Sales Operations Manager

About Ben Whistler Ltd The world's finest furniture for Interior Designers and Architects. Ben Whistler is the name behind the exceptional quality furniture specified by some of the world’s most respected interior designers. Founded in 1999 by brothers Ben and Sebastian de Groot, the company specialises in upholstery and cabinetry for commercial and luxury residential settings. As Ben Whistler has grown, so have its capabilities. From a one-off piece for a high-end home to hundreds of pieces for hotels and restaurants, quality, detail and craftsmanship are retained, no matter the scale of the operation.

Ben Whistler Ltd

Luxury upholstery & cabinetry for interior designers, via our bespoke service & Blue Label, our capsule collection.

custom furniture

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B

benwhistler.com

51-200 employees

Furniture and Home Furnishings Manufacturing

London, England

1999

Privately Held

2k LinkedIn followers

• Lead, coach and develop the Lots Road sales and support team across all Whistler Collective businesses, with support and direction from the Exec.
• Set clear individual and team targets; monitor performance.
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, identify development needs and put in place training, mentoring or support plans.
• Manage day-to-day scheduling, cover and resource allocation across the office and showrooms.
• Work in partnership with the People Operations Manager on HR related matters.
• Demonstrable experience managing and developing a sales team in a fast paced, commercial environment.
• Confident setting targets, running performance reviews and having difficult conversations constructively.
• Ability to motivate a diverse team and foster a culture of ownership, accountability and mutual support.
• Experience identifying skills gaps and delivering or commissioning relevant training.
• Calm, fair and decisive under pressure.
• Own and uphold the client experience standard across all touchpoints — new enquiries, walk-ins and established clients.
• Ensure the team follows agreed processes for enquiry handling, quoting, follow-up and closing.
• Monitor pipeline health and conversion rates; identify where process or approach needs to change.
• Model exemplary client-facing behaviour.
• Work with the Commercial Director and Finance Director to implement sales strategy and introduce best-practice approaches; act as the primary conduit between the directors and the sales floor.
• Strong track record in a client-facing sales role, ideally in a high-value or bespoke product environment.
• Understands what a premium client experience looks, feels and sounds like.
• Commercially literate: comfortable reading pipeline data and drawing actionable conclusions.
• Skilled at coaching others on sales technique and professional communication.
• Familiarity with the interiors and/or hospitality industries is desirable; deep expertise in individual niches (bespoke furniture, rugs, staging) is not essential.
• Take overall responsibility for the smooth daily running of the Lots Road showrooms and offices — presentation, logistics, stock and supplies.
• Ensure the showroom operates as a welcoming, well-presented and organised environment at all times.
• Manage relationships with facilities, maintenance and any third-party service providers relevant to the site.
• Oversee health & safety compliance for the shared space in line with company policy.
• Identify and implement operational improvements that reduce friction for the team and improve the client experience.
• Experience running a physical office or showroom environment, including facilities and presentation standards.
• Organised and systematic: able to maintain order across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Pragmatic problem-solver who deals with operational issues effectively.
• Awareness of H&S responsibilities in a shared commercial space.
• Confident managing external suppliers and service providers.
• Plan and oversee Lots Road events, e.g. client evenings, trade shows, showroom launches and internal occasions, ensuring each has a clear purpose, audience, budget and run plan.
• Coordinate the team's involvement in events and ensure the showroom is presented to the highest standard.
• Liaise with the marketing function on showroom-level content, photography and social media requirements.
• Manage the events calendar and ensure sufficient lead time for preparation.
• Capture and share learnings after events to improve future delivery.
• Experience planning and delivering events in a professional setting.
• Good project management instincts: able to plan back from a deadline and manage moving parts.
• Confident briefing and coordinating a team around an event or deadline.
• Basic understanding of how a showroom presence supports marketing and brand objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ensure all regular administrative tasks are completed on time: weekly sales reporting, client records, operational checks and any compliance submissions.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records in the company's systems (BWS ERP, shared drives).
• Prepare weekly management reports for the Exec and contribute to monthly business reviews.
• Act as the primary point of contact for operational queries escalated from the Lots Road team.
• Support the implementation of new processes, tools or systems as required by the business.
• High attention to detail and personally organised.
• Comfortable with CRM or ERP systems and confident learning new tools.
• Able to distil operational data into clear, concise written reports.
• Understands the importance of consistent administrative process in a sales environment.
• Proactive in spotting gaps or inconsistencies and raising them constructively.
• The Sales Operations Manager has authority over the day-to-day management of the Lots Road team and all operational decisions relating to the showroom and office. This includes setting and adjusting individual targets within the framework agreed with the Commercial Director and Finance Director, managing performance informally and formally within company policy, and making operational decisions to keep the business running smoothly.
• The following matters are referred to the Exec or relevant function head
• Changes to headcount, roles or compensation.
• Formal HR processes (managed in partnership with the People Operations Manager).
• Capital expenditure and unbudgeted spend above agreed thresholds.
• Changes to sales strategy or pricing.
• External communications that commit the business contractually or publicly.
• Weekly check-in with the Commercial Director and/or Finance Director to review team performance, pipeline and operational priorities.
• Participation in management meetings and business reviews as required.
• Six-monthly appraisal with the Commercial Director and Finance Director against agreed objectives.
• Active engagement with the company's approach to professional development, for yourself and those you manage.
• Expected to model the values and behaviours set out in company policy at all times.