SME Manager (Sales to Medium Enterprise)

Primary Responsibilities

Market Development:

• Identify and prioritize SME customers across key African regions (South, East, and West Africa).
• Develop targeted go-to-market strategies for entry-level and mid-tier product lines.
• Identify and prioritize SME customers across key African regions (South, East, and West Africa).
• Develop targeted go-to-market strategies for entry-level and mid-tier product lines.

Sales Growth:

• Drive pipeline development and achieve sales targets within the SME segment.
• Shorten the sales cycle by tailoring value propositions and solutions to SME needs.
• Drive pipeline development and achieve sales targets within the SME segment.
• Shorten the sales cycle by tailoring value propositions and solutions to SME needs.

Customer Engagement:

• Build strong relationships with SME decision-makers to establish long-term partnerships.
• Provide consultative sales support and position Ishida as a trusted advisor.
• Build strong relationships with SME decision-makers to establish long-term partnerships.
• Provide consultative sales support and position Ishida as a trusted advisor.

Channel Management:

• Collaborate with distributors and agents to expand Ishida’s SME market reach.
• Support partner training, capability building, and joint sales activities.
• Collaborate with distributors and agents to expand Ishida’s SME market reach.
• Support partner training, capability building, and joint sales activities.

Business Intelligence:

• Monitor market trends, customer behaviour, and competitor activities in the SME segment.
• Provide insights and recommendations to guide product and sales strategy.
• Monitor market trends, customer behaviour, and competitor activities in the SME segment.
• Provide insights and recommendations to guide product and sales strategy.

CrossFunctional Collaboration:

• Work closely with Service, Marketing, and Product teams to ensure alignment of solutions and support to SME customers.
• Feed back market intelligence to inform product development and entry-level innovation.
• Work closely with Service, Marketing, and Product teams to ensure alignment of solutions and support to SME customers.
• Feed back market intelligence to inform product development and entry-level innovation.

What skills are we looking for?

The successful candidate must have a Degree or Diploma in Business, Sales or Marketing, with experience in B2B sales, ideally within capital equipment, packaging, or the food manufacturing industries. A strong understanding of African business environments and the food manufacturing sector is essential, along with proven experience working with distributors and channel partners. The candidate should have excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, coupled with the ability to create and maintain strong relationships at all levels. They must be confident, adaptable, and possess high levels of emotional intelligence. Strong business development and relationship management skills are key, as is the ability to tailor solutions to meet the needs of SME customers.

The ideal candidate will also have an engineering background and a proven track record of developing SME or mid-market customer segments. Technical knowledge of manufacturing or packaging equipment would be advantageous. They should demonstrate a self-driven, entrepreneurial mindset, capable of working independently, with strong analytical skills to translate market data into actionable insights. A willingness to travel extensively across Africa is also required to effectively support and grow the customer base.