Destination Sales Manager

Job Description

About Us

Sonoma County Tourism ("SCT") is the official destination stewardship organization dedicated to promoting overnight stays and creating a sustainable hospitality economy in Sonoma County, California. SCT's mission is to inspire overnight travel to Sonoma County that bolsters the region's economy and encourages responsible stewardship of the community's abundant resources. SCT achieves this mission by working with the local community and employing a marketing and promotions plan that creates awareness of the destination and encourages people and businesses to travel to Sonoma County.

Summary

The Destination Sales Manager is responsible for promoting Sonoma County as a destination for groups, meetings, weddings, and special events. Key performance indicators ("KPI") are accomplished by a robust scope of work that includes prospecting new clients and opportunities, trade show and conference attendance, lead retrieval and follow-up, client events, FAM tours, site inspections, and other activations that effectively promote Sonoma County as an overnight destination. Additionally, the Manager is responsible for conveying value to SCT's stakeholder partners by providing sales support, industry insights, and co-op opportunities to engage lodging property sales teams and integrate SCT into their sales process.

The Manager should have excellent verbal and written communication skills, be a high energy, self-motivated, and comfortable interacting with industry professionals, community leaders, business partners, and clients.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

Lead Generation

• Identifies and develops new market opportunities from existing accounts.
• Organizes and attends sales blitz's, client events, trade shows, site inspections, FAMs, etc.
• Prospects new opportunities in assigned markets by working with new and existing accounts.
• Creates branded presentations, communications, sales positioning points, and follow up strategies that position SCT as a reliable source of destination information.
• Utilizes an innovative approach to generate incremental, qualified leads for the destination.
• Provide detailed and timely communications to SCT partners on lead development.
• Manage all aspects of assigned accounts in SCT's customer relationship management (CRM) database.
• Manages the booking cycle and acts as a liaison between SCT stakeholder properties, the client, and when appropriate the end user.
• Accepts and responds to all assigned RFP's and leads with clients and lodging properties via phone calls, virtual calls, emails, face-to-face meetings, and other forms of communications.
• Oversee strategic partnerships with meeting planner organizations such as MPI, PCMA, SITE, and 3rd party planning organizations.

Sales Activations

• Attend industry tradeshows and sales missions and recruit local partner participation.
• Manage tradeshow registration, submissions, appointment requests, shipping, and travel.
• Execute timely tradeshow follow-up including communicating with each client met during appointments, networking events, entertainment, or other activation.
• Identify qualified meeting planners to attend FAM tours and client events.
• Create compelling itineraries and escort clients throughout Sonoma County.
• Work with partners to provide clients with exceptional site inspections.

Partner Relations

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with BIA lodging properties, attractions, wineries, service partners, DMC's and other businesses to maximize selling opportunities.
• Identify need periods and special promotional opportunities for stakeholders.
• Stay abreast of 'what's new' in Sonoma County.
• Oversee the coordination of quarterly destination sales team mixers.

Administrative Duties

• Adheres to all SCT policies and procedures.
• Maintains an activity log in CRM relating to influencing the sales process of contracted programs, including client meetings, follow up, incentives, trainings, networking, partner referrals, sales activations, or other activities that substantially influence the contracting of programs at stakeholder properties.
• Ensure timely, prompt, and accurate daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reports on sales activities, lead generation, definite room night bookings, site visits, trip activity, communications, and other sales related goals.
• Manages expenditures within budgetary requirements.
• Serves on industry committees and boards when appropriate and maintains membership and attends events in local, state, regional, and national industry organizations.
• May have special assignments and responsibilities outside of normal work hours.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This position has no personnel supervisory responsibilities and minimal budgetary responsibilities.

Required Education and/or Experience

• Minimum of three years' experience with a convention/visitors/tourism bureau, hotel, or hospitality industry-related business preferred.
• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university with academic coursework in a relevant discipline (i.e., hospitality, tourism, international marketing, business administration or other closely related fields of study) preferred.

Required Knowledge. Skills. & Abilities

• Goal-oriented, reliable in meeting deadlines, well-organized and a consensus builder.
• Excellent public presentation and communication skills (both orally and in writing)
• Expertise and certification in event.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Experience working with a CRM database (Simpleview experience a bonus).
• Displays an aptitude for identifying and learning new software programs.
• Skilled in high-level, professional customer service.
• Ability to work effectively with a cross-section of people, nationalities and time zones.
• Ability to perform consistently in a fast-paced, multi-tasked and deadline-driven environment.

Physical Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• Ability to lift up to 40 lbs. Frequently sits, stands, and walks. Occasionally twists/turns, bends, kneels, and reaches overhead. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

• Position is hybrid, with 3 days in the office and 2 days remote.
• This job primarily operates in a professional office environment.
• This position requires up to 60% travel. Frequently travel is outside the local area and overnight.
• Must have a valid driver's license and provide own transportation.

Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.