National Account Director - Chicago

What's Extraordinary About this Job

Visit Seattle is now hiring a National Account Director to join our team of dedicated, service-oriented professionals.Under the Direction of the Chief Sales Officer, Senior Director of Sales, and Director of Sales, the National Account Director (NAD)promotes and sells Seattle and region as a convention and meeting destination for accounts based in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest, which currently includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio & Wisconsin. Although this sales territory includes multiple states, there is emphasis on citywide business out of the greater Chicagoland area. The National Account director is responsible forachieving specific room-night sales goals as assigned, reviewed annually. 95% focus on Convention Center bookings; 5% focus on hotel self-contained business.

Who We Are

The Visit Seattle team knows and loves Seattle. By promoting our city for travel and tourism, we helped bring 38 million annual visitors in 2023 who spent$8.2 billionin Seattle and King County. The economic power of travel and tourism supported nearly 65,000 Seattle area jobs and contributed $790 million in annual state and local tax revenue. Visitvisitseattle.org.

Beyond our sales and marketing vision, you'll appreciate our culture. Visit Seattle has a fun, inclusive culture where everyone is welcome and encouraged to be their authentic selves. We aspire to be as diverse as the city we represent and to honor the unique perspectives of the communities we serve, intertwining them in everything we do. Kindness, respect, and accountability serve as guiding principles for our team at every level. Here, your voice will be heard, and opinions respected as we move toward a more inclusive world together.

Who You Are

The successful candidate is an experienced National Account Director at DMO or Hotel, currently living in the Chicago area, with a minimum of 5 years' experience selling to the Chicagoland Market. Visit Seattle islooking for someone who is passionate and knowledgeable about the Seattle region and capable ofcommunicating that passionwith a wide client base.The successful candidate will have experience working with or for Convention Centers and demonstrate a proven ability to meet and achieve sales goals.

You'll also have:

• Five years minimum large hotel or DMO industry sales experience required.
• Experience with or for Convention Centers is required.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a sales territory and large account base.
• Ability to initiate and write marketing plans.
• Experience in building relationships with BIPOC communities
• Demonstrates high initiative and self-motivation, as well as creativity.
• Consistent positive attitude and professional demeanor.

• Strong service approach with both internal and external customers.
• Able to work efficiently and accurately while managing a schedule with minimal supervision.
• Strong and consistent ability to prioritize activities within specific time guidelines and to handle multiple responsibilities within specific time frames and deadlines.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
• Willing and able to work evenings, weekends and holidays based on client and office demands.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,Simpleview and other relational sales management and space management databases.
• Ability to operate computer, fax, Outlook, PDA and general office equipment including laptop computers, often from remote locations.
• Ability to speak, read, write and understand English, the primary language used in the office.
• You must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

What You'll Do

• Generates convention center and hotel bookings from an assigned market segment(s), which may be revised annually.
• Develop and manages sales leads; prepares competitive, creative and compelling bids to win business for Seattle. Client presentations of the bids are often required.
• Creates and maintains client base in the assigned account market; assigned an annual room night goal, to be achieved from definite bookings within this market. Analyzes total spend of group in order to effectively yield manage prospective business bidding and securing the best business for the city.
• Actively prospects for new business in assigned account market, using the value added/ROI approach so that Visit Seattle leads do not duplicate partner hotel and national/global sales efforts.
• Actively markets Seattle as a preferred destination for organizations/associations of communities of color and women.
• Attends tradeshows, sales missions, client events, networking meetings and local meetings to solicit convention business; responsible for pre-planning, target marketing, pre- and post-event related work and some event and/ or tradeshow arrangements, as applicable.
• Meet with and host customers frequently, developing strong relationships with key decision makers.
• Working in conjunction with Destination Manager, as well as directly coordinates and conducts some city site inspections for customers, showcasing facilities, attractions and partners in the city.
• Assists customers with referrals to services manager or other service providers, and national sales managers in determining sales opportunities that benefit the community.
• During convention/meeting, maintain contact with customer(s); including appropriate contacts with individual(s) responsible for rebooking.
• Maintain research on competition regarding marketing and sales strategies.
• Ability to establish quick and efficient relationships with clients from beginning to end to effectively sell and close the business opportunities to retain maximum business in the organizations' headquarter region.
• Represent Visit Seattle professionally at company and client sponsored events.
• Performs other related duties, special projects and assignments as required.

Who You'll Work With

You'll work with the Convention Sales Team and report directly to the Director of Sales. As part of the Convention Sales Team, you will also work with various other departments of the organization, but mostly Convention Services, Events, and Marketing.

What Your Benefits Are

Your experience is our most important asset, so we created an environment for you to thrive. We designed the following benefits package with you in mind.

Our benefits are always evolving, though here's a peek into your perks:

• You'll have 15 days of Paid Time Off to start, with 12 paid office holidays and 1 Personal Holiday.
• You'll have 100% of medical, dental, and vision coverage paid by Visit Seattle. In addition, Visit Seattle will cover 75% of premium for family coverage.
• You'll be eligible for Paid Parental, Bereavement and Jury leave.
• You'll receive a company-provided ORCA card and subsidized parking in the Tower parking garage (restrictions apply).
• You will be reimbursed for monthly cell phone expenses.
• You'll receive a 401k with up to a 5% company match.
• Salary range is $117k -$130k, depending on experience, with consideration for exceptional candidates. We offer up to a 40% annual incentive.

Join Us!

Visit Seattle is on a journey to become a fully inclusive, multicultural, anti-racist organization. We are actively seeking a diverse pool of candidates from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.