Internal Sales / Customer Service Team Leader

Silicone & Technical Products (Pty) Ltd is looking for an experienced, energetic and results-driven Customer Service / Internal Sales Team Leader to lead our Customer Service and Internal Sales team.

This is a hands-on sales leadership position. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing the Customer Service Representatives, driving departmental sales performance, ensuring the team achieves its monthly budget, individual sales targets and daily customer call targets, and maintaining a high standard of customer service.

The role requires excellent communication and coordination with Sales, Production, Warehouse and Dispatch to ensure customer orders, outstanding orders and backorders are managed proactively and customers are kept informed.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Leadership & Management

• Manage, supervise and support the Customer Service / Internal Sales Representatives.

• Allocate customer portfolios and responsibilities appropriately.

• Set clear daily, weekly and monthly expectations for the team.

• Conduct regular team meetings to discuss:

  • Sales performance

  • Departmental budget

  • Customer activity

  • Outstanding orders

  • Backorders

  • Stock availability

  • Customer complaints

  • Sales opportunities

• Monitor employee performance, productivity, attendance and conduct.

• Ensure all team members understand their individual sales targets and responsibilities.

• Coach and develop Customer Service Representatives to improve their sales and customer service skills.

• Identify training needs and ensure staff are properly trained on:

  • Products

  • Customers

  • Internal procedures

  • ERP systems

  • Sales techniques

  • Complaint handling

• Address underperformance and non-compliance promptly in conjunction with management and HR.

• Promote accountability, teamwork and effective communication within the department.

SALES & BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY

The Team Leader will be directly responsible for driving the sales performance of the Customer Service / Internal Sales department.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensure the department achieves or exceeds its monthly sales budget.

• Monitor individual Customer Service Representative sales targets.

• Track sales performance daily, weekly and monthly.

• Identify shortfalls against budget early and implement corrective action.

• Drive proactive internal sales rather than relying only on incoming orders.

• Encourage upselling and cross-selling across the company’s product ranges.

• Identify opportunities to increase the customer’s product basket.

• Follow up on quotations and outstanding sales opportunities.

• Monitor inactive and declining customers and ensure appropriate follow-up takes place.

• Work closely with External Sales Representatives to support customer growth.

• Assist with reactivating dormant customers.

• Ensure the team actively promotes relevant products to customers rather than simply processing orders.

CUSTOMER CALLING & SALES ACTIVITY

Customer engagement forms an important part of this role.

The Team Leader will:

• Ensure each Customer Service Representative achieves the company’s required daily customer call ratio.

• Monitor and review daily outbound sales calls.

• Ensure calls are purposeful and sales-focused.

• Encourage staff to contact customers regarding:

  • Repeat orders

  • Current requirements

  • New products

  • Promotions

  • Quotations

  • Outstanding orders

  • Backorders

  • Additional product opportunities

• Monitor call outcomes and follow-up actions.

• Ensure commitments made to customers are followed through.

• Coach staff on professional telephone techniques and proactive selling.

ORDER MANAGEMENT

• Ensure all customer orders are processed accurately and promptly.

• Monitor open sales orders throughout the day.

• Ensure urgent orders are identified and followed up.

• Monitor orders awaiting stock or production.

• Ensure internal sales staff check stock availability before making commitments to customers.

• Ensure customer delivery requirements are clearly communicated.

• Monitor incomplete or delayed orders and escalate problems promptly.

• Ensure the department maintains accurate customer and order information on the ERP system.

• Prevent orders from remaining unattended without follow-up.

BACKORDER MANAGEMENT

The Team Leader will take responsibility for ensuring backorders are actively managed and not simply left on the system.

Responsibilities include:

• Review the backorder report daily.

• Ensure every backorder has an identifiable reason and action plan.

• Liaise with Production, Warehouse and Buying regarding availability and expected completion dates.

• Ensure Customer Service Representatives proactively update customers.

• Monitor promised delivery dates.

• Escalate delays where commitments cannot be achieved.

• Ensure available stock is dispatched without unnecessary delay.

• Review long-outstanding backorders and investigate the cause.

• Ensure backorders are closed or fulfilled as soon as possible.

• Maintain clear communication with customers throughout the process.

COMMUNICATION WITH PRODUCTION

The Team Leader will work closely with Production to ensure customer requirements are properly communicated.

This includes:

• Communicating urgent production requirements.

• Following up on products required for confirmed customer orders.

• Obtaining realistic production completion dates.

• Communicating customer priorities clearly.

• Identifying potential shortages before they result in missed customer commitments.

• Ensuring Customer Service Representatives do not provide customers with unrealistic delivery dates.

• Escalating repeated production delays or stock shortages to management.

COMMUNICATION WITH WAREHOUSE & DISPATCH

The Team Leader must maintain strong daily communication with Warehouse and Dispatch.

Responsibilities include:

• Follow up on orders awaiting picking or dispatch.

• Ensure urgent customer orders are clearly communicated.

• Confirm whether completed orders have been dispatched.

• Follow up on partial deliveries.

• Investigate incorrect, short or delayed deliveries.

• Communicate customer-specific delivery requirements.

• Ensure backordered products are released and dispatched promptly once stock becomes available.

• Resolve order-related issues before they become customer complaints.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Our website identifies quality, customer service and innovation as central to the business, with customer satisfaction forming an important part of the company’s approach.

The Team Leader will therefore be expected to:

• Maintain a professional and responsive Customer Service department.

• Ensure customer queries are acknowledged and resolved promptly.

• Monitor complaints and ensure appropriate follow-up.

• Assist with escalated customer queries.

• Ensure customers receive accurate information regarding:

  • Pricing

  • Stock availability

  • Lead times

  • Product information

  • Orders

  • Backorders

  • Deliveries

• Maintain professional telephone and email communication.

• Ensure customers are not required to repeatedly follow up for information.

• Build long-term customer relationships through reliable service.

• Ensure complaints and service failures are investigated and corrective action taken.

QUOTATIONS & PRICING

• Ensure quotations are prepared accurately and promptly.

• Monitor outstanding quotations and ensure follow-ups are conducted.

• Ensure correct customer pricing and discounts are applied.

• Escalate pricing queries where required.

• Monitor quotation conversion into orders.

• Identify lost quotations and establish reasons where possible.

REPORTING & PERFORMANCE MONITORING

The Team Leader will be expected to report regularly on:

• Departmental sales vs budget

• Individual sales performance

• Daily outbound call activity

• Quotations issued

• Quotation conversion

• Backorders

• Outstanding customer orders

• Customer complaints

• Credit notes

• Order errors

• Customer losses or declining sales

• Dormant customer activity

• Stock-related sales losses

• Customer service issues requiring management intervention