Sales Executive

Job Description

To deliver profitable new Food Testing business within an assigned geographical territory, primarily acquiring customers across relevant Food Microbiology and Food Chemistry services. The Sales Executive develops a portfolio of assigned smaller customers and identifies appropriate opportunities for additional testing and revenue growth.

The role works closely with designated Eurofins laboratories to understand service capabilities, available capacity and operational priorities, then targets customer requirements that can be delivered effectively and profitably. It is a proactive, customer-facing sales position, not a laboratory coordination or customer service role.

This is a full time role working 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday 09:00 till 17:00. 

Must be based near to a Eurofins Food Testing site with an expectation to work in the offices up to two days a week, three days homebased, or on territory in the field. 

• Take ownership of an assigned sales territory, researching, prospecting and securing new Food Testing customers. 
• Create and execute a territory plan with clear prospect priorities, customer visits, sales activity and new business revenue objectives.
• Generate opportunities through outbound contact, referrals, local and regional networks, industry events, digital prospecting and marketing leads.
• Build relationships with food manufacturers and other relevant prospective Food Testing customers, identifying decision-makers and buying timescales.
• Maintain a qualified pipeline and convert opportunities from discovery through quotation, agreement and successful onboarding.
• Refer opportunities above the assigned segment to the appropriate BDM or Strategic BDM under agreed ownership rules.
• Build effective working relationships with designated laboratory managers, operational teams and technical specialists.
• Understand each designated laboratory’s testing capabilities, available capacity, sample suitability, turnaround requirements and agreed growth priorities.
• Prioritise prospects whose testing requirements match available capacity and can be delivered to the required quality and service standards.
• Work with laboratory colleagues to validate sample types, expected volumes, logistics and operational feasibility before making customer commitments.
• Share pipeline insight, anticipated testing volumes and customer requirements with laboratory colleagues to support capacity planning.
• Balance laboratory utilisation objectives with customer fit, commercial value and sustainable profitability; do not commit unapproved capacity or turnaround times.
• Develop an assigned portfolio of small to medium-sized Food Testing customers through regular contact, planned visits and structured account reviews.
• Identify additional relevant testing volumes and opportunities to introduce Food Chemistry alongside Food Microbiology where customer needs support this.
• Maintain simple account plans for priority customers, with agreed actions, revenue opportunities and relationship contacts.
• Work with Customer Service and laboratory colleagues to resolve commercial queries and maintain a positive customer experience.
• Escalate or refer customers whose expected annual spend moves outside the assigned segment in line with agreed commercial ownership arrangements.
• Progress qualified leads from the agreed lead qualification process promptly and take ownership of follow-up through to a commercial outcome.
• Use CRM, LinkedIn and other approved prospecting tools to research accounts, identify contacts and plan relevant customer engagement.
• Work with Marketing on targeted territory and laboratory-specific campaigns and follow up generated enquiries consistently.
• Understand customer testing needs, incumbent arrangements, service expectations and purchasing processes before developing a proposal.
• Prepare accurate quotations and customer proposals with input from technical and operational colleagues where needed.
• Maintain complete, accurate and timely CRM records covering customer activity, opportunity value, next actions, stage and forecast close date.
• Maintain sufficient qualified pipeline to support agreed new business and portfolio growth targets.
• Monitor lead conversion, prospecting effectiveness, customer acquisition and pipeline progression, taking action to improve results.
• Provide reliable forecasts and updates at regular sales and laboratory alignment reviews.
• Follow approved pricing, contract review and commercial governance processes, protecting margin and escalating exceptions for approval.
• Coordinate new customer onboarding with laboratory, Technical, Customer Service and other relevant colleagues, confirming specifications, sample logistics, service requirements and commercial terms.
• Maintain ownership of newly won customers during initial implementation and develop assigned smaller customer relationships in line with the agreed portfolio ownership model.
• Collaborate with the wider New Business and Account Management teams to avoid duplication and ensure clear ownership when opportunities change in size or scope.
• Share customer and market insight to support service development, territory priorities and laboratory planning.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer-facing sales, business development or territory management, with the ability to proactively generate opportunities.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, organisation and customer engagement skills.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance customer needs with profitable sales growth.
• Ability to plan territory activity, prioritise opportunities and work collaboratively with operational and technical colleagues.
• Competent use of CRM systems, Microsoft Office and digital prospecting tools; willingness to develop technical knowledge.
• Ability to travel regularly within the assigned territory and to designated laboratories, with reasonable adjustments where applicable.

Desirable

• Experience in Food Testing, laboratory services, Testing, Inspection and Certification or technical B2B sales.
• Knowledge of UK food manufacturing and Food Microbiology and/or Food Chemistry testing.
• Experience developing a smaller customer portfolio or aligning commercial activity to operational service capacity.
• Experience using LinkedIn Sales Navigator or comparable prospecting tools.
• Relevant scientific, commercial or business qualification, or equivalent professional experience.

Additional Information

At Eurofins we are growing, innovating and always learning. We celebrate the achievements of our employees through annual long service awards, recognise our colleagues special life events, and we are committed to charitable causes through global fundraising activities.

As a Eurofins employee you will benefit from:

• Additional Annual Leave at Employees set service dates   
• Company Pension Plan
• Life Assurance Scheme (4 times annual salary)
• Healthcare Cash Plan (6+ months service)
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 confidential
• Health and Wellbeing Programmes
• Free parking
• Worldwide career opportunities
• We also have in place rewards recognising the great work our employees deliver, their dedicated service and celebrating special life events.

What Happens Next

Our people are the backbone of what we do, so it's incredibly important we find the right individuals to join us. As a potential new recruit you'll be invited to meet the team in the form of an assessment centre or a staged interview process dependent on the role and it's requirements, this will give you the opportunity to see what working for Eurofins is really like and enable us to get you know your key skills and strengths. 

Your data 
As part of any recruitment process, the company collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The company is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
 
Closing Date
We reserve the right to close or extend this position depending on application numbers. Therefore we would urge candidates to submit an application as early as possible.
 
Due to the high volume of applications we receive please be aware that if you do not receive a response within 4 weeks of the vacancy expiry date unfortunately, on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful. 

We support your development! Do you feel you don’t match 100% of the requirements? Don’t hesitate to apply anyway! Eurofins companies are committed to supporting your career development.

We embrace diversity! Eurofins network of companies believe in strength and innovation through diversity, being an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit discrimination against employees or applications based on gender identity and/or expression, race, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and everything else that makes employees of Eurofins companies unique.