Assistant Manager

As an Assistant Sales and Marketing Manager, you'll identify new business opportunities in order to generate revenue, improve profitability and help the business grow.

Your work can involve careful strategic planning and positioning in the appropriate markets, or enhancing the operation of the business, position or reputation in some way.

You may have a single role in the organization or lead a team of staff. Your work will often reach across all areas of the business.
Alternatively, you may work across many different businesses, but with a specific focus on either:

1. B2B (business to business)
2. B2C (business to consumer)

1. Research and identify new business opportunities - including new markets, growth areas, trends, customers, partnerships, products and services - or new ways of reaching existing markets.
2. Seek out the appropriate contact in an organisation.
3. Generate leads and cold call prospective customers.
4. Meet with customers/clients face to face or over the phone.
5. Foster and develop relationships with customers/clients.
6. Understand the needs of your customers and be able to respond effectively with a plan of how to meet these.
7. Think strategically - seeing the bigger picture and setting aims and objectives in order to develop and improve the business.
8. Work strategically - carrying out necessary planning in order to implement operational changes.
9. Draw up client contracts - depending on the size of the company, this task may be completed by someone else or agreements may not be as formal.
10. Have a good understanding of the businesses' products or services and be able to advise others about them.
11. Ensure staff are on board throughout the organisation, and understand the need for change and what is required of them.
12. Train members of your team, arranging external training where appropriate.
13. Discuss promotional strategy and activities with the marketing department.
14. Liaise with the finance team, warehousing and logistics departments as appropriate.
15. Seek ways of improving the way the business operates.
16. Attend seminars, conferences and events where appropriate.
17. Keep abreast of trends and changes in the business world. Help to plan sales campaigns.
18. Negotiate pricing with customers, and suppliers in some cases.
19. Increase sales of the business.
20. Carry out sales forecasts and analysis and present your findings to senior management/the board of directors.
21. Develop the business sales and marketing strategy.

You'll work in an office environment, but may travel within the day for face-to-face meetings with customers and other business partners.

It can be challenging trying to create new business opportunities, in addition to the constant pressure of meeting or exceeding targets. However, business development is quite a creative role and can be very satisfying.

You may have the responsibility of managing a team and their output.

You'll be expected to dress smartly, especially for meetings, though slightly more relaxed business casual attire may be acceptable at other times.

Depending on the type of business, overnight or overseas travel may be required.

1. Bachelor's degree in business, marketing or related field.
2. Experience in sales, marketing or related field.
3. A drive to seek new business.
4. Conduct research to identify new markets and customer needs.
5. Strong communication skills and IT fluency including use of spreadsheets.
6. Ability to manage complex projects and multi-task.
7. Excellent organizational skills.
8. Ability to flourish with minimal guidance, be proactive, and handle uncertainty.
9. Proficient in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
10. Comfortable using a computer for various tasks.
11. Tenacity and drive to seek new business and meet or exceed targets.
12. An excellent telephone manner for making initial contact and for ongoing communication with customers and business associates.
13. Interpersonal skills for building and developing relationships with clients.
14. Written and verbal communication skills - needed for communicating with a range of people, both internally and externally, as well as presentation skills.
15. Teamworking skills and a collaborative approach to work.
16. The ability to multitask and prioritise your workload.
17. Project management and organisational skills.
18. The ability to motivate yourself and set your own goals.
19. The ability to think strategically.
20. The ability to analyse sales figures and write reports.
21. A flexible approach to work with the ability to adapt to a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.
22. Initiative and the confidence to start things from scratch.
23. Provide trustworthy feedback and after-sales support.
24. Build long-term relationships with new and existing customers.
25. Develop entry-level staff into valuable salespeople.