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Territory Sales Manager (Personal Care/HI&I)

Job description

Territory Sales Manager (Personal Care & HI&I)

Home-based - North of England / North Midlands

(Regular travel within territory)

Client

A leading UK Chemical Manufacturer has partnered with us to find a Territory Sales Manager responsible for developing existing & building new account relationships with Personal Care and HI&I multi-nationals. They have been a successful player in the space for decades and are noted in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 and ICIS's Top 100 Chemical Distributors lists. Our client are both a top manufacturer and distributor of raw materials, ingredients and speciality chemicals across their divisions and are currently growing.

Role 

The Territory Manager reports into the Personal Care and HI&I Sales Leaders and will be responsible for driving sales and gross profit growth across the region with key clients. The role focuses on developing strong customer relationships, optimising profitability, delivering sales targets, and acting as a professional representative of the company and its principals.

Key Objectives

  • Achieve and exceed agreed turnover and gross profit targets
  • Develop a deep understanding of customers, markets, and competitive positioning
  • Build strong, collaborative internal and external relationships
  • Ensure excellent customer service and professional market representation

Key Responsibilities

Sales Performance & Profitability:

  • Achieve turnover and profitability budgets agreed with the HI&I & Personal Care Sales Leaders
  • Deliver and exceed target gross profit for the Northern territory
  • Identify variances to budget and recommend corrective actions
  • Optimise profit under prevailing market conditions, increasing profitability on an ongoing basis
  • Provide regular customer sales forecasts and report demand variations
  • Support Finance by providing informed input on customer credit levels

Market, Customer & Territory Management:

  • Maintain a strong understanding of market trends, competitor activity, and customer needs
  • Develop detailed knowledge of customer Decision-Making Processes (DMP) and Decision-Making Units (DMU)
  • Define and record the value-in-use and criticality of each product supplied to key customers
  • Build and manage customer relationships to the highest standard, including brand owners and consultant formulators where applicable
  • Ensure full and cost-effective market coverage through structured territory planning
  • Maintain and regularly update the opportunity database

Planning, Reporting & Administration

  • Prepare monthly sales performance overviews for the Personal Care Sales Manager
  • Produce visit reports promptly and ensure all follow-up actions are completed
  • Prepare weekly itineraries and plan customer visits 2–3 weeks in advance where possible
  • Submit monthly expenses accurately and in line with company policy

Internal & Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Work closely with Sales Management, Customer Services, and support teams to ensure excellent customer service
  • Coordinate prompt follow-up of quotations and samples within the territory
  • Motivate and engage support staff in a professional manner
  • Take guidance from principal management teams when implementing principal-led initiatives
  • Provide regular account and project updates to principal management teams
  • Facilitate and organise joint customer visits with principals when required

Representation & Professional Conduct

  • Represent the company professionally at customer meetings, exhibitions, seminars, and industry events
  • Prepare and deliver formal presentations using appropriate sales tools 
  • Liaise with relevant industry societies, ensuring adherence to the highest ethical and professional standards
  • Project the company positively both internally and externally
  • Act as a responsible, participative team member aligned with company values and mission

Ideal Candidate

Essential Knowledge & Experience:

  • 5 years+ experience in a customer-facing sales role within the UK HI&I and Personal Care industry 
  • Proven track record of territory management, sales performance, and call frequency management

Essential Skills:

  • Strong verbal and written communication
  • Effective selling and negotiation skills
  • Budget planning, forecasting, and reporting
  • Problem-solving and decision-making
  • Presentation and influencing skills
  • IT proficiency
  • Project management capability
  • Strong organisation and planning skills
  • Self-motivated and proactive approach