Director of Sports Sales

The Director of Sports Sales, reporting to the Vice President (VP) of Sales, is primarily responsible for the sports tourism events and sales strategy, securing new business, managing existing business relationships, and advancing the organization’s strategic goals of elevating the economic impact and destination experience in sports event group travel. This is an exempt, full-time position in a hybrid work environment in Chattanooga, TN, and the individual in this role must reside in the Chattanooga metropolitan area.

In this role, success for you means:

Driving visitor demand through sports tourism to maximize competitive positioning and ROI by:

• Evaluating, identifying, and implementing an effective sales strategy for the sports tourism market to contribute to overall group sales growth goals.
• Refining the competitive positioning of the area as a premier sporting event destination through developing a positioning profile, improving and developing assets to support the positioning profile, and recommending refinements through data-driven analytics to support ROI.
• Managing and implementing effective relationships with internal teams and key external stakeholders and partners to deploy financial and marketing materials in support of the sales strategy and total visitation growth goals.

Day-to-day you will:

Work as a member of the Sales team to:

• Lead and manage the full sports sales process from identifying new opportunities and strengthening existing events, to guiding proposals, contracts, and client relationships, ensuring smooth transitions from initial contact through event execution.
• Own sales prospect process to include attendance at relevant trade shows, building and renewing client relationships, and other sales activities designed to showcase the destination.
• Evaluate and refine sales strategies by tracking performance, resource use, and economic impact, determining and recommending strategic adjustments that maximize returns and strengthen the local tourism economy.
• Enhance the sports event experience by integrating industry best practices and fostering cross-team communication to deliver measurable results and continuous improvement.
• Work cross-functionally to create and disperse relevant marketing collateral, including site visits, gift opportunities, and digital/physical assets showcasing the area and organization as the best-in-class location for target sports events and tourism markets.
• Collaborate with internal engagement teams to garner community support and funding for sports assets to improve competitive positions. Strategically, you will analyze ROI of Chattanooga Tourism Co. managed and supported sports events versus comparable locations and assets to guide facilities studies, improvements, development, and corporate communications plans for community engagement.
• Collaborate with our Visitor Experience team to ensure fulfillment of sports sales deliverables and contracts by participating in the event planning process and providing day-of event operations support.
• Effectively manage internal and external relationships to collaboratively create and align efforts for a unified brand voice.
• Fulfill other duties as assigned by the VP of Sales, CEO, or COO.

Experience you bring to this role is:

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university in Sports/Tourism/Hospitality/Recreation Management, Marketing, or Business Administration and five years or more of relevant experience in destination sales, sporting event sales, and/or sports asset sales OR
• A college degree from an accredited college/university in an unrelated field and seven years or more of relevant experience in destination sales, sporting event sales, and/or sports asset sales or a combination of education and experience.
• Experience in sports events and tourism at a destination organization preferred.
• Experience using the Tourism Economics Event Impact Calculator (EIC) and interpreting/communicating EIC data is a bonus.

Physical Requirements*:

• A complete range of motion is required in the position including but not limited to: balancing, carrying, climbing, crawling, grasping/handling/feeling, kneeling, lifting (up to 25 lbs.), listening, pulling or pushing, reaching, running, seeing, sitting, standing, stooping, talking, walking, etc.
• A valid driver’s license, access to a reliable vehicle, and motor vehicle insurance are required.
• Driving a vehicle, riding in a vehicle, and flying in an airplane are required.

Working Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• The typical work environment is an environmentally controlled business office with weekday hours being in the range of 8:30a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Some earlier morning, later evening, and weekend work is required.
• Regular business travel within and outside of the region is required.

*Reasonable accommodations may be made to eligible individuals.

About Chattanooga Tourism Co.

The mission of the Chattanooga Tourism Co. is to promote and develop visitor experiences to enhance our community's economic and social prosperity.

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