Area Sales Manager - Ostomy

At Eakin Healthcare we put our patient at the heart of everything we do.

Fifty years ago, it all started with one man’s mission: pharmacist, Tom George Eakin. He saw his patients struggling with leaking urostomy pouches and decided enough was enough. He got to work and formulated what would become the game-changing, eakin Cohesive® seal.

Fast forward to today, and we’re still keeping it in the family. We’ve grown a lot since then, both organically and through acquisitions. We now have a team of over 700 colleagues across three manufacturing sites and 12 sales and distribution centres. We’re making a difference in three therapeutic areas:

• Ostomy
• Respiratory
• Surgical

 We’re proud to export our innovative products to over 60 countries through a network of 40 distributors plus our own offices in Japan, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxemburg.

We’re good at what we do – come and join us!

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Area Sales Manager is responsible for developing, implementing and delivering sales through account planning and achieving agreed strategic objectives in the responsible region in Germany. There will be a special focus on growth for wound and seals products on agreed key accounts.

They will live in the region and spend most of their time visiting customers and attending events. The role will require overnight stays in territory and some time spent out of territory (including visits to Head Office in UK).

Day to day activity will include making appointments, conducting sales visits to hospitals, homecare accounts, wholesalers and other institutions where eakin products may be used or promoted. It will involve to organize or initiate training, sampling, follow up on meetings and attending congresses aimed at ostomy nurses, wound care nurses and (occasionally) patients.

The person will develop a sound knowledge of their customer base and a good technical knowledge of the products involved. He/she/they will also develop a strong network of contacts and influence in the market.

The role will require competency in reporting and an ability to prepare, develop and explain/present sales reports.

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Key account management within wound and seals
• Achieve overall sales in line with pre-agreed sales targets
• Identify (new) sales opportunities and provide ideas and/or plans for structural business growth
• Be an active part in building the Eakin Healthcare GmbH business in Germany
• Manage and develop relationship with stakeholders based on pre-agreed account planning
• Manage, negotiate and develop hospital contracts leading to increased clinical position and sales.
• Promote relevant eakin product portfolio to hospital nurses, purchase departments, home delivery company nurses, key homecare etc
• Deliver (commercial) product training and company presentations
• Pro-actively inform and participate in hospital procurement processes and public tenders. Lead project (management) (external/internal) in clinical implementation and meeting customer requirements
• Structure and implement effective product launch activities for channel partners and customers

Develop productive long-term business relationships

• Utilise KOL network to strengthen the Eakin brand
• Initiate and maintain excellent working relationships and professional communication with healthcare professionals, patients and channel partners in the region.
• Demonstrate a high level of organisation to arrange sales appointments in advance and maintain client contact records with GDPR compliance
• Attend (inter)national patient and nurse events to promote Eakin products (sometimes outside normal working hours and outside territory)

Communication and development

• Develop, create and provide a range of reports in presentable and timely manner to Country Manager (detailed customer records, visits, activity, market and competitor activity etc.)
• Ensure knowledge of eakin and competitor products and their activity are maintained at high standard
• Attend sales meetings, training and events outside of territory (for example at Eakin Healthcare Group location(s))
• Undertake professional development, particularly where it relates to standards and regulations for the role in the market
• Take part in the execution of patient trial or sampling programs as directed by clinical team

Other

• To adhere to the company’s Equal Opportunities policy and Dignity at work policy in all activities and to actively promote equality of opportunity wherever possible.
• To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of your colleagues, in accordance with the company’s’ Health and Safety policy.
• To adhere to the company’s Quality policy and Environmental policy.
• To undertake other duties as may be reasonably required.

KEY SKILLS

Essential

• Degree qualified and or relevant experience
• Proven experience of selling ostomy products(fistula/wound) including hospital and/or community settings
• Existing network of KOLs within region
• Experience of MS Office with advanced Excel and PowerPoint
• Available to travel extensively within country and occasionally outside country including overnight stays
• Comfortable in a remote working environment
• Self-starter, entrepreneurial skills, expert level to organise time and resources
• Clear, professional communication
• Full driving license
• Fluent German
• Competent English language skills 

Desirable

• Nursing/medical background
• Experience working with tenders and hospital procurement

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Internal

• Reports to DE Country Manager
• Works closely with Eakin marketing and clinical function
• German Sales Team
• Supported by wider Ostomy Commercial Team

External

• Wound and Ostomy nurses
• Hospital purchasers and product managers
• Wholesale commercial, HDC, service and nursing teams
• KOL’s

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Travel Requirements – 5 to10 overnight stays per Month

COMPETENCIES

Business Insight

Applying knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization’s goals.

Customer Focus

Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.

Drives Results

Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.

Plans and Aligns

Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.

Builds Networks

Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.

Persuades

Using compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of others.

Instils Trust

Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity and authenticity.

Being Resilient

Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.