State Sales Head

ApTask; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,500,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

ApTask is seeking a State Sales Head to lead sales performance across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. This player-coach role combines state-level planning with hands-on market leadership, translating business goals into executable plans, and ensuring growth driven by genuine market demand.

You will own the state sales plan, coach ASM and field teams, strengthen distribution, expand reach, and work closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance and senior leadership to turn plans into market action.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in FMCG sales with leadership experience
• Strong Tamil market knowledge across Tamil Nadu
• Proven ability to build and manage distribution networks
• Commercial acumen in distributor economics and stock health
• Graduate degree; MBA useful but not essential

Responsibilities

• Own the state sales plan and translate objectives into priorities for area, distributor, and market levels
• Lead, coach, and hold accountable ASM and field sales leadership
• Improve distributor productivity, coverage, service levels, and commercial health
• Expand productive distribution, repeat billing, outlet throughput, and on-shelf availability
• Identify growth opportunities and performance gaps across markets
• Conduct disciplined performance reviews; monitor primary/secondary sales, stock, ageing, collections, and forecast quality
• Ensure schemes and trade activities have clear logic, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes
• Collaborate with Marketing, Trade Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales Ops and leadership to turn plans into market action
• Drive market action through cross-functional alignment and data-driven decisions

Skills

FMCG sales

Distributor management

Strategic planning

Team leadership

Market knowledge

Education

Graduate degree

MBA (useful)

Job description

The State Sales Head will lead sales performance across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. This is a player-coach role combining state-level planning with hands-on market leadership: translating business goals into executable plans, improving distributor productivity, building a stronger field organisation and ensuring growth is driven by genuine market demand.

Key responsibilities

• Own the state sales plan, deliver profitable secondary-led growth and translate business objectives into clear area-, distributor-, team- and market-level priorities.
• Lead, coach and hold accountable the ASM and field-sales organisation, raising managerial and execution standards.
• Strengthen the route to market by improving distributor productivity, coverage, service levels and commercial health.
• Expand productive distribution, repeat billing, outlet throughput, range selling and on-shelf availability.
• Identify growth opportunities and performance gaps across established, underdeveloped and new markets.
• Run disciplined performance reviews and maintain visibility on primary and secondary sales, stock, ageing, collections, claims and forecast quality.
• Ensure schemes and trade activities have clear commercial logic, disciplined execution and measurable outcomes.
• Work closely with Marketing, Trade Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales Operations and senior leadership to turn plans into market action.

Candidate profile

• Experience: 10+ years in FMCG sales, including at least 3–5 years leading multiple managers or sizeable territories; exposure to food or adjacent high-frequency categories is preferred.
• Market knowledge: Strong general-trade, wholesale and distributor-market understanding across Tamil Nadu, with fluency in Tamil, working proficiency in English and readiness for extensive travel.
• Track record: Demonstrated success in building distribution, improving weak territories or entering new markets—not only maintaining an inherited business.
• Commercial capability: Sound understanding of distributor economics, secondary sales, stock health, collections and trade investment, supported by structured reviews and sales data.
• Education: Graduate degree required; an MBA is useful but not essential. Operating quality and evidence of results matter more than pedigree.