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Sales Director
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Reports To: Executive Director of Sales & Catering
Position Summary
The Sales Director is responsible for generating new business and increasing event, banquet, catering, group room, and related revenue.
The primary focus of this position is active sales: identifying prospective customers, developing relationships, responding to leads, conducting site tours, preparing proposals, following up consistently, and converting opportunities into booked business.
This position reports to the Executive Director of Sales & Catering and works closely with the Catering, Banquet, Hotel, Restaurant, and Front Desk teams to ensure business is sold appropriately and successfully transitioned to the operational team.
Primary Responsibilities
- Actively prospect for new corporate, association, social, wedding, university, nonprofit, sports, and other group business.
- Develop new accounts and strengthen relationships with existing customers to generate repeat and referral business.
- Respond promptly to incoming event, catering, banquet, meeting, and group inquiries.
- Conduct outbound sales calls, emails, appointments, networking, and other business-development activities.
- Conduct property tours and sales presentations for prospective clients.
- Prepare proposals, contracts, pricing recommendations, and follow-up communications designed to convert inquiries into definite bookings.
- Maintain consistent follow-up with prospective customers throughout the sales process.
- Sell banquet rooms, meeting spaces, catering services, hotel guestrooms, restaurant services, and other property offerings when appropriate.
- Identify opportunities to combine banquet events with hotel room blocks and other revenue-generating services.
- Develop relationships with local businesses, University of Michigan departments and organizations, event planners, wedding professionals, associations, and other potential sources of business.
- Pursue business that is new rather than relying primarily on existing accounts or inbound inquiries.
- Maintain an organized sales pipeline and accurately document leads, activities, account information, follow-up dates, and booking status.
- Meet or exceed established sales, revenue, prospecting, and booking goals.
- Monitor lost and turned-down business and identify opportunities to improve conversion.
- Stay informed about competitors, local events, market conditions, and new business opportunities in the Ann Arbor area.
- Attend networking events, trade events, community functions, client meetings, and sales appointments as appropriate.
- Participate in sales meetings and provide updates regarding prospecting activity, pipeline, definite bookings, and upcoming opportunities.
- Work with the Executive Director of Sales & Catering on pricing strategy, need dates, target accounts, promotions, and sales priorities.
- Properly transition confirmed business to the appropriate catering and operational personnel and communicate all relevant commitments made during the sales process.
- Maintain professional relationships with clients before, during, and after their events to encourage repeat business and referrals.
- Perform other sales-related duties as assigned by the Executive Director of Sales & Catering.
Key Performance Expectations
Success in this position will be measured primarily by the ability to generate and book profitable new business.
Performance expectations may include:
- New business revenue booked
- Total definite banquet and catering revenue
- Group room revenue associated with booked events
- Number and quality of new accounts developed
- Lead-to-booking conversion rate
- Outbound prospecting activity
- Site tours and client appointments
- Repeat and referral business
- Maintenance of an active and well-developed sales pipeline
- Achievement of monthly and annual sales goals
The Sales Director is expected to spend a significant portion of their time actively selling and developing business rather than primarily performing administrative or event-planning duties.
Qualifications
- Previous hotel, hospitality, catering, event, or business-to-business sales experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to prospect, develop relationships, negotiate, and close business.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Professional and confident when meeting with customers and representing the property.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple leads, accounts, deadlines, and follow-up commitments.
- Self-motivated and comfortable initiating contact with prospective customers.
- Strong understanding of customer service and relationship-based selling.
- Ability to work collaboratively with sales, catering, banquet, hotel, restaurant, and administrative teams.
- Comfortable using sales, CRM, hotel, catering, and Microsoft Office software.
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends for client appointments, networking events, property functions, and other business-development activities.
Role Relationship
The Executive Director of Sales & Catering provides overall leadership of the sales and catering department, including strategy, revenue goals, departmental priorities, major account management, and supervision of the sales and catering team.
The Sales Director's primary responsibility is revenue production through prospecting, relationship development, and converting opportunities into booked events and group business.
JOB ID: 181086
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Michael Steffke