Sales & Services Manager

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism Overview

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism works to strengthen our local economy by enhancing and promoting our community as a distinctive, compelling, and welcoming travel destination. We are a collaborative team with a passion for Santa Monica and the travel industry. Governed by a board of 11 community individuals, we are a non-profit, non-member organization that serves as the official travel and promotion agency for the City of Santa Monica. For more information, please visit www.santamonica.com

Position Overview

The Sales & Services Manager generates both leisure bookings and group bookings for the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market. This is done through direct solicitation as well as through broad-based programs reaching buyers en masse.  The Manager is responsible for establishing specific sales calls and booking quotas with their supervisor(s). 

We are looking for a driven person who can source and analyze qualified leads for overnight hotel rooms, group dining and events from the first moment of contact through appointments and site inspections. This individual will be responsible for developing and implementing programs that raise our lead conversion rates across the board.

This position will assist the larger sales team to engage and educate international and domestic tour operators, product managers and travel agents on the destination.  The Sales & Services Manager also will work intimately with our hotels, event venues, restaurants and provides support for conference services to hotel, restaurant and venue partners for booked meetings and events in Santa Monica.  You must be able to build trust with our partners while balancing their needs with the needs of the destination as a whole.

A definite people-person, you will work with the larger SMTT team plus management and operations to increase both the number and quality of leads. You will interface with all team members and work alongside them to creatively increase the efficiency of existing lead campaigns and generate new ideas/campaigns. You will be working on a team that is built on mutual respect, collaboration and focuses on excellent results.

This role also is a contact for Client Services, a function that serves as the lead for planning and executing all SMTT events, both internal and client-facing, including but not limited to quarterly community mixers, annual tourism summits, sales events, client events, trade shows and sales missions.

Responsibilities

Sales Programs & Lead Generation

• Leads sales team in creation, design and implementation of innovative and effective sales and marketing programs designed to generate group sales leads, RFPs, and group bookings from the meeting, incentive, wholesale and retail tourism markets both domestically and internationally. These may include newsletters, direct mail campaigns, brochures, new systems, procedures, manuals, etc.
• Generates destination awareness and facilitates contact with new and existing clients via in-person sales calls, trade show attendance and industry networking group participation, including but not limited to IMEX, SITE SoCal, HelmsBriscoe, MPI, GMID, etc.
• Use SimpleView CRM to enter, send out and track leads generated by direct sales efforts (through one of SMTT’s sales channels) or sourced via CVENT.
• Maintains and updates client database using SimpleView CRM.
• Follow up on all business inquiries and leads and qualify business to send to hotel/venue partners to generate group room nights and associated food and beverage revenue.
• Report on leads and RFPs on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Provide input and help initiate regularly scheduled proactive sales programs consistent with the SMTT’s marketing plans and generate relevant and successful room night, event space and group dining sales bookings.
• Assist Director and Senior Manager in the development of new programs and sales campaigns in an effort to obtain additional sales from the various market niches such as sporting events (i.e., Super Bowl, 2028 Olympics, Rose Bowl) and other lifestyle and social events (weddings, engagements, milestones, birthdays, etc…).
• Achieve revenue goals pertaining to the above responsibilities.

Tradeshows, Sales Missions & FAMs

• Prepares for and participates in appropriate trade shows and sales missions to represent the Santa Monica travel product (e., hotels, venues and experiences) and is responsible for all pre- and post-show setup, follow-up, including direct mail campaigns and all administrative tasks associated with these shows and missions.
• Assists the department Sr. Manager and Director with sales missions, blitzes and overall departmental goals.
• Proactively plans, coordinates and conducts site inspections and FAM tours to maximize Santa Monica's exposure to our clients.
• Manages SMTT’s trade show booth(s). Research new options, place orders for any necessary booth supplies, shipping, and other services needed for tradeshow exhibition.
• Must be able to travel 50% - 75% of the time. 

Industry/City Relations

• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with travel industry partners within and outside of the local community and successfully solicits their participation in SMTT programs.
• May serve as an SMTT liaison for any designated City discussions and subsequent reporting to SMTT leadership on planning and development of new or re-constructed meeting space, venues, hotels or public space used for groups or events.
• Represent SMTT at virtual and in-person community events and tourism industry functions. Occasional nights and/or weekends may be required.

• Services
• Works closely with each internal department and assists in the planning and execution of all events, including but not limited to SMTT Tourism Summit & related events, sales events, client events, sales missions and trade shows. Manage vendors to execute these events when needed.
• Manage and execute all administrative tasks associated with these events, including but not limited to coordinating shipping, partner travel arrangements, process payments, credit card authorizations, and following all SMTT SOPs to completion.
• Coordinates all the FAM and site tours (sales, public relations, CEO VIP) with support from the other SMTT Staff.
• Represent SMTT as a spokesperson in daily interactions with clients, SMTT partners, industry programs and events.
• Assist in staffing and execution of community events (in partnership with Director of Visitor Experience where appropriate), i.e., community festivals, Chamber of Commerce events, holiday BID events.
• Work with all SMTT departments to build cohesive strategies to help educate partners and the local community, including fam tour planning for business development, MICE and media.
• Organize, coordinate and execute signature events and FAM trips for high profile clients whose business has the potential to increase revenues for the destination.
• Act as a professional liaison between hotels and partners with the intent to strengthen SMTT’s value and increasing partnerships and in-kind values.