About the Role: 

Apollo Agriculture is seeking experienced and highly motivated Field Sales Managers to join the Sales team and take charge of leading and managing our field sales agents in the counties where our customers are located. In the just concluded peak season, Apollo has experienced tremendous success, meeting and surpassing sales targets, thanks to the relentless dedication of the sales team. We’re looking for rockstar salespersons to join this winning team as Field Sales Managers.

As the trusted representative of the Commercial Department on the ground, the Field Sales Manager’s role is critical to the success of Apollo. You will take ownership of sales targets and motivate your team to meet the goals set by the business. You will be in charge of sales performance management, including hiring, training and development of field sales agents – the team responsible for onboarding our customers. As an FSM, you will be required to lead your team by example, with an end goal of ensuring that commercial targets are met by the required timelines. You will work closely with your team, both in the field and in more structured classroom settings to identify challenges and propose solutions, spot opportunities for growth and equip your team to excel in their role.

This is a regional-based field and requires candidates who are already based in the regional areas of Apollo’s operations, or candidates willing to relocate to these areas.

Reporting Lines: Reports to Regional Sales Manager

Contract Duration: 1-year performance based contract, subject to renewal based on performance and business needs, with a 3-month probationary period.

Number of Open Positions: Multiple (10+)

Responsibilities:

• Sales Ownership. As the Field Sales Manager, your number one priority is to ensure you and your team meet sales targets in the wards under your jurisdiction. This includes working closely with the Regional Sales Manager to divide and conquer these targets, and trickling down the strategy to your sales agents.
• Agent Recruitment & Performance Management. As a Field Sales Manager, you will be responsible for the hiring, training and management of your dream team! Simply put, a Field Sales Manager is only as good as the team they manage, as your team will be your eyes, ears and hands on the ground. As FSM, you will identify, hire, train, empower and deploy your team, setting them up for success, which in this case means meeting sales targets within the stipulated deadlines. You will be expected to provide in-field support for your team, and conduct regular training as required. You will also be responsible for the collateral issued to the agent team, including company-issued smartphones and marketing collateral.
• Budget Management. As team lead for the sales team on the ground, you will be responsible and accountable for all monies assigned to your ward. This will include ensuring adherence to budget limitations, cost effectiveness and optimal utilization of availed funds. You will be answerable to the Regional Sales Manager as far as budget management.
• Insights & Analysis. Every good salesperson knows that numbers don’t lie! As an FSM, you will rely on data to make decisions and guide your team. You will be required to share bi-weekly reports to identify key insights from time spent with customers and agents to share and implement with the wider team e.g. best practices leveraged by high performing agents, feedback from customers on their Apollo experience etc. This will include field testing marketing collateral to ensure effective mass communication in the region.
• Sales Activations. Identify and execute high impact sales activations that will drive sales performance e.g. van roadshows, market activations, farmer group activations etc
• Fraud Reporting. As Apollo’s representative on the ground, you will be required to keep an eye out for fraudulent activity within your team and the wider customer base, and report the same to the relevant department.

Requirements:

• You are a natural salesperson. You love selling through and through. You find it easy to win the trust of customers and enjoy connecting with people. You understand that different customer segments prioritize different things, and are able to clearly communicate the value of Apollo’s product to our target customer base.
• You have a minimum 2-years of sales experience, especially in rural markets.
• You have experience leading a sales team to succeed.
• You understand the sales agent model, and the key performance metrics to keep an eye out on when working with such a model.
• You are highly organized, have a strong bias for action and enjoy collaborating with others.
• You have an analytical mind and enjoying making sense of numbers and drawing actionable insights from available data
• You are proficient in analytical tools such as Excel.
• You are creative and enjoy figuring out-of-the-box solutions to challenging problems.
• You are a clear and confident communicator, and can clearly articulate sales targets and strategies to your team, and report back the outcome to your manager.
• You’re excited about Apollo’s mission, and are able to get your team and our customers excited about the same!
• You have a Diploma or a Degree in a business-related discipline.
• You love selling – did we already mention that!?

We:

• Are a collaborative team of smart and ambitious people who are dedicated to serving our customers
• Make magic happen to solve hard problems and always come with solutions when challenges arise
• Are comfortable taking risks that can result in radical scale and understand that failures are opportunities to learn and improve
• Are considerate listeners and take the time to deeply understand and seek out ideas from the people around us, even when we disagree
• Offer a dynamic environment that fosters talent, collaboration, and growth
• Take pride in our work and share the responsibility to see it through from conception to deployment
• Back up our talk with a competitive compensation and benefits package and challenging projects
• Value autonomy, honesty, transparency, and respect
• Are excited to hear from you