HomeJobsExeterKitchen Sales Designer
Back to all jobs
⚡ Source: ReedRef: 56819912

Kitchen Sales Designer

Howdens Joinery·Exeter·Posted 1 week ago
Tailor my CV for this job — Free

Job description

Original text imported from Reed

Join Howdens where our trade depots are recruiting Kitchen Sales Designers who thrive in a fast-paced sales environment. We’re looking for commercially minded individuals who can build strong relationships, influence buying decisions and exceed sales targets.

We can offer you a successful career as a Kitchen Sales Designer, and you don’t need previous design experience. We’ll provide you with comprehensive design and sales training to create exceptional kitchens for our trade customers and their clients.

What we can offer you:

  • Competitive salary, brilliant bonuses and outstanding depot incentives
  • Full CAD, product and sales training via our Ready to Trade Programme
  • Competitive Pension Plan up to 12% company contribution
  • Up to 32 days annual leave per year including bank holidays, rising with service
  • Generous staff discount on Howdens products
  • Buy-as-you-earn share scheme
  • 40 hour working week working every other Saturday morning.
  • No Sunday or Bank Holiday working
  • Career progression opportunities into sales management roles
  • Virtual GP access and wellbeing support for you and your family

What we are looking for:

  • Results driven with experience of reaching sales targets and KPI
  • Ability to build trusted relationships with our trade customers and their client
  • Excellent communication skills, able to convey your ideas clearly and effectively
  • Full UK Driving license with access to your own vehicle for home visits
  • Strong attention to detail and an eye for design
  • CAD skills are preferred, but not essential as you will receive training

What you will be doing:

  • Driving sales performance and profit by achieving your depot targets
  • Building strong customer relationships through professional design support
  • Delivering exceptional customer service throughout the project
  • Conducting home visits to measure, assess and understand your client’s needs
  • Negotiating prices confidently while protecting margin and design integrity
  • Planning and creating inspirational and practical designs utilising your strong product knowledge to advise customers and resolve queries throughout the process

About Us:

Howdens Joinery is the UK’s number one trade kitchen supplier providing thousands of products across kitchens, joinery, and hardware. We have over 950 depots throughout the UK and Europe, making us the first choice for more than 460,000 loyal trade professionals. With an ambitious and credible growth plan, we continue to build on our £2.4 billion turnover.

How to apply:

If Howdens sounds like the kind of place where you can build and develop your career as a Kitchen Sales Designer, then we are keen to hear from you.

Howdens is founded on the principle of being Worthwhile for ALL concerned. We’re working hard to ensure we provide an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome. We will do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, please email with the job title and location, and we will be happy to help you.

#LI-LO1 #CVL INDKSD #Reed

SpeedCV AI

Key skills

AI-extracted from the job advert

Must-have skills
Sales target achievement and KPI managementCustomer relationship buildingUK driving licence with own vehicleStrong attention to detailProfessional communication skills
Nice-to-have
CAD design software experienceKitchen or joinery product knowledgeHome visit survey and measurement experiencePrice negotiation experience
Soft skills
Results-driven mindsetRelationship buildingCommunicationAttention to detailNegotiationCustomer service orientation
SpeedCV AI

Application advice

5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.

1

⭐ Highlight your sales target achievement record at the top of your CV, as the advert emphasises "results driven with experience of reaching sales targets and KPI" multiple times.

2

📊 Quantify your sales wins: "Exceeded quarterly targets by 18%, generating £47,000 in additional revenue" or "Closed 12 kitchen projects worth £156,000 in 6 months".

3

🎯 Emphasise any design or technical software experience, even if not CAD—the advert states training is provided, but prior exposure to design tools strengthens your application.

4

🤝 Detail your customer relationship-building examples: "Built trust with 40+ trade customers through regular site visits and design consultations, resulting in 65% repeat business".

5

🌐 If you hold a UK driving licence and own a vehicle, place this prominently—it's a stated requirement for home visits and differentiates you from candidates without transport.

NEW
AI SpeedCV

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:

  • Exceeded quarterly sales targets by 22%, generating £63,000 in additional revenue through consultative customer relationship management and product knowledge application.
  • Conducted 45+ home visits annually, measuring and assessing client needs whilst delivering design solutions that protected margin by 18% on average.
  • Built and maintained a customer base of 38 trade professionals, achieving 71% repeat business rate through professional communication and design problem-solving.

Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.

NEW
AI cover letter

Your cover letter is ready

We've drafted a cover letter for Howdens Joinery. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.

Letter preview — tailored to Howdens Joinery

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to apply for the Kitchen Sales Designer position at Howdens Joinery in Exeter. Your advert caught my attention because of the opportunity to develop sales performance and customer relationships within a market-leading trade supplier. I am results-driven with a proven track record of reaching sales targets, and I excel at building trusted relationships with customers whilst delivering exceptional service.

My background in sales and customer-facing roles has equipped me with strong communication skills and the ability to influence buying decisions. I hold a full UK driving licence and have access to my own vehicle, enabling me to conduct home visits confidently. I am eager to develop my design expertise through your Ready to Trade Programme and contribute to your depot's growth.

Get my personalised letter — free

Free signup, no card needed. Export to PDF/Word requires a £1.99 trial (14 days).

SpeedCV exclusive
SpeedCV AI

Interview questions

10 questions generated from this advert.

Technical

  • Walk us through your experience with CAD software or design tools. How would you apply this to kitchen design if you haven't used CAD before?
  • Describe how you would conduct a home visit to measure and assess a client's kitchen needs. What key information would you gather?
  • How would you use product knowledge to advise a customer on kitchen design options while protecting margin and design integrity?
  • Tell us about a time you negotiated a price with a customer. How did you balance their budget expectations with profitability?
  • What experience do you have with KPI tracking and sales reporting? How would you monitor your own performance against depot targets?

Behavioural

  • Describe a time you exceeded a sales target or KPI. What approach did you take, and what was the outcome?
  • Tell us about a customer relationship you built from scratch. How did you earn their trust, and what was the result?
  • Give an example of when you had to communicate a complex idea or design concept to a customer. How did you ensure they understood?
  • Describe a situation where you had to negotiate or resolve a conflict with a customer. How did you handle it?
  • Tell us about a time you received feedback on your work. How did you respond, and what did you learn?
SpeedCV AINEW

STAR answer examples

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

1Question

Describe a time you exceeded a sales target or KPI. What approach did you take, and what was the outcome?

In my previous role as a sales consultant, I was tasked with achieving £180,000 in quarterly sales across 12 customer accounts. I identified that three long-standing clients were underutilising our product range and scheduled detailed consultations to understand their evolving needs. I created tailored design proposals for each, highlighting cost-saving and efficiency improvements. By the end of Q3, I had closed all three projects totalling £247,000—37% above target. This success was recognised with a bonus of £2,100 and led to my promotion into a mentoring capacity for junior team members.
2Question

Tell us about a customer relationship you built from scratch. How did you earn their trust, and what was the result?

I was assigned a new trade customer, a local builder, who had previously worked with three different suppliers and was sceptical about committing to one partnership. I invested time in understanding their project pipeline, visited their sites to see how our products performed in their work, and proactively flagged upcoming product launches relevant to their builds. Over six months, I conducted eight home visits and design consultations, always delivering on timelines and protecting their margins. By month nine, they had placed orders worth £34,500 and referred two additional contractors to me, generating a further £18,000 in business. They now account for 12% of my annual sales.

Similar jobs

View all