Sales Manager in Darlington

Department: Commercial Department

Location: Head Office

Salary: £38,000 - £42,000 + Bonus (OTE £54,000 - £62,000)

Why join the Baltic management team?

We’re incredibly proud to have built a culture that is ambitious, supportive, and genuinely rewarding - the kind of environment where high performers can progress quickly, feel recognised for their contribution, and love coming to work. We invest heavily in the development of our people through ongoing coaching, leadership development, structured progression pathways, and regular opportunities to grow your career internally. Alongside competitive salaries and quarterly bonus opportunities, we run regular team incentives, socials, celebrations, and recognition initiatives because we believe great work should be acknowledged at every level, not just in sales roles. We’re proud of the culture we’ve created: hardworking, collaborative, fast-paced, and fun, with high standards and high support. Many of our leaders have progressed internally, and we’re committed to creating an environment where talented people can build long-term careers.

What’s the job?

As a Sales Manager, you will be responsible for leading a team of Business Development Executives (BDEs) to meet and exceed new customer acquisition targets in the apprenticeship market. You will oversee the day-to-day sales activities, ensuring your team follows best practices in prospect engagement, pitching, and closing deals. You will be responsible for driving performance, maintaining high-quality standards, and ensuring a data-driven approach to conversion and revenue growth. Your team will focus on communicating the value of our apprenticeship programmes, handling objections, and securing new business to meet apprenticeship induction targets. You will play a key role in reinforcing a competitive and consultative sales approach that aligns with business objectives.

People Responsibilities:

• Support the recruitment and onboarding of new Business Development Executives (BDEs), ensuring they are well-trained and equipped to succeed.
• Provide coaching and development support to help team members refine their sales approach and achieve targets consistently.
• Monitor sales calls and meetings to ensure high-quality engagement with prospects and adherence to best practices.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and skill-gap analysis to identify training and development opportunities.
• Act as a key escalation point for your team, troubleshooting challenges and providing solutions to drive success.

Performance Responsibilities:

• Execute sales campaigns and strategies to ensure the achievement of business acquisition targets across various sectors and regions.
• Monitor key sales metrics, analysing performance to identify areas for improvement and drive optimisation efforts.
• Manage the sales pipeline effectively, ensuring timely follow-ups and progression of opportunities to closure.
• Work closely with the wider sales and account management teams to ensure a seamless transition of new clients into long-term partnerships.
• Contribute to refining sales materials, proposals, and strategies to enhance the team’s effectiveness.
• Use data to make business decisions and drive high performance across your team.

Essential Skills:

• Strong leadership and coaching skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing team.
• A consultative sales approach, focusing on providing tailored solutions to business challenges.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong organisational and time management abilities, capable of managing multiple priorities effectively.
• A proactive problem-solver who can address challenges and implement solutions that improve team performance.
• Data-driven, with the ability to analyse performance metrics and make informed decisions to optimise sales outcomes.
• Tenacious, results-oriented, and accountable for both individual and team performance.
• Strong telephone and presentation skills to support effective prospecting and deal conversion.

Expectations:

• Consistently achieve or exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual targets for apprenticeship inductions.
• Foster a high-performance culture within the team, creating a supportive and results-driven environment.
• Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and accountability in all interactions with colleagues, prospects, and clients.
• Maintain discipline in organisation, time management, and participation in meetings and training sessions.
• Stay aligned with broader business objectives and contribute to overall company success.

Our Benefits

At Baltic, we’re committed to creating an environment where you can thrive – professionally, personally, and socially. Voted one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Places to Work 2024, we’re proud of our culture, our people, and the meaningful work we do every day. Here’s what you can look forward to as part of Team Baltic:

Culture & Work-Life Balance:

• A fun, supportive environment with regular social events and team activities.
• Early finish every Friday – we operate a 4.5-day working week.
• 25+ days annual leave, increasing to 30 with length of service.
• No weekend or Bank Holiday working.
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
• Additional Life Event Day annually for those big moments that matter.
• Buy & Sell Holiday Scheme for extra flexibility.

Health & Wellbeing:

• Free, confidential mental health support through SPILL.
• Access to high-value wellbeing initiatives, including face-to-face sessions with a Health & Wellbeing Specialist.
• Local discounted gym memberships.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave (after 2 years’ service).

Recognition & Engagement:

• Baltic Scratch Card Scheme – instant wins for great work.
• Baltic Breakfasts, competitions, and engagement days.
• Volunteer Day annually to give back to causes you care about.

A successful Sales Manager will embody our core values:

• Be the Customer: Lead with a customer-first approach in every interaction. Empower your team to build trusted partnerships, understand client objectives, and deliver tailored solutions that create long-term value. Foster a culture of responsiveness, empathy, and service excellence that enhances customer retention and satisfaction.
• Be the Future: Drive innovation and continuous improvement across the sales function. Embrace new technologies, evolving market conditions, and smarter ways of working to improve team performance and commercial outcomes. Inspire adaptability, collaboration, and forward-thinking leadership to build a resilient, future-focused sales team.
• Be the Expert: Continuously develop your understanding of our products, market trends, competitor activity, and customer challenges to lead your team with confidence. Use your expertise to coach high-performing sales behaviours, identify opportunities, and deliver strategies that drive revenue growth and strengthen client relationships.

By living these values, we position ourselves as trusted experts, collaborative partners, and forward-thinking professionals – ready to exceed expectations in everything we do.