Export Sales & Business Development Manager For Hand Tools & Striking Tools

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Export Sales & Business Development Manager to lead international business development for our professional Hand Tools & Striking Tools division, with an initial focus on the USA and Europe.

This is a senior B2B business-development role rather than a conventional marketing position.

The successful candidate will be responsible not only for achieving sales targets, but also for developing a clear and differentiated international sales strategy, identifying attractive market opportunities, acquiring new customers, building long-term strategic accounts, and ensuring that growth is achieved while maintaining healthy and sustainable margins.

The candidate will work closely with Management, Product Development, Engineering and Quality teams to build a competitive international hand-tool business.

Key Responsibilities

International Business Development

• Develop direct export sales for Hand Tools and Striking Tools.
• Identify and acquire potential customers across the USA, Europe, Middle East and APAC.
• Develop business with distributors, importers, wholesalers, retailers, private-label brands, industrial suppliers, buying houses and OEM customers.
• Conduct detailed market research to identify potential buyers, product opportunities, underserved segments and emerging market requirements.
• Build and continuously maintain a structured database of international customers and qualified prospects.
• Approach potential customers through direct email, telephone, industry networks, trade exhibitions and other suitable B2B channels.
• Generate RFQs and coordinate quotations with Product Development, Engineering, Costing and Management.
• Develop long-term strategic accounts instead of relying primarily on transactional or one-time business.
• Develop and execute a long-term international sales and market-entry strategy for the company.
• Establish a clear strategy to differentiate the companys products and commercial offering from competing hand-tool manufacturers.
• Identify gaps in international markets where the company can compete on value rather than price alone.
• Work with Management and Product Development to identify new products with strong international market potential.
• Recommend country-specific and customer-specific product strategies.
• Study competitor products, pricing, distribution channels, specifications, positioning and customer propositions.
• Develop strategies for entering both premium and value-oriented segments without compromising the companys desired profitability.
• Understand customers technical specifications, packaging requirements, quality expectations, certification requirements and commercial expectations.
• Translate market and customer feedback into actionable product-development opportunities.
• Support the development of catalogues, technical presentations, product sheets, buyer presentations and other B2B sales material.

Performance Management

Performance will be measured across a balanced set of commercial objectives rather than revenue alone.

The candidate will be expected to develop a business where sales growth, customer acquisition and profitability increase together.

Required Skills

• Strong international B2B sales and business-development capability.
• Ability to differentiate products in competitive markets rather than relying principally on price.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Strong analytical ability to evaluate markets, customers, pricing and commercial opportunities.
• Strong leadership capability with the ability to build and manage an export-sales team.

Qualifications & Experience

• MBA or postgraduate qualification in International Business, Marketing or Sales.
• 10–15+ years of export sales or international business-development experience within the Hand Tools sector.
• Existing experience dealing with USA and European customers is required.
• Existing relationships with distributors, importers, retailers, sourcing companies, private-label brands or industrial buyers will be highly valuable.

Compensation & Incentives

An attractive compensation package will be offered to the successful candidate.

The package will include:

1. Competitive Fixed Salary.
2. Annual performance bonus based on achievement of agreed annual objectives, including achievement of at least 80% of annual sales targets.

The incentive structure will be designed to reward profitable and sustainable sales growth, rather than revenue generated through excessive discounting.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be a proactive and commercially driven international business developer capable of opening doors, creating opportunities and converting those opportunities into profitable long-term relationships.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can think beyond conventional export selling.

The successful candidate should be capable of developing a constructive strategy that clearly differentiates the company from established competitors, identifies areas where customers have genuine unmet requirements, and works with the technical team to create products and commercial propositions that provide customers with a compelling reason to switch suppliers.

The candidate should understand that successful international business development requires a combination of:

Market Intelligence → Product Strategy → Customer Acquisition → Commercial Discipline → Conversion →Account Development → Repeat Business → Profitable Growth

• The objective is to build a diversified international customer base while maintaining strong margins, disciplined pricing and sustainable long-term growth.