Job Description

External Sales Representative – Johannesburg

R30,000 CTC + Commission | B2B External Sales | New Business Development

Location: Edenvale / Kempton Park, Johannesburg
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Reporting To: Sales Manager / Regional Manager
Salary: Approximately R30,000 CTC per month + Commission
Vehicle Requirement: Own reliable vehicle and valid driver's licence essential

Introduction

An established and growing organisation operating within the commercial and commodities environment is looking for an exceptional External Sales Representative to join its Johannesburg team.

This is not an internal sales or order-taking position. We are looking for a genuine salesperson who enjoys finding opportunities, getting in front of customers, building relationships, negotiating, closing business and growing accounts.

The successful candidate will be commercially minded, confident, highly self-motivated and comfortable managing a territory independently.

The ideal profile is someone with a proven track record of B2B external sales, new business development, prospecting, cold calling, face-to-face client meetings and relationship-based selling

Purpose of the Role

The External Sales Representative will be responsible for increasing revenue and market share through a combination of:

• New business development
• Prospecting and cold calling
• Face-to-face customer visits
• Existing account growth
• Key account relationship management
• Consultative and solution-based selling
• Commercial negotiation
• Closing sales
• Territory development

The individual will take ownership of their customer base and sales territory and will be expected to actively identify opportunities rather than wait for leads to come to them.

Key Responsibilities

New Business Development

• Proactively identify and pursue new B2B customers.
• Generate your own leads through cold calling, referrals, networking, market research and territory activity.
• Identify relevant decision-makers within prospective customer organisations.
• Secure appointments with potential customers.
• Conduct professional face-to-face meetings with prospects.
• Understand the customer's business, requirements and commercial challenges.
• Present appropriate products and solutions.
• Prepare quotations, proposals and commercial presentations.
• Follow opportunities consistently from initial contact through to close.
• Negotiate pricing and commercial terms within authorised parameters.
• Convert qualified opportunities into sustainable revenue.
• Develop new markets and identify opportunities to increase company market share.

External / Field Sales

• Spend significant time in the field meeting customers.
• Plan and manage a structured weekly call cycle.
• Conduct a minimum of 24 unique customer calls/visits per week (approximately 96 per month)
• Manage the Johannesburg/Gauteng territory effectively.
• Plan appointments and routes to maximise productivity.
• Maintain consistent customer contact and follow-up.
• Take full ownership of activity levels and sales outcomes.

Account Management & Relationship Building

• Develop strong, credible and long-term relationships with customers.
• Become a trusted point of contact for allocated accounts.
• Understand each customer's business and identify opportunities for further growth.
• Retain existing customers through excellent service and consistent engagement.
• Identify opportunities to cross-sell and increase account value.
• Resolve customer concerns professionally and promptly.
• Re-engage dormant customers where appropriate.
• Ensure customers receive regular communication and follow-up.

Sales Targets & Commercial Performance

• Achieve and exceed agreed monthly and annual sales targets.
• Take ownership of individual sales budgets and performance.
• Manage sales activity against targets.
• Maintain a healthy and realistic sales pipeline.
• Forecast expected sales accurately.
• Understand margin, pricing and the commercial implications of deals.
• Identify gaps against target early and implement corrective sales activity.
• Maintain a strong focus on revenue generation rather than activity alone.

CRM, Pipeline & Reporting

• Maintain accurate and current customer information.
• Record leads, opportunities, customer visits and follow-up actions on the relevant CRM system.
• Maintain visibility of the sales pipeline from prospect through to close.
• Produce accurate weekly and monthly sales reports.
• Report on customer activity, opportunities, risks and expected sales.
• Provide realistic sales forecasts and projections.
• Track lost opportunities and understand why business was not secured.

Market & Competitor Awareness

• Maintain a strong understanding of the market.
• Monitor competitor products, pricing and activity.
• Identify emerging customer requirements and market opportunities.
• Provide feedback to management regarding competitor activity and changing market conditions.
• Remain knowledgeable about company products and services.
• Participate in relevant product training and sales meetings.

Customer Solutions & Presentations

• Conduct professional customer presentations.
• Prepare proposals based on individual customer requirements.
• Communicate the commercial value of products and solutions rather than relying purely on price.
• Confidently handle objections.
• Negotiate professionally with customers and decision-makers.
• Demonstrate the ability to influence buying decisions and close business.

Internal Coordination

• Work closely with internal sales, operations and Johannesburg-based support teams.
• Ensure customer requirements are communicated accurately internally.
• Coordinate customer orders and requirements where necessary.
• Assist with forecasting product demand.
• Follow through internally to ensure commitments made to customers are delivered.
• Maintain ownership of the customer relationship throughout the sales process.

NON-NEGOTIABLE REQUIREMENTS

Candidates who do not meet the core requirements below should not be shortlisted.

1. Proven B2B Sales Experience

Candidates must have genuine business-to-business sales experience

Pure retail, consumer-only, call-centre-only or customer-service experience will not be sufficient.

2. External / Field Sales Experience

Candidates must be comfortable physically going out to meet customers.

We need evidence of:

• Customer visits
• Territory management
• Face-to-face selling
• Appointment setting
• Relationship development
• Independent field activity

3. Strong New Business Development

Candidates must demonstrate that they can hunt for business, not simply service an existing portfolio.

Experience should include:

• Prospecting
• Cold calling
• Lead generation
• Appointment setting
• Building a pipeline
• Approaching new businesses
• Converting prospects into customers

4. Proven Sales Ability

The successful candidate must be a strong salesperson

Their CV and interview should demonstrate experience in:

• Working towards sales targets
• Negotiation
• Presentations
• Overcoming objections
• Closing deals
• Growing accounts
• Revenue generation

5. Relationship-Based Selling

This company values long-term customer relationships.

Candidates therefore need to demonstrate the ability to:

• Build trust quickly
• Understand customer needs
• Retain accounts
• Grow existing relationships
• Communicate professionally at different organisational levels
• Become a trusted commercial partner rather than simply a salesperson

6. Own Vehicle & Driver's Licence

A valid driver's licence and own reliable vehicle are mandatory because this is an external field-based sales position.

7. Stability

Job hoppers should not be shortlisted.

We are looking for candidates who demonstrate reasonable career stability and who are genuinely looking for a longer-term opportunity.

Short periods of employment must have credible explanations.

8. Johannesburg/Gauteng Mobility

The candidate must be able to travel extensively throughout the assigned Gauteng territory and comfortably commute to the company's Johannesburg operation in the Edenvale/Kempton Park area when required.

Strongly Preferred Industry Background

Preference should be given to candidates who have sold within B2B environments such as:

• Industrial products
• Commodities
• Manufacturing
• Engineering
• Construction
• Building materials
• Hardware
• Technical products
• Commercial products/services
• Wholesale/distribution
• Industrial consumables
• Related B2B environments

Exact industry experience is advantageous, but exceptional B2B external sales ability and commercial aptitude are more important than an identical product background

Systems & Technical Skills

Candidates should be comfortable with:

• CRM systems
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Outlook
• PowerPoint
• Sales reporting
• Pipeline management
• Forecasting
• Quotations and proposals

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate should be:

• Highly sales-driven
• Confident
• Energetic
• Commercially minded
• Professional
• Resilient
• Competitive
• Self-motivated
• Persuasive
• Organised
• Accountable
• Target-driven
• Relationship-focused
• Comfortable working independently
• Excellent at following up
• Comfortable initiating conversations with new customers
• Able to handle rejection without losing momentum
• Strong at negotiation and closing
• Able to communicate confidently with business owners, managers and decision-makers

What We Do NOT Want

Please do not shortlist candidates whose experience is predominantly:

• Internal sales with no external exposure
• Call-centre/telesales only
• Retail/shop-floor sales only
• Customer service with limited sales responsibility
• Administration/sales support
• Account management without new-business development
• Marketing without direct sales responsibility
• Candidates unable to demonstrate targets or commercial responsibility
• Candidates who are uncomfortable cold calling
• Candidates who expect leads to simply be handed to them
• Candidates with repeated unexplained short-term employment