Senior Sales Officer

Zoho; Siwan; On-site; INR 450,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Zoho seeks a field-based sales professional to appoint distributors and build a capable DSR network in the paints sector across Bihar and nearby regions.

You will train distributor teams, articulate product USPs, manage trade promotions, and drive sell-out through aligned field activities with regular KPI reviews with SSOs and DSRs.

Qualifications

• University degree or higher required for the role.
• Prior sales experience in a manufacturing company is mandatory.
• Ability to lead and train an indirect team is essential.
• Strong execution skills demonstrated in prior roles.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office; includes Excel, PowerPoint, Word.
• Clear communication and interpersonal skills; willing to relocate within India.

Responsibilities

• Assist in appointing Distributor Sales Reps (DSRs) and shortlist candidates.
• Train DSRs on company profile, products, discounts, POST policy, and market ethics.
• Maintain day-to-day contact with distributors and review dashboards weekly.
• Lead field activities to drive revenue, volume and mix in distributor territories.
• Coordinate with MDO and Painter Reps for pricing, sell-out and off-take programs.
• Monitor distributor service levels, credit terms, and accounts receivable on a monthly cadence.

Skills

Sales experience

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

MS Office

Communication skills

Relocation

Education

University degree

Tools

MS Office

Job description

1. Assist in Appointing DistributorSales Reps (DSRs)

Short listcandidates by conducting a first round of interview to assess thepreparedness and fitness for the role. Create pipeline of such (keep theattrition of people in mind)

• Focus on candidates with Paint orsimilar industry background
• Understandlocation constraints of the candidate

2. Training and capability ofDistributor’s team

Train DSRson the following:

• Briefing on Company profile
• All Products – USP of Company Productsand Competitors
• Discounts/Rebates/Promotions –Understanding and how to articulate and demonstrate the financial benefits tothe Dealer
• POST policy – Benefits of a tintingmachine
• Shadow market working with DSE

An alignedand competent distributor team with a reasonably good understanding of thepaint industry, defined market, competition, SSO requirements and Company objectives

Marketprofile

• Brief on the SSO’s behavior, marketsize and Company share of the market allotted

AppraiseDistributor owner and manager

• Company profile
• Key terms of contract andimplications
• Category of products
• Terms of trade
• Warehouse – Planogram/Stacking norms
• Importance of off-take programmesenabling sell-out
• Assist DSR to appoint B1 and B2 – mediumand large SSOs (ABC classification to be used until segmentation based onRetail Landscape is available)
• POST expansion and productivity inthe defined geography as planned in the Distributors P&L sheet (5-yearrolling)
• Propose to RSM/ASM on quarterly andannual tie-ups for Medium and Large SSOs to drive mix and loyalty
• Build and maintain relationship with coresegmented SSOs – Platinum/Gold/Silver/Dulux Point
• Productivity of assets – POST andEeden deployments
• Deliversustainable distribution and POST expansion (measured as % invoiced everymonth) for the distributor territory

4. Business and process deliverables

Maintain day to day contact with the Distributor(s) in a professionalmanner to deliver revenue, volume, mix and other Sales KPI’s for thedistributor territory within set policies to support the achievement ofcompany’s goals and objectives by adhering to defined meeting/review norms.

• Daily meeting and review of defined Dashboards(updated every day – Mandatory; the Dashboards must be in the line of sightof the Owner/Manager) – daily plan on SSOs covered, volume, revenue,collections, focus products/activities as applicable
• Daily invoicing in DERP to reflectactual business
• Weekly review of existing SSOperformance and new SSO appointments vs. plan to understand reasons forgrowth or lack of growth - help DSR to understand reasons for non-performingSSOs and develop plans/interventions to ensure growth
• Weekly review of assortmentperformance for core segmented SSOs and POS SSOs
• Weekly review of POST expansion vs.plan
• Monthly review of DSR’s beat and suggestchanges modification if any to improve effectiveness/efficiency
• Monthly review POST productivity vs.plan – invoicing of base + colourants – incremental
• Monthly review of in-store offtakedrivers – Eeden and shop assistant programmes – improvement inrevenue/volume/mix of target SSOs
• Review with SSOs (monthly cyclical)service levels, credit terms performance, accounts receivables performance,financial hygiene – regularity and clarity of statement of accounts, creditnotes, debit notes and record feedback with Distributor/Distributor Managerwith a copy to RSM/ASM
• Ensure adherence to CRM usage by DSR,monthly cyclical surveys on SSO inventory and SSO hygiene (photographs)
• Document all weekly and monthlyreviews with the Distributor, Distributor Manager and RSM/ASM

Deliver,revenue, volume and mix for the distributor territory as per plan and ensureadherence to defined processes and tools

5. Market activities

• Address complaints and drive closure(excluding POST equipment) – As required
• Competitor intelligence duly recordedin CRM – Monthly
• Key Account relationship managementof Platinum, Gold, Silver and Dulux Point SSOs – Monthly
• DSR route planning – Quarterly
• Identify and help deployDifferentiated Value Propositions from the available menu for the country forcore segmented channel – Annual plan and Quarterly review
• Review distributor service levels vs.key competition and record improvement areas if any with Distributor andRSM/ASM – Half yearly
• Drive mix and loyalty building rebatesand promotions with core segmented channel – Quarterly/Annual plan and review
• Key accountmanagement of core segmented channel and provide feedback to improveeffectiveness and efficiency of the distributor team
• Assist MDO and Painter Reps toidentify and register painters; conduct painter shopmeets/training/Best-By-Test meets
• Coordinate with MDO to ensure offtakereflects into sell-out and hence sell-in
• Assist MDO and Painter Rep team withpricing support from SSOs servicing Medium and Small projects
• Ensure offtakeprogrammes for painters translate into sell-out and sell-in

Requirements

Skills and Knowledge

• University degree with4 - 6 years of sales experience in a manufacturing company
• P rior sales experienceis mandatory and experience handling professional distributors in Appliances,Lubricants, Construction industry or similar will be an advantage
• Should have theability to lead and train an indirect team of people
• A strong demonstrationof execution skills in previous roles will be an advantage
• Ability to use MicrosoftOffice (Excel, PowerPoint and Word)
• Clear communicationskills (written and verbal communication skills) and good interpersonal andinfluencing skills
• Willing to relocatewithin the country will be an advantage