Director of Sales and Marketing

Position Title      Director of Sales and Marketing

Primary Objective of Position

The purpose of your job is twofold:  1.)  To position your hotel in the marketplace in a way that clearly meets the needs and wants of guests and clients and offers a distinct competitive advantage; and 2.)  To sell this product and service in a way that is profitable to the hotel.  Your performance will be measured by the attainment of financial goals and an assessment of how well you perform in the key result areas of marketing, management, direct sales, administration, yield management, and leadership.  You are in charge of all the hotel’s possible sources of top line revenue.

You report directly to the General Manager. The Corporate Revenue Manager and Vice President Sales & Marketing are key resources that offer you support and expertise.

In sales, you need to lead by example, be a superb salesperson, and teach others to be the same.  

     1.    Personal Selling -   Achieve your personal revenue goals and quotas.

1.    Sales Technique -   Personally use, and ensure your salespeople use a benefit oriented, need satisfaction selling technique.  Ensure correspondence is benefit oriented, comprehensive, professional, timely, and addresses client needs.  Use and train others to use win/win negotiation techniques.
2. Account Services - Provide clients with a level of service from the sales department that meets or exceeds their expectations.  Maintain strong relationships with key accounts.  Maintain an effective trace system and follow up on your commitments to clients.
3. Market Coverage - Allocate territories and market segments appropriately.  Personally manage key accounts and ensure an effective account management program is in place for the sales team.  Develop new business through prospecting and establishing new account goals.  Identify lead sources for use by the sales team.
4. Community Involvement - Participate in community and trade organizations that benefit the hotel.

The goal of management is to develop and retain a staff of highly motivated effective professionals.  Your job will be much easier if you have the best sales team in the market.

        1.  Staff Development - Identify and recruit top performers.  Carefully screen and interview candidates to make wise hiring decisions.  Retain top performers.

        2.  Goal setting - Establish realistic performance expectations.  Help sales managers develop a step-by-step plan to meet their revenue goals.  Maintain activity/productivity results                tracking systems.   

       3.  Training - Provide training appropriate to the skill level of each salesperson.  Implement franchise sales training programs.  Provide specific performance-related feedback.

       4.  Communication - communicate effectively to the sales team, operations team and other departments.

Your marketing objective is to ensure the hotel is appropriately positioned in the marketplace and that pricing, promotion, and public relations are in line with that positioning.  Ensure hotel strategies meet guest needs and owner’s objectives.

       1.  Planning/Strategy Development - 

           Complete the market research and analysis for the hotel’s strategic planning sessions. Complete the annual marketing plan and expense budget.  Conduct                                                competitive price shopping and analyze rate denials to ensure hotel is appropriately priced for all seasons and market segments.  Identify critical marketing issues and develop                appropriate plans to react to changing market trends and conditions.

      2.   Market Knowledge - 

          Structure programs according to the needs, preferences and buying patterns of the hotel’s guests and clients.  Know the strengths and weaknesses of primary and secondary                  competitors and uses this information to enhance the hotel’s competitive position to sell the hotel.   Be knowledgeable about the resources available from the franchise system                 and utilize them appropriately. (Includes reservation system, sales offices, databases, rate programs, and co-op advertising and promotional programs).

Revenue Management

In conjunction with the Corporate Revenue Manager and Hotel Executive Committee, forecast accurately and plan in advance.  Structure pricing that fluctuates with demand and control inventory and group allotments.  Maximize rate whenever possible and discount selectively as needed to create the most favorable impact on overall room sales.

      1.  Understand and apply revenue management philosophy to rates, room inventory, and selling strategies used by the sales team.  

      2.  Take an active role in overall revenue forecasting, rate setting, and reservation selling strategies.

      3.  Help teach the reservation team to sell and provide positive reinforcement for their efforts.  

     4.  Oversee all revenue management efforts of the cluster revenue manager.

     5.  Meet weekly with the revenue manager and the GM.

As an administrator, you need to create and maintain a professional, organized, effective department.

     1.   Time Management -   Allocate your time well in order to meet time commitment and deadlines.  Focus on priorities!

     2.  Personnel Administration -   Comply with legal guidelines and established personnel policies.  Set appropriate compensation levels for all salespeople.  Manage payroll expense.

       Complete performance appraisals on a timely basis.  Establish appropriate incentive quotas.

     3.  Operations - Contribute to the effective operation of the hotel as an active member of the EOC team.  Respond to requests for information from peers, upper management, and           ownership.  Stay focussed on proactive direct sales and out of hands-on operations unless instructed by the upper management team.

     4.  Office Policies and Procedures - Implement sound policies and procedures.  Maintain a well-organized sales office.  Maintain proper record keeping, documentation, and                       reporting.  Ensure the sales team understands the service standards and strives to meet those standards in all client contracts.  Lead effective and useful weekly sales meeting.              Coordinate the sale of function space and control of the function book to prevent revenue displacement.