Sales Manager – Fertilizer Business

Job Details

  • Salary
  • Experience 5 Years Experience

Sales Manager – Fertilizer Business

  • Sri Lanka

Job Purpose

The Sales Manager will be responsible for developing the Company’s fertilizer market and achieving agreed sales and revenue targets. The role will focus on building and managing the sales team, activating and developing distributors and dealers, expanding customer relationships, increasing market coverage and driving sales across identified agricultural segments and territories.

The Sales Manager will work closely with the Head of Commercial to ensure that market demand, sales forecasts, product availability and distributor requirements are properly coordinated. The role will also be responsible for identifying new business opportunities, strengthening market presence, monitoring competitor activity and ensuring sustainable sales growth while maintaining required margins and credit discipline.

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop annual and monthly sales plans in line with the Company’s business objectives.

  • Set sales targets by product, territory, distributor and customer segment.

  • Develop and implement strategies to achieve sales and revenue targets.

  • Monitor actual sales performance against targets and take corrective action where required.

  • Identify opportunities to improve sales volume, market coverage and revenue growth.

  • Ensure sales activities are aligned with overall commercial objectives.

  • Identify and develop potential distributors and dealers in target markets and territories.

  • Work closely with the Head of Commercial on distributor evaluation, selection and appointment.

  • Build and maintain strong working relationships with distributors and dealers.

  • Establish clear sales targets and performance expectations for distributors.

  • Monitor distributor sales, stock levels, market movement and business performance.

  • Identify opportunities to expand the distributor and dealer network.

  • Develop new sales channels and territories to increase market penetration.

  • Support distributor and dealer training, product knowledge and sales development programmes.

  • Ensure distributors have the necessary product knowledge and commercial support to effectively promote and sell the Company's fertilizer products.

  • Identify new markets, customers, agricultural segments and business opportunities.

  • Develop opportunities across priority crops, regions and agricultural markets.

  • Build relationships with farmers, plantation companies, dealers, commercial agricultural customers and other relevant stakeholders.

  • Conduct regular market visits to understand market conditions, customer requirements and sales opportunities.

  • Gather and analyse market intelligence, including competitor products, pricing, promotions and activities.

  • Identify gaps in market coverage and develop initiatives to increase the Company's presence.

  • Provide regular market feedback and recommendations to the Head of Commercial and management.

  • Drive business development initiatives to support sustainable growth of the fertilizer business.

  • Recruit, develop and manage the sales team in line with business requirements.

  • Allocate territories, customer segments and responsibilities to sales team members.

  • Set individual sales targets and performance expectations.

  • Monitor field activities, customer visits, sales performance and achievement of targets.

  • Conduct regular sales meetings, performance reviews and territory reviews.

  • Coach and mentor sales team members to improve their sales capabilities and performance.

  • Identify training and development requirements within the sales team.

  • Establish and maintain a performance-oriented sales culture.

  • Ensure the sales team maintains strong relationships with distributors, dealers and customers.

  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key customers and commercial agricultural accounts.

  • Identify and secure major customers and strategic business opportunities.

  • Develop customer-specific sales plans where required.

  • Understand key customer requirements and provide appropriate commercial solutions.

  • Handle important customer issues, complaints and escalations.

  • Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.

  • Develop long-term relationships with major agricultural and commercial customers.

  • Support the launch and commercialisation of new fertilizer products.

  • Coordinate product demonstrations, field activities and customer engagement programmes with technical teams.

  • Organise and support dealer, farmer and customer awareness programmes.

  • Gather feedback on product acceptance, customer response and market performance.

  • Work closely with Marketing on sales promotions, product campaigns and market-development activities.

  • Identify opportunities to improve product visibility and market adoption.

  • Prepare monthly and rolling sales forecasts.

  • Provide accurate sales and demand forecasts to the Head of Commercial.

  • Monitor market demand and communicate expected changes in customer and distributor requirements.

  • Coordinate with the Head of Commercial regarding expected product demand and availability.

  • Identify potential stock shortages or excess inventory based on market demand and sales forecasts.

  • Provide timely market information to support product availability and commercial planning.

  • Implement approved pricing structures and commercial policies.

  • Recommend special pricing, discounts or promotional offers where commercially justified.

  • Ensure the sales team follows approved pricing, discount and credit policies.

  • Monitor competitor pricing and market activities.

  • Ensure sales activities are focused on achieving volume and revenue targets while maintaining required margins.

  • Monitor market conditions and provide recommendations on pricing and sales strategies to the Head of Commercial.

  • Follow up customer and distributor collections in coordination with Finance.

  • Monitor outstanding and overdue balances within the assigned customer and distributor portfolio.

  • Ensure sales teams operate within approved customer credit limits.

  • Monitor credit exposure and identify potential collection risks.

  • Escalate collection concerns and significant overdue balances to the Head of Commercial and Finance.

  • Support the Company in maintaining healthy cash flow and disciplined credit management.

Prepare and submit regular sales and market reports covering:

  • Sales performance against targets

  • Product-wise sales

  • Territory-wise sales

  • Distributor and dealer performance

  • Customer development

  • New business opportunities

  • Market intelligence

  • Competitor activities and pricing

  • Sales pipeline

  • Sales forecasts

  • Collection status

  • Key market developments and risks

Provide management with accurate and timely information to support commercial decision-making.

Required Qualifications & Experience

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Marketing, Agriculture, Agribusiness or a related field.

  • A professional qualification in Sales, Marketing or a related discipline would be an advantage.

  • Minimum 8–10 years of experience in sales, with at least 3–5 years in a Sales Manager, Area Sales Manager or similar sales leadership role.

  • Proven experience in achieving and exceeding sales and revenue targets.

  • Strong experience in distributor and dealer management.

  • Experience managing, developing and motivating sales teams.

  • Experience in market development, territory expansion and business development.

  • Experience in fertilizer, agrochemicals, agricultural inputs, FMCG, pharmaceuticals or another distributor-driven industry would be preferred.

  • Strong understanding of sales planning, forecasting, pricing and sales execution.

  • Good understanding of the Sri Lankan agricultural market would be an advantage.

  • Strong negotiation, communication and relationship-management skills.

  • Good analytical, reporting and problem-solving skills.

  • Commercially driven with a strong focus on sales growth and profitability.

  • Ability and willingness to travel extensively across Sri Lanka.

Key Competencies

  • Sales Leadership

  • Distributor & Dealer Management

  • Market Development

  • Business Development

  • Team Management & Coaching

  • Key Account Management

  • Sales Planning & Forecasting

  • Negotiation & Relationship Management

  • Commercial Awareness

  • Market & Competitor Intelligence

  • Performance Management

  • Analytical & Reporting Skills

  • Target Orientation

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a commercially driven and target-oriented sales leader with strong experience in distributor-led sales operations and market development. Experience in the fertilizer, agricultural inputs or a similar industry will be highly advantageous.

The candidate should have a strong track record of building sales teams, developing distributor and dealer networks, expanding market coverage and delivering measurable sales growth. The ability to understand agricultural markets, identify new business opportunities and build strong relationships with customers and channel partners will be essential.

The successful candidate should also be energetic, hands-on and comfortable working in a start-up environment, with the ability to travel extensively across Sri Lanka and take ownership of sales performance and market development.

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