Service Sales Business Development Manager
GEA · Naas
GEA is one of the largest suppliers for the food and beverage processing industry and a wide range of other process industries. Approximately 18,000 employees in more than 62 countries contribute significantly to GEA’s success – come and join us! We offer interesting and challenging work, a positive working environment in international teams and opportunities for personal development and growth in a global company.Responsibilities / Tasks
As part of the continued growth of our Nutritional Plant Engineering Division in Naas, GEA is seeking an experienced Service Sales Business Development Manager (BDM) to drive business growth across our service offering and capital project opportunities.
This is a strategic, client-facing role with a particular focus on the Dairy, Beverage and Pharmaceutical sectors, as well as other relevant process industries. You will be responsible for identifying new business opportunities, developing existing customer accounts and working closely with customers and GEA's technical teams to deliver tailored engineering and service solutions.
Combining technical understanding with strong commercial acumen, you will help customers improve operational performance, process efficiency, reliability and lifecycle value while supporting the continued expansion of GEA's customer base.
The role combines office-based activity with regular customer and site engagement, depending on project scope and customer requirements. The position reports directly to the Director of Service and has no direct reports.
Key Responsibilities
Business Development & Market Growth
Identify and develop new business opportunities while growing existing customer accounts across the Dairy, Beverage and Pharmaceutical sectors, as well as other targeted process industries.
Develop and maintain a strong sales pipeline aligned with GEA's commercial objectives and wider growth strategy.
Proactively identify opportunities through customer engagement, networking, industry events, market intelligence and targeted business development activities.
Monitor customer requirements, industry trends, competitor activity and market developments to identify opportunities for growth.
Develop account and market strategies that strengthen GEA's position and support sustainable, long-term business growth.
Service & Solution Sales
Develop a strong understanding of GEA's service and engineering portfolio, including service agreements, spare parts, upgrades, process optimisation, automation and lifecycle solutions.
Engage with customers to understand operational challenges, production requirements and future investment plans.
Identify and develop service, upgrade and capital project opportunities that improve plant performance, efficiency, reliability and lifecycle value.
Work closely with engineering, service and project teams to develop technically and commercially appropriate customer solutions.
Clearly communicate the value of GEA's solutions through customer meetings, technical presentations and commercial proposals.
Sales & Commercial Management
Lead the full sales cycle from opportunity identification and qualification through solution development, proposal, negotiation and contract award.
Prepare and coordinate detailed proposals in collaboration with technical and project teams, including scope, timelines, pricing and commercial requirements.
Negotiate commercial, financial and contractual terms to achieve mutually beneficial and sustainable agreements.
Manage pricing and margin expectations in line with GEA's commercial objectives.
Develop and maintain accurate sales forecasts, budgets, pipeline information and customer records using CRM and ERP systems.
Identify and manage commercial and project risks throughout the sales process.
Key Account & Customer Management
Build and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with new and existing customers.
Develop a strong understanding of customer operations, investment priorities and long-term business requirements.
Identify opportunities to expand GEA's service offering and increase lifecycle engagement across the installed customer base.
Ensure a smooth transition from sales to project execution through effective collaboration with engineering, service and project teams.
Maintain customer engagement following project delivery, supporting after-sales requirements and identifying future opportunities.
Act as a key commercial interface between customers and GEA throughout the sales and account lifecycle.
Strategy & Collaboration
Contribute to regional business development and sales planning, supporting GEA's strategic growth objectives.
Collaborate with regional teams and GEA's global Centres of Competence to bring specialist knowledge and innovative solutions to customers.
Use market intelligence and customer insight to support strategic planning and identify emerging opportunities within the Dairy, Beverage and Pharmaceutical sectors.
Embrace digital tools and new approaches to customer engagement, opportunity development and complex bids.
Support continuous improvement of sales processes, commercial practices and customer engagement.
Ensure all sales activities and proposals comply with relevant legal, ethical, safety and environmental requirements.
Your Profile / Qualifications
University degree in Engineering, Business, Management or a related technical discipline; equivalent relevant industry experience will also be considered.
Proven track record in B2B business development, service sales or technical sales, ideally within the Dairy, Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Food Processing or Process Engineering sectors.
Experience selling engineering services, capital equipment or technical solutions within complex industrial or process environments.
Strong understanding of engineering service offerings, ideally including service agreements, spare parts, plant upgrades, process optimisation and automation solutions.
Proven ability to identify and develop new business opportunities while growing and managing key customer accounts.
Experience managing complex sales opportunities from initial customer engagement through proposal development, negotiation and contract award.
Strong commercial awareness, with experience in pricing, proposal development, negotiation and contract management.
Ability to understand customer operational and technical challenges and translate them into commercially viable engineering solutions.
Experience using market intelligence, customer insight and industry trends to develop account and market growth strategies.
Strong communication, presentation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage effectively with technical, operational and commercial stakeholders.
Experience with CRM and ERP systems, such as SAP, together with proficiency in Microsoft Office.
Ability to lead cross-functional sales initiatives and collaborate effectively with engineering, service, project and commercial teams.
A proactive, resilient and commercially focused approach, with the ability to work effectively across different markets, cultures and organisational structures.
Willingness to travel to customer sites as required.
Key Skills
Business development and new customer acquisition
Key account development and relationship management
Technical and solution-based selling
Knowledge of Dairy, Beverage and Pharmaceutical process industries
Service and capital equipment sales
Commercial negotiation and contract management
Proposal and solution development
Market analysis and opportunity identification
CRM/ERP and digital sales tools
Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management
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