Sales Director – Build and Lead Sales Function

About the role

The Sales Director will create and lead a professional sales function for a family‑owned manufacturing group on the KwaZulu‑Natal South Coast. The role combines new‑business hunting with account‑farming, and aims to reduce founder involvement in day‑to‑day selling within 12 months.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct a sales diagnostic and define strategy, targets and territory plan within the first 90 days.
• Design the sales structure, recruit, onboard and develop the sales team within six months.
• Personally open and close new accounts while maintaining a qualified pipeline.
• Establish key‑account management plans for top customers within six months.
• Select or reset the CRM, define pipeline stages and enforce CRM usage across the team within 90 days.
• Produce monthly revenue forecasts and a sales dashboard from the CRM.
• Collaborate with operations, finance and marketing to ensure alignment and lead generation.

Required profile

• Undergraduate degree in commerce, business, marketing or a related field (preferred).
• Minimum 15 years of sales experience, progressing to senior leadership with direct reports.
• Proven track record in both new‑business acquisition and account growth.
• Experience building or rebuilding a sales function, including structure, targets and incentives.
• Hands‑on experience implementing or running a CRM system.
• Valid driver’s licence and ability to travel regularly between KwaZulu‑Natal and Johannesburg.

Required skills

• Salesforce
• HubSpot
• Zoho
• Microsoft Dynamics