Area Sales Manager – General Trade

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Job Description:

Role Purpose

The Area Sales Manager – General Trade (ASM–GT) will be responsible for driving sales growth, distribution expansion, and demand generation for the Home Care portfolio under the Consumer Business Group. This is an individual contributor role with complete ownership of territory performance, focused on execution excellence, distributor management, and outlet-level activation across Chennai and assigned Tamil Nadu markets.

Division: Home Care | Business: Consumer Business Group
Location: Chennai / Tamil Nadu

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Business Delivery

• Achieve Annual Business Plan (ABP) targets for the assigned General Trade territory.

  
  

• Drive secondary sales and POS sell-out for the Home Care portfolio through effective on-ground execution.

  
  

• Ensure right product, right pack, and right price at the right outlets.

  
  

• Own sales performance across territory, channels, and outlets with minimal supervision.

  
  

Distribution & Channel Management

• Manage Distributor and Super Stockist operations to ensure uninterrupted product availability.

  
  

• Improve numeric and weighted distribution across kirana stores, wholesalers, and traditional trade.

  
  

• Monitor range availability, stock rotation, and placement to improve off-take.

  
  

• Identify territory-specific channel and product insights and convert them into action plans.

  
  

Demand Generation & Market Execution

• Plan and execute trade programs, schemes, and in-store activations for the Home Care division.

  
  

• Execute visibility, merchandising, and offtake promotion initiatives at store level.

  
  

• Spend minimum 18 days per month in the market for outlet visits, distributor working, and execution of plans.

  
  

• Track competition activity, pricing movements, and consumer behavior in Tamil Nadu markets.

  
  

Key Account & Outlet Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with top GT outlets and wholesalers.

  
  

• Personally handle business with key outlets to drive volume, visibility, and loyalty.

  
  

• Ensure execution of agreed schemes and timely closure of outlet-level issues.

  
  

Reporting, Analytics & Process Discipline

• Track sales, distribution, and market performance using defined metrics.

  
  

• Ensure accuracy and hygiene of sales reports, claims, and operational data.

  
  

• Share regular market intelligence, product updates, and competitive insights.

  
  

Trade & Financial Management

• Execute trade programs within approved budgets.

  
  

• Ensure timely settlement of distributor and outlet claims.

  
  

• Maintain financial discipline and compliance with company policies.

  
  

Key Accountabilities

• Achievement of sales and distribution targets for the Home Care portfolio.

  
  

• Effective execution of demand generation and trade programs.

  
  

• Compliance to trade spends and budget norms.

  
  

• Timely closure of financial claims and operational processes.

  
  

Experience & Qualification

Experience:

• 5–10 years of sales experience in FMCG / Home Care / Consumer Products.

  
  

• Strong exposure to General Trade and distributor-led markets.

  
  

• Hands-on experience managing Chennai and Tamil Nadu trade environments.

  
  

• Proven capability in independently managing territory business end-to-end.

  
  

Qualification:

• Graduate in any discipline (BA / BCom / BSc).

  
  

• MBA / PGDM in Sales & Marketing preferred.

  
  

Key Competencies

• Strong execution orientation and ownership mindset.

  
  

• Deep understanding of GT distribution and Home Care category dynamics.

  
  

• Excellent distributor and retailer relationship management.

  
  

• Analytical thinking with data-driven decision-making.

  
  

• High energy, field-oriented, and comfortable with extensive market travel.

  
  

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