UK Regional Sales Manager

Regional Sales Manager (UK) – OE & Aftermarket | Commercial Vehicle Lighting

Salary range £40,000 - 45,000

We're looking for a technically minded and tenacious salesperson to grow our UK business: building long-term relationships with vehicle and trailer manufacturers, and taking our newer range into the aftermarket.

This is a full-time role with the expectation that the majority of the time will be in front of customers and on the road. The company is based at our Aylesbury office, where you will be expected to attend, relevant to meetings and when not on the road.

Base salary commensurate with experience + bonus on new business + pension + company car.

About Peterson Europe

Peterson Europe supplies LED lighting for commercial and specialist vehicles – such as refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, trucks and trailers – to leading vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket across Europe.

The role

The UK is our home market, with room to grow through new OE accounts as well as through the aftermarket. In the aftermarket, we've added products over the last 18 months which offer a point of difference and competitive pricing.

Your job is to develop both: winning specifications with OE customers on the strength of a technical case and our top-tier track record of customer service, and growing distributor and aftermarket accounts that stock and sell more of the range. A large part of the job is finding that new business yourself. Our existing accounts are important but won't fill your diary on their own, and you will be responsible for finding and arranging to meet new customers. You'll report to the Managing Director and lead sales efforts for the UK territory.

What you'll do

• Find new business opportunities and fill your own diary. Research vehicle builders, trailer manufacturers, distributors and fleets, make the first approach and turn referrals into meetings.

• Build relationships with UK vehicle, body and trailer builders. Understand their vehicles, propose the right lighting, and take projects from sample and prototype through approval to production.

• Work with our technical team and the MD on the detail customers care about.

• Develop UK distributor and aftermarket accounts: get more of the range stocked, introduce new products, and support their branches and customers.

• Sell first and foremost on the benefits, not the price: how a light fits, product quality, why it lasts, and the fitting time and running costs it saves.

• Spend your time with customers across the UK, from first meetings and project reviews to product demonstrations. Building relationships and enhancing the customers experience is key.

• Feed back what you learn, so we hold the right stock and know what the market needs next.

• Report on visits, new enquiries, pipeline, and revenue from new versus existing business, against targets agreed with the MD.

Who we're looking for

• Sales experience in commercial vehicles, truck and trailer, or automotive, ideally covering both OE and aftermarket customers.

• Technical understanding. You can get to grips with how a product is built, fitted and approved, and explain it to an engineer, a buyer or a fitter. Vehicle lighting or auto-electrical experience is a real advantage.

• Manage the sales cycle from an aftermarket next day delivery to an OEM project that can run over the course of a year.

• A proven record of winning new business you found yourself.

• Organised: you plan your time, follow up, and keep your CRM up to date.

• A full UK driving licence, and happy to travel across the UK and occasionally abroad, including some overnight stays.

Attitude and technical understanding matter more to us than pre-existing relationships.

What we offer

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience, plus a bonus linked to new business, and a company pension.

• Company car [or car allowance], laptop and phone.

• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays.

• A range that's new to much of the UK market, next-day delivery on stocked lines, and a strong brand that gets you in the door.

• A small motivated team where decisions are quick, and a hand in new products from first sample to approval.

• Room to grow: as the UK business continues to grow, so will the role and the team.

How to apply

Send your CV to Steve Smith at ***email_hidden***. Please include a few lines on one customer you won, OE or aftermarket: how you got in, what made the case, and what it's worth now. Applications containing only a CV will not be considered.