk management and risk transfer to the Units when the contract is signed
Behavior and skills
- Makes sure that his/her behavior is compliant with the competition and anti-bribery rules
- Makes sure to fulfill the safety and security rules and best practices, especially when travelling
- Makes sure he/she has optimal training & knowledge of products and organization, apply for new trainings as necessary.
Job Dimensions
- New sales target: yearly target up to 30M Euros (order of magnitude)
- Order book portfolio: yearly target in the range of 20-50 M Euros
- Number of accounts: 5 to 10 main customers (usually growing along the years) in different countries of the region
- Number of sales campaigns: in the range of 20-40 sales campaigns per year linked to RFP’s or not, among which a few may be major and require the help of a General sales manager
Context/Environment
- Sale of multiple maintenance services for one group (AFKLM) and two airlines AF and KLM with their subsidiaries
- Competitive market environment on all products with local and global players
Knowledge, Experience and Competencies
Knowledge and Experience
- Sales & Marketing knowledge
- MRO Products knowledge (Mandatory)
- Commercial experience
- English proficiency
- French proficiency suitable
- Political / diplomatic sensitivity
Behavioural Competencies
- Customer Focus
- Inter-cultural awareness
- Excellence in execution
- Teamwork
- Persuasiveness
- Adaptability
- Communication / Listening
- Curiosity
- Autonomy
