Sales Manager

The key responsibilities for a brewery sales and marketing manager include:

• Develop a sales plan for the brewery’s products – They must develop a comprehensive sales plan with: marketing strategies for each product line, customer demographic analysis, sales forecasts, and growth strategies. The sales plan will also examine pricing structure, revenue goals, sales locations, customer retention strategies, advertising avenues, and sales team activities.
• Create a sales strategy for the brewery – The sales strategy will explain the best way to position the brewery’s brand in the market.
• Create sales forecasts – The sales and marketing manager must create and distribute sales forecasts to the other departments within the brewery. This allows the brewery to adjust production levels and organise logistics.
• Manage sales and promotional events – The brewery will occasionally run sales and promotional events in-house or at trade shows. The sales and marketing manager must ensure these events are well-run and promote the brewery in the best way possible.
• Develop relationships with key customers – Relationships are very important in the brewing industry. The sales and marketing manager must develop relationships with key customers to sell more products and ensure they remain happy.
• Analyse customer demographics and market trends – The sales and marketing manager will analyse the demographics of both current and prospective customers. This information will be used for developing market strategies and new products. They will also analyse market trends to identify which kinds of products will be popular in the future.
• Research competitors – Competitor knowledge helps the brewery to develop products that are correctly promoted and priced to succeed in the marketplace. The sales and marketing manager must investigate and analyse competitors to identify new sales opportunities for the brewery.
• Present sales reports to management – They must present sales and marketing reports to upper management. These reports will range from marketing plans through to detailed sales analysis reports.
• Design and distribute marketing materials – They will work in conjunction with the sales and marketing teams to produce advertising and marketing materials. The sales and marketing manager may also be required to work with third party advertising agencies. Once a plan for promotional materials has been developed, they must ensure it is correctly executed.
• Supervise other staff – The sales and marketing manager works closely with the sales and marketing team at the brewery. They must ensure that the staff is working productively to generate sales and develop marketing strategies.

Education

They should have a Bachelor’s degree in marketing or business. Ideally, they will have a qualification relating to the brewing industry.

Experience

• Ideally, the sales and marketing manager will have:
• Experience in managing people – The sales and marketing manager must have experience in organising a team, delegating responsibility and assigning staff to roles.
• Experience in planning marketing campaigns – Previous experience in creating marketing campaigns from planning through to implementation.
• Sales experience – They should be an experienced sales executive who has worked at many different levels in the food and beverage industry.
• Sales report experience – A great deal of the sales and marketing manager’s time is spent preparing sales reports, researching markets and analysing customer Experience in the beer industry – They should have a number of years working in the industry and a thorough understanding of how to market and sell beer.

Skills

• Very high-level written and communication skills
• Public speaking skills
• Very personable and capable of persuading people
• Excellent sales and negotiation skills
• Team management and leadership skills, ability to motivate staff
• An innovative and creative person
• High level IT and report preparation skills
• Ability to work under pressure