Sales Manager Role (Full Time)

Area: South East England & London
Location: Near Ashford, Kent
On-Site Days: 2 days per week
Salary: £30k - £45k + commission (based on experience)

Reporting to: Managing Director

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Application Deadline: Friday 7th August 2026

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Role Overview

This is a strategic sales position suited to someone who wants to shape and build a category-defining spirits portfolio offering, and directly influence and benefit from company growth. In addition to maintaining growth of own-brand sales, you will kickstart, develop and lead our brand distribution and sales agency - a premium service where we represent select brands within a curated spirits portfolio offering. You will also act as a trusted sales consultant to our contract clients, guiding them through their route to market and winning the first wave of on-trade listings that get their brands off the ground.

This is a rare opportunity to build a sales agency from the inside out. You will take on an established book of customers and an existing part-time salesperson - lean and rudimentary today, but growing fast - and, as the function scales, recruit and lead a sales team of your own, manage the budget, and earn a substantial share of the growth you create. It will suit an ambitious, self-directed operator who wants the autonomy to build something and to be well rewarded for doing so.

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About Us

Pleasant Land Distillery is a leading sustainable spirits manufacturer and creator of award-winning spirits and liqueurs from scratch, including Eve Vodka and White Cliffs Gin. We also produce spirits for a growing roster of contract clients, and increasingly help them take those brands to market. We are an independent family run business with fast-paced decision making and a growing team, seeking a driven Sales Manager to accelerate growth across the wholesale, on-trade and off-trade sectors for our portfolio of products.

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Core Responsibilities

Portfolio Growth: Execute sales growth, development, and new strategies for our in-house and agency brands across on-trade and off-trade accounts. Target growth areas, identify new market opportunities, manage budget, and analyse performance data and strategy performance.

Contract Client Sales Agency/Consultancy: Act as a sales consultant to our contract clients where there is a fit with their products and ours, helping them launch / get products into the trade. Support and shape each client’s route-to-market, open doors through our established trade network and relationships, and secure their first listings to build early momentum and prove the brand. 

Existing Territory & Account Management: Take over and grow an established book of accounts, distributors, and wholesalers across the South East and London - a warm base to build from. Maintain and optimise these relationships, and keep growing brand awareness through training, tastings, events, and staff education.

Team Leadership & Growth: Line-manage our current part-time salesperson - a lean, rudimentary set-up today, but one set to grow quickly. As the agency and client work scale, recruit, develop and lead a sales team of your own, setting targets, owning budgets and shaping how the function runs.

Sales Strategy, Reporting & Forecasting: Refine sales strategy, manage P&L, apply strong negotiation and account management skills. Gather intelligence and market insight to provide meaningful feedback to senior management. Manage accurate records and present comprehensive reporting. Inputting and maintaining all information to the CRM. Manage accurate forecasting for all portfolio products, supporting production planning in collaboration with the distillery team.

Additional Considerations:

- Comfortable operating our order and account systems, including checking a customer's outstanding balance before releasing further orders

- A natural "glue" person who keeps sales, production and admin joined up, flagging where information needs to pass between teams before it becomes a problem

- Happy to muck in with occasional deliveries when it helps the customer relationship or timing

Success Metrics

- Volume and margin growth of portfolio brands

- Number and quality of new listings secured

- Expansion of distributor network

- Brand distribution and sales agency portfolio value

- Retention of represented brands

- On-trade listings won for contract-client product launches

- Growth, capability and performance of the sales team

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Candidate Requirements

Industry Experience: Proven background in spirits and beverage industry sales. Entrepreneurial in mindset and thrives in growth-stage environments. Experience launching new products into the on-trade,  and advising clients on how to do the same  is highly desirable. Minimum 3 years industry experience.

Market Knowledge: Strong understanding of UK spirits trends, customer dynamics and competitor landscape. Ability to identify opportunities and develop efficient strategies for the market.

Professionalism: Excellent communication skills with ability to build trust with key decision-makers and trade owners. Ability to work well alongside production and management teams. Personable and professional.

Self-Management: A genuinely ambitious, self-directed builder who can create structure where little yet exists, and who stays motivated working independently in a field-based role. Results-oriented, with proactive foresight and strong time management and organisation.

Qualifications: Valid driver’s licence is required. WSET qualification (or similar) is beneficial.

Travel: Candidate will ideally be based in Kent, and be willing to travel throughout London & the South East of England.

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Please send applications and CV’s to: sebastian@pleasantlanddistillery.com