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⚡ Source: ReedRef: 56705860

Area Sales Manager - Furniture

Mitchell Maguire·Birmingham, West Midlands·Posted 2 months ago
💰 £50-65k/year
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Job description

Original text imported from Reed

Area Sales Manager - Furniture

Job Title: Area Sales Manager -Furniture Solutions

Industry Sector: Area Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Building Products, Building Materials, Portable Furniture, Furniture, Furniture Solutions, Tables, Chairs, Lockers, Flooring, Interior Spaces, Education Sector, Education, Schools, Colleges, Universities, Dealers, Leisure, Hotels, Hospitality, Dealer Partners, Corporate End Users, Flooring, KBB, Building Envelope

Area to be covered: West Midlands & North Wales

Remuneration: £40,000 - £50,000 + circa £15,000 commission

Benefits: £6,000 car allowance & full benefits packages

The role of the Area Sales Manager - Furniture Solutions will involve:

  • Field sales role selling a high quality manufactured range of furniture predominantly solutions for the education sector
  • All of your time will be spent selling to dealers, large education furniture manufacture’s, LEA’s, MAT’s, schools, colleges and universities
  • Problem solving, resolving conflicts and providing solutions to customer’s needs
  • Majority of your time managing existing accounts, with element of new business
  • Dealing with order values ranging from £3k - £150k depending on project sizes, with average order ranging between £3k-£6k
  • Inheriting a patch currently achieving £1m

The ideal applicant will be an Area Sales Manager -Furniture Solutions with:

  • Must have B2B project led field sales experience
  • Open in terms of what products you’ve sold
  • Ideally selling into furniture dealers or the education sector via schools, colleges and universities, LEA’s & MAT’s (not essential)
  • Ideally familiar with furniture products such as; lockers, stages, tables and chairs (would consider other product backgrounds with strong route to market experience)
  • Highly motivated and able to work on own initiative
  • Excellent communication and negotiation skills
  • Self-starter, good time management skills, focused and customer service orientated

Mitchell Maguire is a specialist Construction Field Sales Recruitment Consultancy, dealing exclusively with Field Construction Sales Jobs, Construction field sales vacancies and Specification field sales positions within: Area Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Building Products, Building Materials, Portable Furniture, Furniture, Furniture Solutions, Tables, Chairs, Lockers, Flooring, Interior Spaces, Education Sector, Education, Schools, Colleges, Universities, Dealers, Leisure, Hotels, Hospitality, Dealer Partners, Corporate End Users, Flooring, KBB, Building Envelope

SpeedCV AI

Key skills

AI-extracted from the job advert

Must-have skills
B2B project salesField sales experienceTerritory managementAccount management
Nice-to-have
Education sector salesFurniture industry knowledgeDealer network experienceLEA salesMAT salesBuilding products sales
Soft skills
CommunicationNegotiationSelf-motivationTime managementCustomer service orientationProblem solvingInitiative
SpeedCV AI

Application advice

5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.

1

⭐ Highlight your B2B project sales experience prominently as this is explicitly required for the role

2

📊 Quantify your sales achievements: 'Managed £800k territory, achieving 115% of target'

3

🎯 Emphasise any education sector experience with schools, colleges, LEAs or MATs

4

🏢 Showcase furniture or building products knowledge, particularly tables, chairs, lockers

5

🚗 Mention field sales experience and comfort with territory management across West Midlands region

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Suggested CV bullets

3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.

How to tailor your CV

Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:

  • Managed £1.2M territory across West Midlands region, achieving 118% of annual target through strategic account management and new dealer partnerships
  • Secured 15 new education sector contracts worth £180k total, building relationships with 8 MATs and 12 independent schools over 18 months
  • Negotiated project orders ranging from £2k to £120k with furniture dealers, maintaining 95% client retention rate across 45 active accounts

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Dear Hiring Manager,

Mitchell Maguire's Area Sales Manager position perfectly aligns with my B2B project sales background and territory management expertise. Having successfully managed field sales across similar geographical territories, I understand the importance of building strong dealer relationships and navigating the education sector's procurement processes.

My background in project-based selling, particularly managing order values ranging from small installations to major contracts, has equipped me with the negotiation skills and customer service orientation essential for this role. I thrive on the challenge of inheriting established territories whilst identifying new business opportunities.

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SpeedCV AI

Interview questions

10 questions generated from this advert.

Technical

  • How would you approach selling furniture solutions to Multi-Academy Trusts?
  • What's your experience managing project orders ranging from £3k to £150k?
  • How do you prioritise existing account management versus new business development?
  • What strategies would you use to build relationships with furniture dealers?
  • How would you manage a territory spanning West Midlands and North Wales?

Behavioural

  • Tell me about a time you exceeded sales targets in a field sales role
  • Describe a situation where you had to resolve a conflict with a difficult customer
  • Give an example of how you've managed your time effectively across multiple accounts
  • Tell me about a complex project sale you closed and how you managed it
  • Describe a time when you had to work independently to achieve results
SpeedCV AINEW

STAR answer examples

Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.

1Question

Tell me about a time you exceeded sales targets in a field sales role

In my previous territory covering the Midlands region, I inherited a £800k annual target that had been underperforming at 85% for two consecutive years. I analysed the customer base and identified that existing accounts weren't being maximised - many were only purchasing basic items rather than complete solutions. I implemented a consultative approach, spending more face-to-face time understanding their project requirements. I also identified 12 dormant accounts that hadn't ordered in 18 months. Through targeted visits and tailored proposals, I reactivated 8 of these accounts. By year-end, I achieved £950k in sales - 119% of target - with the reactivated accounts contributing £140k and upselling existing clients adding £180k above previous year performance.
2Question

Describe a situation where you had to resolve a conflict with a difficult customer

A major education client was threatening to cancel a £45k furniture order just two weeks before delivery because they claimed the specifications didn't match their requirements. The procurement manager was extremely frustrated and accused us of misleading them. I immediately arranged a site visit to review the original specification documents together. I discovered there had been a miscommunication about desk heights - they needed adjustable options for mixed-age use. Rather than blame anyone, I worked with our manufacturing team to modify 60% of the order at no extra cost and expedited delivery of the adjustable units. I also provided a 5% discount on their next order as goodwill. The client was impressed with our solution-focused approach and has since placed three additional orders worth £85k total.

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