Apprentice Sales Executive
GUARDIAN DISPLAY LTD
LEIGH ON SEA (SS9 5PR)
Closes in 13 days (Thursday 10 September 2026)
Posted on 27 August 2026
Contents
Summary
Alongside your role at Guardian Display, you'll complete a Level 4 Sales Executive apprenticeship with our approved training provider.
The programme will help you develop professional skills in areas including prospecting, customer relationships, sales planning, communication, negotiation, commercial awareness and closing business.
- Wage
-
£21,000 a year
- Training course
- Sales executive (level 4)
- Hours
-
Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:30pm
40 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 21 September 2026
- Duration
-
1 year 6 months
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Your responsibilities will develop as you progress and will include:
- Researching companies exhibiting at major UK and European exhibitions
- Identifying potential new customers and decisionmakers
- Contacting prospective customers by telephone, email and LinkedIn
- Speaking confidently with businesses about upcoming exhibition requirements
- Qualifying new sales opportunities
- Booking meetings and appointments
- Responding to incoming sales enquiries
- Learning how to take and understand exhibition stand briefs
- Working with our design and estimating teams to develop proposals
- Following up quotations and proposals
- Learning how to negotiate and close sales
- Building and maintaining your own sales pipeline
- Keeping customer and opportunity information up to date within our CRM
- Developing relationships with new and existing customers
- Attending exhibitions and events where appropriate
As you progress, you'll be given increasing responsibility for managing your own customers and closing your own sales.
Where you'll work
UNIT 2
50 PROGRESS ROAD
LEIGH ON SEA
SS9 5PR
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
BMS PROGRESS LLP
Training course
Sales executive (level 4)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Sales planning and preparation: Set effective targets using sales forecasts. Prioritise customers and activities to grow account value and maximise return-on-investment in line with your organisation’s strategy. Formulate or refine customer plans and objectives. Create efficient territory plans where appropriate.
- Customer engagement: Effectively communicate and interpret customer information exchanged through written, verbal and non-verbal communication. Develop a customer engagement style that effectively opens sales conversations, builds rapport, enhances customer relationships, and adapts to different customer’s social preferences.
- Customer needs analysis: Be highly skilled at effective questioning and active listening techniques to understand the customer’s needs, guide the sales conversation appropriately, create mutual understanding, and build trust and affinity with customers.
- Propose and present solutions: Develop sales proposals and deliver them using a presentation style and technique appropriate for your customer. Present relevant products and/or services, explain features and their advantages, and clearly articulate the value and benefit of the solution for the specific customer. Use and adapt a range of techniques to draw-out and overcome common sales objections.
- Negotiate: Research the customer’s likely desired outcomes and negotiating stance. Develop responses to likely objections. Identify your own organisation’s needs, such as minimum price and acceptable terms. Negotiate or trade variables effectively.
- Closing Sales: Be attuned to verbal and non-verbal buying-signals andmove to close at an appropriate point in sales conversations. Develop ethical techniques to close sales and confirm customers’ purchase agreement.
- Gathering Intelligence: Collect, analyse and interpret market intelligence and share it appropriately and effectively within your organisation.
- Time Management: Use and adapt appropriate tools and techniques to prioritise and manage your time effectively.
- Collaboration and team work: Contribute effectively within a team environment. Work collaboratively with both internal and external stakeholders. Manage communications with the cross-functional team in relation to the effective delivery of your sales, such as finance and service delivery. Support continual business improvement by sharing best practice with sales team colleagues and assist the marketing team to develop new marketing collateral.
- Customer experience management: Deliver a positive customer experience. Manage customer enquiries and issues effectively. Take proactive action to prevent and minimise customer concerns and complaints. Handle all customer interactions professionally to the customer’s satisfaction.
- Digital skills: Effectively use digital tools to conduct research and target customers in line with the overall sales strategy. Able to deliver presentations and meetings using digital communication. Complete accurate records and process sales in accordance with your organisation’s policies, procedures and digital CRM systems.
Training schedule
Sales Executive Level 4.
Our programmes use a blended learning model that’s powered by our apprenticeship delivery platform, Aptem. You can expect:
- Interactive workshops that are held both face-to-face and virtually
- Online coaching sessions that provide support on an individual level
- Enhanced eLearning content via engaging modules and skills development activities
Requirements
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Organisation skills
- Initiative
- Resilient
- Confident
- Motivated by achieving targets
About this employer
Guardian Display is a successful and growing exhibition stand design and build company based in Leigh-on-Sea.
For over 17 years, we've helped businesses exhibit at major events throughout the UK and Europe, providing everything from exhibition stand design and manufacture through to graphics, installation and event support.
We're now looking for an ambitious individual to join our sales team through a Sales Executive apprenticeship.
This isn't an apprenticeship where you'll spend your time making tea and watching other people work. You'll become a genuine member of our sales team, receive professional sales training and learn how to develop and win real business.
https://guardiandisplay.co.uk/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
- Commission opportunity
- Mentoring from experienced sales professionals
- Opportunity to attend exhibitions and events
- Clear progression into a permanent Sales Executive position
- Increasing earning potential as you develop
- Company pension
- Free on-site parking
- 28 days' holiday including bank holidays
After this apprenticeship
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
We see this as the beginning of a career with Guardian Display, not simply a temporary apprenticeship.
A successful apprentice could progress through:
Apprentice Sales Executive → Sales Executive → Business Development Manager → Senior Business Development Manager.
If you're ambitious, confident and want to build a career where your earnings can grow with your performance, we'd like to hear from you.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
BMS PROGRESS LLP
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000050277.
Apply now
Closes in 13 days (Thursday 10 September 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.