Sports Sales Manager
Are you ready to take the next, best step in your career?
Would you like to join a team of excited, dedicated, incredibly talented professionals?
You’ve found your opportunity - Visit Wichita is looking for a new Sports Sales Manager to join our expert team!
A little about you…
As our Sports Sales Manager, you’ll have the opportunity to promote Wichita to sports planners and rights holders around the country. You love looking for sporting events that would be perfect to host in Wichita. You enjoy traveling and attending appointment-based trade shows where you’ll meet with sports event planners and share all the wonderful things about Wichita. You thrive in working with sports partners throughout Wichita to find the perfect facility and opportunity to host sporting events in Wichita. You enjoy both time in the office prospecting potential events as well as speaking to organizations and meeting with individuals to uncover potential new business opportunities. You are a team player and have a passion for Wichita. You are goal oriented and have a proven track record of success.
If you have a passion for sports and enjoy discovering opportunities to bring more sporting events to Wichita, are a creative problem solver and love the city of Wichita, you want to work with us.
A little about us…
Visit Wichita is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing visitors to Wichita. Our mission is to show the world just how great Wichita is, to bring visitors to our city, and ultimately to create jobs and make Wichita an even better place to be. We love what we do, and we are great at it. If you’d like to learn more about us, check us out at visitwichita.com.
Role:
Responsible for promoting Wichita as an event site for sports rights holders and entities, thereby enhancing the economic development of the City, County, Region and State. Working knowledge of Wichita’s sports venues and facilities preferred.
Responsibilities:
- Execute sports sales strategy, ultimately attracting new sporting events to Wichita
- Build relationships with key industry and local sporting event planners
- Review RFP requirements, needs and budgets of potential sporting events and determine if Wichita would be a good fit to host the event
- Call on community leaders to support Wichita as an event site with letters of support
- Prepare sales presentation and present before the decision-making group to encourage them to select Wichita as a destination
- Setup and host rights holders on site inspection tours of Wichita, showcasing proposed venues, hotels, convention center and local attractions
- Send sales leads to hotels advising them of dates and requirements of potential event that has expressed genuine interest in the city
- Prepare a personalized proposal using our bid software
- Organize sales missions to cities where sports event associations and organizations are headquartered
- Attend industry trade shows and conventions to represent and sell Wichita as a destination
- Occasionally travel to scout out an event that Visit Wichita is pursuing for a future year
- Maintain a well-informed, working knowledge of all facilities, attractions, and services, available in the area to customers and serve as a liaison between these entities and the customer
- Be available to help the Sports Event Manager execute the sporting events on site as needed
- Visit events held in Wichita to ensure that all is going well, and request that the group consider returning to Wichita
- Develop key relationships with partners, area hotels, and the community at large
- Submit appropriate reports on a timely basis as assigned
- Work in a cohesive manner with other organization team members to ensure a unified and effective promotional effort
- Perform other duties as assigned by the VP of Sports Development or Senior Sports Sales Manager
Education and Experience:
- A four-year degree from an accredited college or university preferred
- At least 5 years of sports selling/marketing, management and/or travel related experience or closely related field to include at least four (4) years in an event management, bid development or sports marketing leadership role
Competencies and Skills:
- Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
- Ability to speak and deliver effective presentations
- Team orientation and ability to work collaboratively with all levels of associates and clients
- Planning skills – ability to set direction, establish priorities and action plans and reconcile multiple/conflicting priorities
- Ability to promote opportunities to increase revenue
- Must possess a valid driver’s license and an insured vehicle for periodic business use
To apply for this role, please send your cover letter and resume to careers@visitwichita.com.
