Senior Sales Manager - Direct

Role Overview

This position is responsible for running direct-channel sales activities through builders, connectors, brokers, references, and similar referral sources, while staying aligned with branch plans and business targets. The role also involves leading the Sales Officer team, strengthening customer relationships, coordinating with Risk, Operations, and Sales Governance, and ensuring that sales activity remains compliant, efficient, and healthy for the portfolio. In addition, the role supports cross-selling of ABHFL and other Aditya Birla Capital solutions based on branch goals and customer needs.

Business Context

Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited (ABHFL), part of Aditya Birla Capital Limited, is registered with the National Housing Bank under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. It offers housing finance products including home loans, home improvement loans, home construction loans, balance transfer and top-up loans, loans against property, and construction finance. The company serves a wide mix of customer segments, including affordable and self-employed borrowers, and is aiming for rapid expansion with a target of growing 5X to reach 40,000 Cr over the next 5 years, placing it among the top 5 percentile of housing finance companies in the country.

ABHFL primarily operates in a retail-driven business environment with high loan volumes and strong customer relationship intensity. Performance depends heavily on people, process efficiency, product and solution quality, channel management, customer relationship management, and risk control. While the size of the loan book is a key metric, profitability and low delinquency are equally important. Funding cost also affects both profit and pricing competitiveness. For retail customers, the business depends on identifying customer needs accurately and delivering solutions efficiently while maintaining full statutory and regulatory compliance. For institutional and builder customers, success depends on proactive relationship management, customised solution fitment, and compliance discipline.

Key Challenges

• Set and distribute sales goals based on local business conditions such as competition, existing relationships, and prospecting opportunities, and ensure the team meets those goals.
• Build the commercial, operational, negotiation, and relationship-management capability of self and team members to support better loan processing, customer retention, and portfolio quality.
• Improve loan conversion, sanction, and utilisation rates by maintaining a strong sourcing funnel.
• Maintain credit discipline through careful customer selection and pre-screening, and work closely with the Risk team to help reduce potential NPAs.
• Keep sales operations compliant at all times, even under market pressure and changing business cycles.

Key Accountabilities

• Plan sales activity with the Area Sales Manager and roll out targets to the team based on competition, market trends, and branch priorities.
• Review the local market regularly and brief the team on opportunities, risks, and competitive moves.
• Track target progress proactively and step in with personal follow-up, prospecting, and sales support when needed.
• Clearly communicate business goals, target expectations, product benefits, and unique selling points to improve team effectiveness.
• Use schemes and initiatives to support growth while also keeping costs under control.
• Prepare and share periodic management information reports covering disbursements, profitability, NPAs, and market expansion.
• Identify local growth opportunities and support acquisition efforts, including relationship management and origination support where required.
• Handle complex transactions with the team to improve customer satisfaction and closure quality.
• Address customer complaints and grievances promptly, escalating to the Area Sales Manager when needed.
• Oversee smooth functioning across the customer journey, including sourcing, approval, servicing, and collections.
• Coordinate with senior stakeholders across distribution channels to support uninterrupted operations.
• Improve process efficiency and turnaround time by working with Risk, Operations, and Sales Governance teams.
• Introduce better practices and process improvements to strengthen productivity and business outcomes.
• Drive the cross-selling strategy agreed with the Area Sales Manager.
• Support team members with communication, training, guidance, and customer-facing intervention to improve cross-sell results.
• Coach and develop team members for stronger acquisition and engagement outcomes.
• Recommend team members for technical and behavioural learning programs and continue self-development efforts.
• Coordinate closely with internal teams to ensure operational alignment and target achievement.
• Maintain risk controls with the Risk, Operations, and Sales Governance teams.
• Promote compliant sales practices and sound risk management by training the team on early warning signals and NPA prevention.
• Prepare accurate, structured MIS on NPAs and credit trends and share insights that may affect portfolio quality.

Experience and Qualification

The role calls for a graduate with 5 to 7 years of total sales experience in the banking or NBFC sector. Of this, the most recent 2 to 3 years should be in HFC sales.

Skills and Competencies

This role needs strong commercial judgment, people leadership, communication ability, market awareness, execution focus, and the capacity to manage credit, operations, and customer relationships together.

Additional Information

No stipend or salary amount has been specified for this role.