Designation: Regional Sales Manager (South India)
Job Location: Bengaluru / Hyderabad
Job Summary
The Regional Manager Sales (South) will drive the end-to-end sales strategy, volume growth, and numeric distribution of our frozen food portfolio across traditional retail channels (Kirana stores, standalone food marts, provision stores, and local multi-brand outlets).
This role is critically focused on expanding our traditional distributor and super stockiest network in the South India, ensuring uninterrupted cold chain integrity at the retail level, managing extensive field sales teams, and driving robust secondary sales metrics.
Key Responsibilities
1. Sales & Distribution Strategy
- Target Achievement: Own, plan, and execute the South India sales roadmap to achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual primary and secondary sales targets.
- Territory Expansion: Drive deep market penetration across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities in South India, ensuring high numeric and weighted distribution for ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, and frozen snack categories.
- ROI Management: Manage the regional commercial budget, including trade margins, ROI calculations for general trade distributors, and regional market investments.
2. Distributor & Cold Chain Infrastructure Management
- Network Appointment: Identify, evaluate, and appoint specialized Frozen Food Distributors and Super Stockists across major South Indian clusters.
- Cold Chain Governance: Ensure all appointed trade partners possess the required cold-room or deep-freezing infrastructure. Routinely monitor and enforce cold chain compliance to eliminate temperature breaks during local transit.
- Asset Management: Oversee the deployment, servicing, and geo-tracking of company-owned chest freezers and visicoolers placed across high-potential General Trade outlets.
3. Market Execution & Trade Marketing
- Beat & Route Optimization: Formulate disciplined Permanent Journey Plans (PJP) for the field team to ensure maximum market coverage, high productivity, and consistent line-fill per call.
- In-Store Visibility: Collaborate with the Trade Marketing team to secure premium placement for company freezers and ensure the deployment of durable, moisture-resistant Point-of-Sale Materials (POSM) suitable for frozen environments.
- Stock Rotation (FIFO): Train distributors and retailers on strict First-In, First-Out (FIFO) practices to manage the limited shelf-life of frozen goods and minimize market expiry claims.
4. Team Leadership & Governance
- Team Management: Direct, mentor, and monitor a robust field sales force consisting of Area Sales Managers (ASMs), Territory Sales Executives (TSEs), and Sales Officers.
- Performance Tracking: Conduct weekly and monthly regional business reviews, analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) like effective coverage, average bill value, and target vs. achievement gaps.
- Receivables & Collections: Maintain a healthy commercial pipeline by ensuring timely financial collections from the distributor network and keeping outstanding dues within company norms.
Profile Requirements
Educational Qualifications
- Minimum: Graduate in any discipline (Commerce, Business, or Food Sciences).
- Preferred: MBA / PGDM in Sales & Marketing.
Experience & Industry Background
- Total Experience: 12 to 15 years of proven track record in FMCG sales.
- Industry Specifics: At least 4–6 years of core experience in Frozen Foods, Dairy, Ice Cream, Poultry/Meats, or Perishables where cold chain logistics are vital.
- Geographical Exposure: Deep understanding of consumer behaviour, buying patterns, and seasonal fluctuations (such as intense summer vs. winter logistics challenges) across the South Indian traditional retail landscape.
Core Skills & Competencies
- GT Network Command: Existing, strong relationships with prominent FMCG and frozen-product super stockists and distributors in South India.
- Analytical Ability: Proficient in extracting insights from Sales Force Automation (SFA) data, DMS (Distributor Management Systems), and Microsoft Excel.
- Leadership Style: A hands-on leader who actively travels the market with the frontline team to build strong retail-level relationships.
- Languages: Fluent in English & Local Languages.