Area Sales Manager (ASM) – Banglore

Zoho; Bengaluru South; On-site; INR 2,800,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoho seeks a seasoned Area Sales Manager to own state-level growth, managing Primary and Secondary sales across distributors and markets. You will drive distributor onboarding, terms, and performance, with focus on C/D/E outlets, wholesale, HoReCa, and institutional business.

Expect extensive travel and leadership of TLs and field teams. Role demands 12–15+ years in FMCG field sales, strong execution, and proficiency in CRM and Excel.

Qualifications

• 12–15+ years FMCG field sales experience (Snacks/Beverages/Impulse preferred).
• Ownership of Primary + Secondary sales at large area/state level.
• Distributor lifecycle management (onboarding, governance, deboarding).
• Execution in C/D/E category retail (high outlet density, high frequency, low ticket).
• Wholesale, HoReCa, and Institutional BD.
• Strong collections and credit discipline; zero tolerance for leakage.
• High travel and 6-day field intensity.
• Proficient in Excel and CRM systems.

Responsibilities

• Own full-state Primary & Secondary sales targets with sustainable month-on-month growth.
• Build and execute state business plan: district/town prioritization, distributor network design, coverage model, and channel mix.
• Cascade targets into TL/FOS-level goals and drive execution through weekly performance cadence.
• Onboarding: Appoint and ramp distributors across the state (target 50-60 distributors or as per state map).
• Finalize distributor terms: territory, margins, credit limits, dispatch SLAs, claims/returns, and reporting compliance.
• Ensure distributor readiness: infrastructure, delivery capability, salesman strength, working capital, data reporting.
• Maintenance & Governance: weekly/monthly distributor reviews covering primary, secondary, stock, fill rate, ageing, returns, claims, overdue.
• Enforce pricing and scheme discipline; prevent leakage/undercutting.
• Maintain healthy stock norms: prevent stock-outs and dead stock.
• Deboarding: identify non-performing distributors and execute clean deboarding with settlement, stock liquidation, and territory transition.
• C. C/D/E Category Retail Expansion: drive distribution and repeat sales in C/D/E retail outlets; beat planning; counter placement; SKU assortment.
• D. Wholesale Growth Ownership: identify and scale wholesale clusters; drive volume with case deals; avoid GT leakage.
• E. HoReCa & Institutional BD: build pipeline for Institutions; negotiate commercials and delivery cadence.
• F. Team Leadership & Execution Discipline: hire, coach TLs and field teams; develop sales pitches and negotiation.
• G. Collections, Credit Control & Contribution: own collections; enforce policy; optimize trade spends and data accuracy.

Skills

FMCG field sales

Distributor lifecycle management

Channel expansion

High travel readiness

Tools

CRM systems

MS Excel

Job description

Bangalore South, India

Area Sales Manager (ASM) - State Owner (Primary + Secondary)

Department

Reporting To

Zonal Head / Head of Sales

Location

State-level role (Extensive field travel)

Employment Type

Full-Time

Role Objective

Own and drive the complete state-level growth engine by managing Primary (Company - Distributor) and Secondary (Distributor - Market) sales with a strong execution focus on C/D/E-category retail outlets , while scaling Wholesale, HoReCa, and Institutional channels.

This role carries end-to-end accountability for distributor lifecycle, revenue, collections, field productivity, execution metrics, and contribution .

Key Responsibilities

A. State Business Ownership (Primary + Secondary)

Own full-state Primary & Secondary sales targets with sustainable month-on-month growth (no artificial primary loading).

Build and execute state business plan : district/town prioritization, distributor network design, coverage model, and channel mix.

Cascade targets into TL/FOS-level goals and drive execution through weekly performance cadence.

Onboarding

Appoint and ramp distributors across the state (target 50-60 distributors or as per state map).

Finalize distributor terms: territory, margins, credit limits, dispatch SLAs, claims/returns, and reporting compliance.

Ensure distributor readiness: infrastructure, delivery capability, salesman strength, working capital, data reporting.

Maintenance & Governance

Conduct weekly/monthly distributor reviews covering: primary, secondary, stock, fill rate, ageing, returns, claims, overdue.

Enforce pricing and scheme discipline; prevent leakage/undercutting (especially in C/D/E outlets).

Maintain healthy stock norms: prevent stock-outs and dead stock.

Deboarding

Identify non-performing/non-compliant distributors and execute clean deboarding with settlement, stock liquidation, and territory transition.

C. C/D/E Category Retail Expansion (Core Focus)

Drive aggressive distribution and repeat sales in C/D/E retail outlets (kirana, theke + chakna counters, small impulse outlets).

Implement structured beat planning for high-density, low-ticket outlets.

Counter placement, micro-visibility, impulse conversion

Correct SKU assortment and pack-price ladder by outlet type

Implement retailer retention through revisit norms, service levels, and complaint resolution.

D. Wholesale Growth Ownership

Identify and scale high-potential wholesale clusters.

Drive volume through case deals with disciplined pricing.

Ensure wholesale does not become a GT pricing leakage channel.

E. HoReCa & Institutional Business Development

Build and own BD pipeline for:

Institutions (canteens, corporates, hospitals, schools/colleges, hostels)

Negotiate commercials, payment cycles, and delivery cadence.

Ensure repeat business and throughput (no vanity onboarding).

F. Team Leadership & Execution Discipline

Hire, manage, and coach Team Leads (TLs) and field teams (FOS).

Coach teams on sales pitch, objection handling, competitor switching, scheme communication, and negotiation.

G. Collections, Credit Control & Contribution

Own collections and outstanding across distributors and key accounts.

Enforce credit policy, ageing control, and stop-supply rules.

Own contribution and ROI: optimize trade spends and manpower cost.

Ensure clean and accurate data: distributor ledgers, claims/returns, outlet master, outstanding, scheme accounting.

Metric Ownership (ASM Accountability)

Primary Sales (₹) vs target

Primary-Secondary alignment and stock health (Days of Inventory)

C/D/E Retail Metrics

Outlet additions, activations, and repeat rate (15/30 days)

Key SKU availability % and stock-out rate

Strike rate, AOV, and SKU mix

Field Productivity

Outlets covered per FOS

Cost per FOS vs contribution

Collections ageing and overdue %

GM% protection and leakage incidents (near-zero tolerance)

BD Channels

Wholesale throughput (cases/month) and active accounts

Requirements

Candidate Profile

12–15+ years FMCG field sales experience (Snacks/Beverages/Impulse preferred).

Proven ownership of Primary + Secondary sales at large area/state level.

Strong experience in Distributor lifecycle management (onboarding, governance, deboarding).

Deep execution experience in C/D/E category retail (high outlet density, high frequency, low ticket).

Demonstrated success in Wholesale, HoReCa, and Institutional BD .

Strong collections and credit discipline; zero tolerance for leakage.

Comfortable with high travel and 6-day field intensity .

Proficient in Excel and CRM systems .

First 90 Days Success Indicators

State fully mapped with 50% distributor onboarding completed .

TL/FOS productivity system installed with visible improvement in coverage, AOV, and strike rate.

Reduced stock-outs and stabilized forecasting.

Improved ageing and active leakage controls.

BD pipeline created with first scalable wins (not one-offs).