SALES EXECUTIVE – FUEL & PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

Location: Gauteng

Salary: R15,000 – R30,000 per month, depending on experience

Industry: Fuel / Petroleum / Oil & Gas / Energy

Employment Type: Permanent

Role Overview

An established and growing organisation operating within the fuel, petroleum and energy sector is looking for a dynamic and commercially driven Sales Executive to join its team.

The successful candidate will be responsible for generating new business, developing a strong customer portfolio and selling fuel and related solutions to commercial customers .

We are specifically looking for someone who understands the fuel industry or has highly relevant experience selling within the petroleum, energy, transport, logistics, fleet, mining, construction or industrial sectors.

This is a new-business-focused sales role , and the successful candidate must be comfortable prospecting, cold calling, networking, visiting customers, negotiating commercial agreements and closing deals.

Key Responsibilities

New Business Development

• Identify and develop new commercial fuel customers.
• Generate new business through cold calling, networking, referrals, industry contacts and direct prospecting.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified sales opportunities.
• Identify businesses with significant fuel requirements.
• Arrange and attend meetings with prospective customers.
• Conduct regular customer visits.
• Develop relationships with key decision-makers.
• Convert qualified opportunities into active customers.
• Continuously identify new markets and commercial opportunities.

Fuel Sales

• Promote and sell the company's fuel and related solutions.
• Understand customers' fuel consumption and operational requirements.
• Prepare appropriate commercial solutions based on customer needs.
• Provide customers with pricing and product information.
• Negotiate commercial terms within authorised parameters.
• Monitor market conditions and competitor activity.
• Maintain an understanding of fuel pricing and factors affecting the petroleum market.
• Identify opportunities to increase fuel volumes within existing accounts.

Account Management

• Develop strong, long-term relationships with customers.
• Maintain regular contact with existing clients.
• Understand customers' businesses, fuel requirements and changing operational needs.
• Identify opportunities for additional business within existing accounts.
• Address customer queries professionally and efficiently.
• Work closely with internal operations, logistics and finance teams to ensure excellent service delivery.
• Assist in retaining and growing key accounts.

Sales Pipeline & Reporting

• Maintain accurate records of leads, prospects and active customers.
• Manage opportunities from initial contact through to closure.
• Provide regular pipeline and sales forecasts.
• Track sales activity, customer engagement and conversion rates.
• Achieve agreed monthly sales and volume targets.
• Maintain accurate CRM or internal sales records.
• Follow up consistently on quotations and proposals.

Target Customers

The successful candidate may sell into industries including:

• Transport and logistics
• Fleet operators
• Mining
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Industrial businesses
• Warehousing and distribution
• Commercial transport
• Earthmoving and plant operations
• Fuel resellers and distributors
• Other high-volume commercial fuel users

Non-negotiable Requirements

• Proven B2B sales experience.
• Strong new business development / hunter sales experience.
• Demonstrated ability to prospect and develop customers from scratch.
• Experience dealing with commercial and corporate customers.
• Strong negotiation and closing ability.
• Proven ability to achieve sales targets.
• Excellent relationship-building skills.
• Comfortable with cold calling and face-to-face customer meetings.
• Valid driver's licence.
• Own reliable vehicle.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites as required.
• Strong computer literacy.
• Professional written and verbal communication skills.

Industry Experience – Strong Preference Direct fuel or petroleum sales experience will be strongly preferred. Ideal candidates may have experience selling:

• Diesel
• Petrol
• Bulk fuel
• Commercial fuel
• Petroleum products
• Fleet fuel solutions
• Fuel cards or commercial refuelling solutions
• Fuel supply agreements
• Lubricants
• Oil and gas products
• Energy products or services

Candidates who have worked for a fuel distributor, petroleum company, fuel wholesaler, commercial fuel supplier, fuel depot or related energy business would be particularly attractive.

Transferable Experience

Candidates without direct fuel sales experience may only be considered where they have exceptionally strong B2B sales experience into industries such as:

• Transport and logistics
• Fleet management
• Mining
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Heavy industrial
• Oil and gas
• Energy
• Commercial vehicle services

They must be able to demonstrate an existing understanding of the commercial environments in which significant fuel consumption occurs.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal Sales Executive is a genuine hunter .

We are looking for someone who does not wait for leads to arrive but actively goes into the market, identifies businesses consuming significant volumes of fuel, finds the appropriate decision-makers and develops those relationships into profitable accounts.

The individual should be:

• Highly target-driven
• Energetic and ambitious
• Confident
• Resilient
• Persuasive
• Commercially minded
• Strong at negotiation
• Excellent at relationship building
• Persistent with follow-ups
• Comfortable working independently
• Able to develop business from a cold start
• Motivated by achieving and exceeding sales targets

Qualifications

• Matric / Grade 12 – essential.
• Relevant Sales, Marketing, Business or Commercial qualification – advantageous.
• Petroleum, fuel or energy industry training/knowledge – highly advantageous.

Remuneration

R15,000 – R30,000 per month , depending on experience and proven sales capability.

Candidates with direct fuel/petroleum sales experience, an established commercial network and a strong track record of generating fuel volumes would naturally sit toward the upper end of the salary range.

Any commission structure, incentives, fuel allowance, vehicle allowance or additional benefits will be discussed with shortlisted candidates where applicable.