Sabre Rail is a leading name in the rail industry, specialising in rail component overhaul, service and manufacture. With over 38 years in industry, we have a wealth of experience in mainline, high speed, freight, metro and light rail services and have established ourselves as a trusted partner for railway operators and manufacturers worldwide.
Role Description
This is a full-time, on-site role for a Sales Manager based in Newton Aycliffe. Reporting to the Sales Director, this is a senior, customer-focused and commercially driven role within our Sales and Customer Service function. You’ll take the lead on our internal sales operation, managing a talented team of Account Managers and ensuring excellence across all pre-sales activity, enquiry management, and commercial delivery. This is a hands‑on leadership role where no two days are the same, making sure opportunities are handled with speed, accuracy, and commercial impact.
This role will suit an experienced sales or commercial leader who thrives on ownership, enjoys driving performance, and leads by example. You’ll likely already be working in a manufacturing, engineering, or technical sales environment, and will be confident balancing people leadership with strong commercial decision‑making.
Key Responsibilities
Customer Management & Commercial Ownership
* Maintain ownership of key customer relationships from a commercial and pre‑sales perspective.
* Act as the escalation point for commercial matters, including pricing, contractual discussions and sensitive customer issues.
* Support and lead customer meetings where commercial alignment, negotiation, or issue resolution is required.
* Work collaboratively with the Customer Service Manager to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Enquiry & Quotation Management
* Oversee all incoming enquiries, ensuring timely response, accurate quotation and effective follow‑up.
* Maintain full visibility of the enquiry pipeline, ensuring no opportunities are delayed or lost.
* Ensure quotations align with company pricing strategy, delivering both competitiveness and markup control.
* Provide guidance and approval on complex or high‑value quotations.
* Lead, manage and develop the Sales team.
* Set clear objectives, monitor performance and drive accountability.
* Provide coaching and support to ensure high‑quality outputs across enquiries, quotations and customer interaction.
* Allocate workload and ensure effective prioritisation across the team.
Operational Coordination
* Act as the link between Sales, Engineering, Operations and Customer Services to ensure alignment from enquiry through to delivery.
* Ensure customer requirements are clearly defined and communicated internally.
* Support project mobilisation from a commercial standpoint, ensuring clarity of scope and expectations.
* Intervene where required to resolve issues that may impact customer satisfaction or commercial outcomes.
Commercial & Performance Management
* Work collaboratively with the Sales Director on reporting, forecasting and KPI tracking.
* Ensure accurate input into monthly and annual sales forecasts.
* Monitor team performance against targets and drive continuous improvement.
* Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, conversion rates and overall commercial performance.
Systems & Administration
* Ensure effective use of ERP/CRM systems (e.g. Sage 200).
* Maintain high standards of data accuracy, reporting and documentation.
* Oversee quotation records, order tracking and customer data compliance.
Qualifications
* Degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent commercial/industry experience.
* Proven experience in a sales office or commercial leadership role.
* A proven track record of building, leading and developing high‑performing teams, with a hands‑on approach to coaching, performance management, and driving results.
* At least 5 years experience within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
* Confident communicator with experience leading customer meetings and negotiations.
* Strong commercial awareness, particularly in pricing and markup management.
* Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
* Problem‑solving mindset with the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.
* High attention to detail and process discipline.
* Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook).
* Experience within the rail industry.
* Knowledge of Sage 200 or similar ERP systems.
* Experience in handling commercial escalations and contract discussions.
* Understanding of project mobilisation and delivery in a technical environment.
We are looking for someone who is naturally commercially minded, highly organised, and comfortable making decisions in a fast‑moving environment where priorities can shift. We feel this role will appeal to someone who takes pride in delivering excellent customer outcomes while ensuring commercial success, structure, and consistency across the sales function.
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