Internal Sales Manager

Internal Sales Manager

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Internal Sales Manager to lead and support our sales team without carrying a personal sales target (but you will be driving the sales target of the business). The candidate will be solely responsible for driving team performance, coaching and mentoring sales professionals, and contributing to overall business strategy and growth by achieving monthly and annual targets working with the market leads for each of our geographical markets. This role is ideal for someone who thrives on enabling others to succeed and has a passion for leadership, performance management, and operational excellence.

The role sits in ESL who are one of the businesses that make up the Pilot Group. ESL connects the demand and supply of electrical components. As the world shifts to a more electric future, ESL helps customers procure their needs in this space by thinking and operating differently.

The company joins supply chains together in a simple and easy-to-deliver way. We operate globally offering fast deliveries and making things easy both for our customers and our suppliers, developing long-term relationships with them.

The business is headquartered in Manchester and operates with a strong international presence. It was founded by two female entrepreneurs 19 years ago (both are still in the business) and the company has 75 amazing people with brilliant skills.

We are going through a period of change as we embed a new system and develop new markets for growth (the system will include a CRM). Our ambitions are bold, and as we go through this period of change, we are looking for an experienced Sales Manager who can take the sales team on this transition journey.

We are looking for an exceptionally strong leader who can manage and motivate sales teams and work with us as part of the ERP project to identify the required activity and productivity measurement. We are looking for a candidate who has helped develop highly performing sales functions including alignment of commission structures around business objectives and driving a culture of fun with high performance.

Key Responsibilities (Internal Sales Manager):

• Establish working practices to drive a highly functioning sales team that not only achieves targets but continually looks for growth.
• Day-to-day line management for all Sales Agents to ensure, and evolve productivity.
• Establish measurement tools both on an interim basis, and as part of the ERP/CRM project.
• Create a culture of performance and motivation that supports delivery aligned with our company values.
• Review of commission structures to align sales performance with short and long term business objectives.
• Conduct regular one-on-ones, coaching sessions, and performance reviews.
• Participate in recruitment, onboarding, and training of new sales team members.
• Identify areas for improvement in sales techniques and team structure.
• Support forecasting and pipeline management in coordination with senior leadership.
• Serve as an escalation point for customer or internal issues related to the sales process.

Qualifications (Internal Sales Manager):

• 5+ years of experience in sales leadership or sales management.
• Strong understanding of sales techniques, and data analytics.
• Proven ability to coach and develop team members without carrying an individual quota.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to motivate and drive a team to meet or exceed performance targets in a diverse, multi-cultural environment.
• Experience in a fast-paced, performance-driven sales environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or a related field (preferred but not essential).

Key experience:

• Experience of establishing/developing a proven sales function and infrastructure (including establishment of performance/productivity metrics)
• Involvement in development of CRM and sales monitoring tools
• Creation of a successful commission structure that motivates the sales team about business objectives, short and long term
• Transforming a sales culture to find a good balance of performance aligned with company values
• Exceptional line management experience

Recruitment Agencies;

The Pilot Group operates a strict PSL and will not accept any unsolicited CVs sent to any member, employee, representative or business unit of the Pilot Group. Any unsolicited introduction will be treated as a CV ‘sent in kind’ and as such The Pilot Group rejects all liability to pay any such fees for an unsolicited introduction.