Manufacturing – The Key to Global Export Sales Success

The UK manufacturing industry continues to have a world class reputation in innovation and engineering excellence. The sector employs over two million people and contributes £140bn to the UK economy each year (it accounts for over 50% of UK exports). In the first quarter of 2014, manufacturing output jumped by 1% to the highest level in more than two and a half years. Economists had expected a much more modest increase of 0.3%. Now more than ever, it is important that the sector recruits and retains talented leaders who understand overseas markets and who have proven experience of exporting successfully around the world.

The importance of high calibre sales people

Craig Harris, the global VP of sales for Fenner Drives, has lived on both sides of the Atlantic and remodelled a mature UK manufacturing business into a modern, driven and proactive global sales and services operation. He comments:
 
“We specialise in supplying niche engineered products largely into critical applications, which allows us to focus on how we can give real value to our customers and offer problem solving solutions to enhance their manufacturing process.
 
The key to our success has largely been based on adapting a fresh and dynamic outlook on international trade, ensuring we have high calibre sales people who are focused on local markets and can work with our OEM customers as well as local distributors and agents to provide expertise on our products.
 
We have adapted our style and approach to market to become very much a multicultural business. From a UK centric business we have employed high calibre sales people and now boast 16 different languages within our sales team in order to stay really close to our customers.”

Fenner Drives is a great example of a UK manufacturer that has adapted to develop global market sales, and become a true global player.

Measures announced in the 2014 budget should help businesses break into growing markets and improve the UK’s export performance. Manufacturing is very much at the core of a rebalanced economy and more growth and optimism comes with increased demand to recruit quality commercial leaders to develop sales opportunities.

If you are looking to recruit high calibre global sales leaders within the manufacturing sector or are looking for your next executive technical sales career opportunity, get in touch with Andrew Ward.