Wilanie de Villiers
National Sales Manager
Centurion
Summary
Results driven National Sales Manager offers 22 years of professional and sales management experience within the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and dietetics industries. Track record of meeting and exceeding sales and revenue targets through driving change, innovating sales initiatives, applying an ingrained understanding of sound business principles, and by developing, training, and steering a motivated, committed and efficient sales team eager to expand existing markets and to pursue new opportunities aligned with national strategies. Accredited by MD for ‘Exceeding Expectations’ at performance reviews which includes achieving recognition for initiating a turnaround of a sales team, improving staff retention, and for accepting accountability for, and achieving, set objectives, of national projects. Achieved 11% revenue growth over previous financial year through remaining results focused to guide and lead the team towards achieving a positive outcome through focussing on revenue and brand generation. Quickly adapted to change on commencing in a new position within a global company and achieved revenue target in the last financial year end 2023 through creating a team culture of collaboration, introducing a new working methodology and process on equipment in partnership with 3rd party suppliers, and by streamlining and optimising process towards achieving approved and signed contracts. Secured new revenue streams in different business segments for the company by achieving business goals through mentoring, motivating, and developing 2 individual candidates currently employed within decision making positions in the buying and business development sectors. Pro-actively responded to unforeseen challenges which held the potential to have a severe impact on sales at the onset of Covid-19 lockdown through presenting online training to empower the sales team with new skills which could bridge severe market challenges resulting in securing continued sales, ongoing professional service to clients, and full payment of salaries for the team. Achieve health focussed outcomes through working hard and remaining passionate about working within the health sector resulting in achieving and exceeding performance and revenue goals. Initiated turnaround of sales within 2 geographical areas resulting in achieving Top 3 status countrywide. Awarded as ‘Regional Sales Manager of the Year in 2011 and runner up in 2012. Proficient in consistently demonstrating a strong work ethic and high standards, a sense of humour, the ability to motivate a sales team, and the capacity to resolve complexity. Consistently display respect for diversity in people, cultures, and organisations.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
1
1
Language
Work History
National Sales Manager
Hoya Lens South Africa (Pty) Ltd
01.2020 - Current
- Accept accountability to meet corporate objectives and display senior leadership while managing, mentoring, and motivating a multi-faceted team of Regional- and Area Sales Managers as member of the management team.
- Adopt a strategic and commercial mindset to develop strategies, tools, and tactics that drive sales, meets sales budgets, achieves sales growth objectives.
- Key performance area –
- Achievements –
- Recognised for being a strong thoughtful team leader who always finds a way to achieve and excel and recognised for collaborating with a multi-faceted team destined to achieve personal growth in the FY24.
- Track record of meeting KPIs and high value revenue sales targets annually since joining the company.
- Successfully launched new products into the market which included launching a new product which achieved a growth of 45% vs previous year and being a product only covered from medical aids ‘Savings Portion.’
- Consistently maintained a 300% monthly growth of business in 2023 which was achieved through expanding into new markets, building new relationships, exploring new sales channels to increase reach, diversifying customer base, and activating 37% new doors which ultimately continue to drive growth and revenue.
- Played a pivotal role towards the company achieving recognition by proudly leading a motivated team of sales staff towards Hoya Lens SA being awarded a South African Optometric Society Award in recognition for being a supplier which offers outstanding support to the SAOA and the optometry profession.
- Initiated and managed change by displaying strategic leadership and a confident demeanour to establish a new team culture of being sales orientated vs service orientated which results in ongoing meeting of sales targets.
- Enable employee voice and empowerment through establishing clear lines of communication to accelerate communication and collaboration with senior management when sharing feedback.
- Established a pro-active customer service and satisfaction channel of communication which provides the company with the opportunity to swiftly respond to problems and to ensure corrective actions are implemented to retain business relations and sales transactions as well as to ensure relevant departments accept accountability and establish revised business practices to prevent future issues.
- Meet corporate objectives in a pressure driven environment by displaying a balanced approach while leading a multi-disciplinary team of staff at diverse levels of understanding of specialist and technical skills.
- Consistently achieve and exceed KPIs such as for Employee Engagement, Innovation, Performance Management, Strategy and Direction, and Talent Management, etc.
- Strengthen team performance through presenting training on ‘Sales in Sight’ modules as part of a global roll-out of a sales course and which requires successfully transferring technical knowledge to team members at diverse levels of understanding of complexity.
- Achieve tight deadlines by efficiently planning and prioritising and remaining flexible to resolve unexpected issues as a member of the management team.
- Duties –
- Accept accountability for managing core business sectors such as Business Development, Sales Management, and the management and development of resources as National Sales Manager within the ophthalmic industry.
- Adopt a strategic mindset to develop, implement, and drive sales and business growth strategies within a competitive market which includes drafting and managing sales budget and allocating budgeted growth requirements to territories.
- Use dashboards and data in Salesforce.com and other sources to analyse sales team performance
- Maintain an established and strong competitor presence in the optical market by building networks through creating opportunities and successfully closing sales with allocated key accounts.
- Engage in joint market visits with colleagues to prospect and acquire accounts, to build share-of-wallet, and to improve product mix with large stores and groups.
- Display a professional approach focussed on securing sales through partnering with clients, meeting their needs, and exceeding their expectations.
- Prepare and confidently present talks and training modules to clients, and address groups of people at exhibitions and corporate events.
- Plan and communicate annual, quarterly, and monthly sales objectives with the sales team and stakeholders.
- Optimise sales by providing significant support to the team in executing their roles, and which includes –
- Setting and tracking team and individual sales targets.
- Maintaining clear lines of communication and engaging with the team in groups and/or individually.
- Sharing monthly feedback to ASMs and RSM of their performance against key KPIs and troubleshooting poor performance to identify and rectify causes.
- Ensuring the effective execution of sales and marketing tactics, approaches, and campaigns.
- Asserting compliance to corporate governance policies and procedures.
- Displaying a balanced approach to resolve and mitigate conflict and to restore cooperation.
- Sharing challenges identified and sourcing feedback from the sales team on clients and market.
- Participating in, and leading recruitment, selection, induction, and development of talent.
- Participating in disciplinary hearings and asserting outcomes.
- Providing professional and empathic support to the team when needed.
- Participate in the recruitment of staff which includes identifying and developing talent.
- Collaborating and partnering with Human Resources on matters pertaining to staff performance and on the performance management process and succession planning.
- Annually reviewing and adapting ASM territory boundaries to optimise team efficiency.
- Upskilling staff through delegating stretch assignments to enable staff to master new skills and to grow in their careers through accepting responsibility for more challenging duties.
- Creating strong awareness of company and competitor products and promotions.
- Remain informed of client payments and partner with the Finance Department to encourage prompt payment and to address late payments professionally.
- Continuously identify opportunities to improve Customer Service and promptly respond to challenges.
- Accountable for strategic planning and roll out of ‘Sales-In-Sight’ Program 2020 (Global Selling course) on behalf of the affiliated company within the Group.
- Remain updated on competitor activities and ensure adapting to market changes and economic impact on the business to retain performance during fluctuating market conditions.
- Track ongoing sales metrics and analyse large volumes of data to measure performance and to make informed decisions such as optimising sales strategies to bridge market challenges or to benefit by significant increase in sales volumes as a result of marketing campaigns or favourable economic conditions in new geographic areas or customer segments.
- Assert strict compliance to industry regulations and standards and to company policies and procedures.
- Maintain a logical administrative support system which allows for swift access to data and communication.
- Perform all duties with honesty and integrity and always display respect for confidentiality and diversity in people, cultures, and organisations.
Regional Sales Manager
Alcon Laboratories, Surgical Division
11.2015 - 12.2019
- Spearheaded the growth of sales through optimising team performances and sales by developing and implementing business growth strategies and management practices expectations.
- Accepted responsibility for managing sales, strategy and planning, productivity and territory management, sales reporting, statistics and analysis.
- Remained focus and bridged challenges during the onset of Covid-19 pandemic through adapting strategies, creating online communication and management strategy, and keeping team motivated.
- Bridged challenge of regaining a positive and healthy team culture of performance on commencing within the position which resulted in achieving 101% of Sales Target.
- Nominated to participate in the M7 Management Programme at Novartis and to participate in the NEXT talent development and leadership programme via Novartis Africa University and qualified as 360 Selling Skills Coach.
- Sales & Marketing Commercial Support Manager (last held) | Novo Nordisk
- Sales & Marketing Commercial Support Manager (Johannesburg)
- Entrusted to pioneer a new role based on success as Regional Sales Manager resulting in driving improvement in efficiency and commercial excellence in national sales and marketing through optimising reporting, data, systems, processes, procedures, training, and more while leading a team of 40 and associated KPIs.
- Spearheaded the setup of Commercial Effectiveness within Novo Nordisk SA which included planning and managing critical paths of the Marketing Strategy implementation project.
- Developed and drove measurable action plans to remedy poor performance through conducting surveys and interviews, analysing results, and developing and implementing nationwide workshops and met with Heads of Departments to develop and drive measurable action plans to remedy poor performance.
- Initiated clear and quick overviews of performance data across all teams and regions through developing and implementing Performance and KPI Dashboards.
- Made significant improvements towards improving the quality of data and reporting structure of all Sales Representatives across divisions by planning and leading the implementation of the first International Sales Reporting System and meeting tight international deadlines.
- Appointed as a Certified Trainer in Sales and Coaching and led the planning and project management of the rollout of Selling Skills training modules for all divisions.
- Ensured strategy was executed effectively through accepting responsibility for serving on the Change Advisory Board and participating in initiating change to achieve improvement.
- Accredited by the MD for ‘Exceeding Expectations’ at performance reviews which included gaining recognition for initiating a turnaround of the sales team, improving staff retention, and for accepting accountability for, and achieving set objectives, of national projects.
Dietician
Centre for Diabetes & Endocrinology
01.2001 - 01.2002
- Applied scientific dietetics theories and principles and tailored nutritional guidance and support to assist obese patients as part of managing diabetes and other endocrine disorders to optimise patient outcomes.
- Regional Sales Manager (Johannesburg)
- Feb 2008 – Dec 2012
- Grew market share through developing and implementing turnaround strategies and by developing and establishing a team culture of performance through mentoring, training, and motivating sales team.
- Created sales support systems and processes which allowed for swiftly managing data, resolving client problems, and for identifying opportunities for development and growth.
- Awards received for initiating change and growth from ‘poor’ to ‘winning’: Sales Manager of the Year Runner-up 2012 | Team of the Year 2011 | Most Upcoming Team of the Year 2008 and 2009.
- Achieved recognition for developing a High-Performance Team through team achieving awards such as 3 Sales Representatives achieving Senior status, 1 awarded as Rookie of the Year, and team ranked 3rd in the modern Insulin market share growth nationally and was awarded Team of the Year Runner-up in 2011.
- Sales Representative (Western Cape & Gauteng)
- Feb 2004 – Jan 2008
- Quickly adapted to the new role and led the growth of unit sales in the Insulin portfolio resulting in achieving 1st place in 2006 from 14th position in 2004 and nominated for Sales Representative of the Year in 2008.
- Promoted to position as Sales Manager in 2008.
- Diabetics Educator (Johannesburg)
- Feb 2002 – Jan 2004
- Achieved an Excellence Award for Growth & Exceptional Service.
Education
New Manager’s Diploma - undefined
University of the Witwatersrand Business School
01.2008
BSc Dietetics - Food Service, Therapeutic, Nutrition, Community Service Blocks
North-West University
Potchefstroom Campus01.2001
National Senior Certificate - undefined
Transvalia High School
01.1996
Skills
MS Teams
Zoom
MS Word
MS Excel
Aug & Jan: PowerPoint training: Intermediate/ Advanced
Internet
Interests
Gym Training, Running, Outdoor Activities, Family Activities, Ongoing Learning, Networking
Community Service
Larato Children’s Home, Fundraising, basic needs donor, and social support to children
Personal & General
- Postal address: Postnet suite 607 | Private Bat X1007 | Lyttleton | 0140 | South Africa | Reside: Midfield Estate, Halfwayhouse.
- Married | Code B Driver’s Licence | Vehicle | No criminal record
Professional profile analysis | Report available on request
Respect management authorities and policies | Quickly adapt to change and master new skills | Effectively resolve problems | Confident communicator | Skilled in grasping and communicating complexity | Able to calculate, interpret, reason, and apply complex numerical data to work-related issues and instances | Act with a sense of urgency, also under pressure, and complete assignments on time | Display a balanced approach to resolve conflict and willing to assert influence if needed | People orientated: Team player & collaborator | Networker | Communicator | Develop strong relations of trust | Socialiser | Persevere to resolve problems and understand complexity | Optimistic about change | Foster positive expectations | Make objective decisions.
Timeline
National Sales Manager
Hoya Lens South Africa (Pty) Ltd
01.2020 - Current
Regional Sales Manager
Alcon Laboratories, Surgical Division
11.2015 - 12.2019
Dietician
Centre for Diabetes & Endocrinology
01.2001 - 01.2002
New Manager’s Diploma - undefined
University of the Witwatersrand Business School
BSc Dietetics - Food Service, Therapeutic, Nutrition, Community Service Blocks
North-West University
National Senior Certificate - undefined
Transvalia High School