Regional Sales Engineer at The Timken Company

Location: Lagos, Nigeria  (reporting into West Africa )

Job Description

• Timken is looking for individuals who are passionate about developing new business opportunities, and providing excellent customer service.  The ideal candidate will have a solid sales track record in the industrial market space in Nigeria.

Scope of the Position

• Implement the Business Plan with defined Sales & Profit objectives together with clear tactics for the market units serving our customers. 
• Manage Customer relationship at defined Accounts including Engineering, Purchasing, Quality & Manufacturing. 
• Work closely with Market Units, Engineering & Sales Management to serve customer/ Timken objectives. 
• Seek out opportunities for profitable growth using existing & new products and services.
• Execute field tactics and action plans that are consistent with our business and marketing strategies and which will result in achievement of our sales and profit objectives for the region.  
• Apply a consultative selling methodology to establish Timken as a friction management provider who assists strategic distributors and end customers in meeting their own business objectives.  
• Leverage long standing relationships with these accounts to grow sales and market penetration in the region.
• Develop, maintain and grow effective customer relationships by maximizing face-to-face time, executing.
• Develop negotiations skills by participating in customer negotiations; grow ability to develop pricing.
• Understanding of Timken value and learn how to leverage this to maximize price and grow and protect business.

Responsibilities

• Achieve Business Plan objectives for the region.
• Identify key market opportunities for Timken products, and evaluate market potential for the region.
• Sales Plan Execution: Collaborates with manager to develop customer-based sales plan including sales, won/lost business, pricing plans, new business attainment.
• Build and maintain robust relationships with all authorized distributors and customer personnel. These relationships are critical in defending existing business and gaining access to competitor business.
• Manage Distributors as directed by manager including:
• Analyzing and Setting annual distributor purchase targets;
• Set objectives and strategy with distributors to committing to specific action plans;
• Document all end user accounts, business potential, buying habits and define strategy for profit growth;
• Provide training support to industrial distributors in areas of basic technical product knowledge, general good maintenance practices and product installation, commercial information on applications, target industries, value selling, etc
• Annual Measurement /evaluation of distribution partner performance.
• Extends range of product or service relationships with major end-use customers to grow revenue.
• Develops plans and proposals to meet customer needs and achieve revenue objectives.
• Development and maintenance of records pertaining to distributor relationships, business plans, tracking and measurement of agreed objectives, incentives and supporting action plans.
• Provide monthly sales figures.
• Communicate effectively to Timken organization regarding internal requirements to meet agreed targets.
• Evaluates competitors’ products and selling/market strategy.
• Through an understanding of customer drivers, builds ability to influence customer decisions pertaining to new solutions, products and prototype applications. Promotes and presents ideas and proposals to major end-user Customers.
• Builds sales competencies in discovering hidden customer needs, representing customer needs, handling objections, etc.
• Facilitate customer interaction and coordinate with Marketing, Customer Service, Customer Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and other functional areas.
• Works with Customer Engineering on complex system analyses, including bearing selection on non-standard part number or types.
• Obtains application details from customers (including new or a typical designs).
• Gather and submit customer and market knowledge.
• Project Assignments: Responsible for projects as assigned and directed by direct manager

Minimum Requirements

• Mechanical Engineering and / or a B.Sc Mechanical degree and / or B. Tech (Mechanical) or country equivalent.
• At least 3-5 years’ experience in a related Sales function within a manufacturing/industrial industry.
• Proven history of sales results, successful problem solving and the generation of new opportunities.
• Solid market and sales knowledge of the region
• Project / contract management experience will be advantageous.
• Proficiency in MS Office.
• SAP & CRM system experience will be advantageous.
• Proficiency in business English, speaking and written communication.  As well as the spoken languages in the country.
• Fluent in English: ability to compose own correspondence in English. (e.g. letters, reports, proposals, quotations).
• Experience in an American multinational company will be helpful.
• Flexibility - willingness to travel to 60% of the time.
• The incumbent must be a citizen of the specific country
• Unendorsed driver’s license.

The ideal candidate will also demonstrate the following attributes and skills:

• Ability to engage with customers commercial & technical matters.
• Ability to deliver presentations to customers at all levels in the organization.
• Ability to engage with customers commercial & technical matters.
• Understand & speaks segment technical language.
• Decision making and mechanical problem solving techniques.
• A strong personality, balanced with excellent diplomacy and influencing skills.
• Ability to adapt to different countries cultures in the region.
• Perseverance and positive attitude.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Maintain the corporate image.
• Self-motivated and initiative to achieve objectives, with minimal supervision.
• Work well with a team environment.
• Candidates must be willing to undergo psychometric testing and will be evaluated against the same criteria.