East Africa Specialist Sales Support - Cape Town

Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

This position is responsible for sales and guest service within the Retail Sales Team. As the main point of contact for prospective guests, you will handle all communications from initial inquiry, advising, and consulting to find the best itinerary for the guest’s needs, through the sales process as well as pre-travel, during-travel, and post-travel service. Working closely with the Sales Ops Consultants who handle availability, confirmations, and other processing tasks, as well as the Guest Service team who offer concierge service pre-trip and support with any guest problems in-trip. This is a demanding role with high expectations on service, turnaround times, quality of consultation, and communications both with guests and internally with colleagues.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

• Handling of safari requests received from repeat or recommended guests, via the website and social media channels, corporate & charitable partners.
• Inspire potential clients with knowledge of East African properties and destinations by proactively engaging with clients, advising on itinerary routing, logistics and suitability of options.
• Compile attractive tailor-made itineraries to match client expectations and budgets.
• Ensuring turnaround time targets are met / exceeded and attention to detail is paid to the itinerary at the quote, confirmation, and pre-travel stages.
• Following sales procedures as set out in the operating manuals.
• Follow up with clients after a safari for feedback and encourage referrals.
• Working alongside the Sales Ops Consultant throughout the sales and confirmation process.
• Collaborative approach with Guest Services team to provide best-in-class guest service
• Strive to meet and exceed personal and team KPIs to meet company growth goals, including sharing best practices and ideas with the team on a proactive basis
• Report any errors or issues to your Line Manager immediately on discovery
• Provide proactive support to colleagues in peak or leave times
• Contribute ideas, testing, and feedback to aid the continual improvement of systems including reservations system, guest itineraries, and others as required
• Attending all training that is offered and proactively growing your knowledge of the company by researching our products (as well as that of 3rd party suppliers) and the countries in which we operate, to continuously strengthen your knowledge of these destinations.
• Taking a proactive and adaptable approach to learning in terms of sale skills, systems, process and product knowledge.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in, and knowledge of East Africa safari – at least 5 years of experience.
• Experience in a retail sales role for an African inbound operator – at least 10 years of experience
• Skilled in designing detailed and Individualized quotes for itinerary requests.
• Excellent sales and customer service skills and the ability to close a sale and upsell
• Excellent communication skills (Written & telephone), a service delivery mindset, and a strong customer service focus
• Target-orientated, and experienced in delivering results in a performance-orientated and fast-paced sales environment.
• Strong administration and organizational skills with great attention to detail with a desire for continuous improvement.
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks.
• Proactive mindset and can-do attitude.
• Experience in handling difficult situations (eg complaints, last-minute request, changes whilst travelling)
• Experience in and willingness to handle issues outside of office hours when required.
• Self-starter and the ability to work independently as well as within a broader team setup.
• Energetic and eager to learn
• Knowledge of Business Sales Systems, eg HubSpot.

CONDITIONS & WORKING HOURS

• You will be required to work in the Cape Town office from Monday – Friday. You are required to work 9 hours per day including a 1-hour lunch break. The working hours are 08h00 – 17h00 with some flexibility.
• You will be required to be available after hours and on weekends (ie on standby occasionally) as and when needed. This incudes checking online booking platforms for possible last minute arrivals / bookings (on a rotational basis within the team).
• You will be required to work alternative South African public holidays, for which you may be compensated with time off in lieu
• Overtime may be required during peak periods, for which you may be compensated with time off in lieu.
• We operate a 24/7 emergency phone that rotates between consultants for which you take full responsibility according to a roster for 1 week at a time. Overtime may be required during peak periods.
• You will be required to travel for work from time to time.