Jiffy International, headquartered in The Netherlands, is a global leading supplier of environmentally friendly propagation systems, hydroponic systems, growing containers and substrates for the horticultural industry.
Jiffy has manufacturing locations in The Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Estonia and Norway, producing substrates mixes, biodegradable pots and Jiffy-7 pellet propagation systems. In addition, Jiffy produces Preforma plant plugs in The Netherlands, USA, Spain and Japan and manufactures a complete line of coir products at our own facilities in Sri Lanka. The Jiffy team exists of approx. 1500 employees.
Jiffy abides by the highest standards, both safeguarding the environment as well as providing the highest product and performance quality to its customers, in many cases certified products. A professional grower of today relies on the best technical assistance for the products chosen to make the best outputs from their own business.
At Jiffy, we are proud to help professional growers with innovative and sustainable plant growing solutions to feed and beautify the world. With our large portfolio of pots, pellets, grow blocks, grow bags, substrates mixes and plugs, we have the best solution for any crop grown, production process and business size. By listening carefully and sharing our knowledge and expertise, we help our customers to improve their sustainability, efficiency, product quality and profitability. In short, together we aim for more yield and less waste.
The sales areas are divided in five regions (United Kingdom, France, Benelux, South Europe/Middle East/Africa an Germany/Austria/Switzerland/East-Europe/Scandinavia) and managed by their respective Regional Sales Managers.
Scope of the role:
The Sales Account Manager UK is responsible for maintaining relations with existing and potential clients or buyers with a view to realising the highest possible turnover within the designated sales territory.
The activities will be coordinated with the Sales Manager in line with the objectives and projected turnover as laid down in the regional sales plan. To this end, the Sales Account Manager visits current and prospective clients regularly, takes stock of client needs and possibilities in relation to the sale of all the Jiffy products, and offers the best possible solutions. In approaching clients, the emphasis should be on building a lasting relationship.
We expect the new Sales Account Manager to take on leadership and ownership in the transition from a more traditional portfolio sales towards our new solution-oriented sales approach. We don’t expect our sales team to “simply” sell our available products to our customer, but provide our customer -in the broadest possible sense- with a solution that meets customer needs and demands (even if this product or service is not available in our portfolio). In line with our vision: Jiffy wants to be the service leader in sustainable plant growing solutions.
The implementation of solution-based sales approach will also require a shift from a geographical market approach towards a more project-based approach. These projects will not only be cross-area/cross border, but also cross-functional. We expect sales teams to align with product management, product development, innovation department, customer service, marketing and other stake holders in finding the best possible product solution to meet the customer’s needs and demands. The Sales Account Manager will participate in these projects.
Another important element in Jiffy’s new sales strategy is that we expect Sales Account Managers to take on more sales responsibility, by providing them with more authority to make business decisions (in particular price/margin authorisations) and to create a real environment for entrepeneurship. In this way Jiffy wants to inspire and empower sales management to support their sales teams and monitor on the overall progress made, rather than being operationally involved in all details.
General responsibilities and tasks:
The Sales Account Manager:
- works according to the objectives and turnover targets as laid down in the regional sales plan;
- gives input on the yearly budget process;
- visits and supports existing and potential clients; both end-users and distributors
- takes note of client needs and sales possibilities;
- expertly provides the client with information about the entire Jiffy range;
- provides good after-sales support and service to the client;
- closely tracks market trends and developments among the competition;
- identifies sales possibilities and discusses these with the responsible Sales Manager;
- draws up quotations in collaboration with responsible Sales Manager on the basis of reliable price calculations and in line with market prices;
- provides the client with information concerning payment and delivery terms;
- plays an active role in acquiring and approaching prospective clients;
- visits trade shows/fairs, identifies product developments and establishes contacts;
- represents Jiffy Products at trade shows/fairs;
- takes part in open days at clients or other companies with own stand;
- expands the client base and pool of contacts using creative and persuasive means;
- consults with the Regional Sales Manager on the state of affairs in the sales territory;
- ensures that agreements made are kept for the client and gets in touch in the event of any deviations;
- is responsible for keeping orderly records;
- corresponds correctly with Jiffy’s clients;
- takes part in the sales meetings according to plan and makes a substantial contribution to these meetings.
Job requirements:
- Bachelor degree in Horticulture or Agriculture Science;
- And/or MBA of Master in Economics;
- Fluent in English;
- Minimal 5 years sales experience;
- Industrial companies, production or sales companies, operating within or directly linked to the horticultural or agricultural industry;
- MS-Office 365 (Words Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Teams);
- Experienced with ERP and CRM software;
- Strong communication skills;
- Self-driven.
Personal characteristics:
- Identifying the powerful buyers, getting high quality leads, turning prospects into customers;
- Excelling in satisfying your customers, customizing products and services, getting inside the customer’s head;
- Recognizing negotiating opportunities, trading and bargaining with customers, achieving win-win outcomes;
- Listen, understand, and respond to the needs of customers to meet or exceed their expectations;
- Work effectively with others to set goals, resolve challenges, continuously improve and make decisions;
- Demonstrate willingness to be flexible, versatile and tolerant in a changing work environment;
- Understand ethical behaviour and business practices, and ensure that own behaviour and the behaviour of others is consistent;
- Establish and maintain positive working relationships;
- Speak, listen and write in a clear, thorough and timely manner;
- Develop new ways to improve sales and to create new opportunities;
- Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency and risks, and make clear decisions in accordance with agreed Jiffy working principles;
- Set priorities, develop a work schedule, monitor progress towards goals, and track details, data, information and activities;
- Assesses actions needed based on trends and conditions in the environment.
Salary and benefits:
- Annual base salary: £40,000 – £45,000 per year (depending on experience and track record);
- Bonus scheme: participation in the bonus scheme for Sales Account Managers (maximum 2 months salary);
- Company car, laptop and mobile phone.
C.V. and motivation letter can be sent to hr-nl@jiffygroup.com.