Senior Sales Manager (pre - opening)

Senior Sales Manager

Responsible for driving total resort revenue through proactive and reactive sales and strategic account management across all market segments, including MICE, Corporate, Leisure, Government and Sports.

This role is accountable for generating new business, managing and growing assigned accounts, converting inbound leads, and maximizing revenue opportunities across rooms, meetings & events, and resort outlets. The Senior Sales Manager works collaboratively with on-property teams, Marriott Global Sales Offices, and regional sales resources to position the resort as a leading premium destination on the Adriatic by developing strong client relationships, generating new business opportunities, and optimizing existing accounts to achieve and exceed revenue goals in line with brand and property objectives.

This role ensures seamless client experience, strong market presence, and sustained demand across all seasons. The position requires a strategic, results-driven, and relationship-focused sales professional with a deep understanding of multi-segment hospitality sales.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or GED; 2 years experience in the sales and marketing, guest services, front desk, or related professional area.
• OR
• 2-year degree from an accredited university in Business Administration, Marketing, Hotel and Restaurant Management, or related major; no work experience required.

Core Work Activities

Understanding Market Opportunities & Driving Revenue

• Execute proactive and reactive sales strategies to achieve revenue goals across all assigned segments.
• Identify, solicit, and secure new business opportunities through direct sales calls, networking, sales trips, tradeshows, B2B Events, site inspections, and digital channels.
• Develop and implement account plans that align with property and brand strategies.
• Support destination positioning and seasonality management to optimize demand throughout the year.
• Manage a defined portfolio of key accounts and prospects, ensuring long-term relationship development and account growth.
• Maintain accurate account information, pipeline updates, and activity tracking in Marriott-approved systems (e.g. CI/TY, Salesforce).
• Lead contract negotiations in accordance with Marriott pricing, contracting, and revenue management guidelines.
• Foster client loyalty through consistent engagement, personalized service, and post-event follow-up
• Actively promote the resort's meetings, events, and group offering for domestic and international markets.
• Convert group and event inquiries through effective needs analysis, proposal preparation, negotiation, and closing.
• Partner closely with Events Management, Revenue Management, and Operations to ensure a seamless handover and delivery of group business
• Understands the overall market - competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc. and knows how to sell against them.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with Marriott Global Sales, Area Sales, and on-property Sales & Distribution team to maximize account penetration and lead flow.
• Participate in sales meetings, forecasting, and strategy sessions to support departmental objectives.
• Work cross-functionally with Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Revenue Management to ensure alignment and service excellence.

Reporting, Forecasting & Compliance

• Maintain accurate sales records, production tracking, and revenue forecasts.
• Prepare regular sales activity, pipeline, and account performance reports.
• Ensure compliance with Marriott policies, brand standards, ethical guidelines, and data integrity requirements.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

• Handles complex business with significant revenue potential as well as significant customer expectations.
• Builds and strengthens relationships with existing and new customers to enable future bookings. Activities include sales calls, entertainment, FAM trips, trade shows, etc.
• Develops relationships within community to strengthen and expand customer base for sales opportunities across segments.
• Supports brand's Service and Relationship Strategy, driving customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer experience.
• Provides excellent customer service in order to grow share of the account.
• Executes brand's Customer Service Standards and property's Brand Standards.
• Participates in and practices daily service basics of the brand.
• Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
• Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship and loyalty to the property and brand.
• Gains understanding of the property's primary target customer and service expectations; serves the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solution both prior to, and during the program/event.

Additional Responsibilities

• Utilizes intranet for resources and information.
• Conducts site inspections.
• Creates contracts as required.
• Executes and supports the operational aspects of business booked (e.g., generating proposal, writing contract, customer correspondence).

Management Competencies

Leadership

Adaptability - Maintains performance level under pressure or when experiencing changes or challenges in the workplace.

Communication - Conveys information and ideas to others in a convincing and engaging manner through a variety of methods.

Problem Solving and Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; obtains and compares information from different sources to draw conclusions, develop and evaluate alternatives and solutions, solve problems, and choose a course of action.

Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values.

Managing Execution

Building and Contributing to Teams - Actively participates as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of goals.

Driving for Results - Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; assumes responsibility for work objectives; initiates, focuses, and monitors the efforts of self and/or others toward the accomplishment goals; proactively takes action and goes beyond what is required.

Planning and Organizing - Gathers information and resources required to set a plan of action for self and/or others; prioritizes and arranges work requirements to accomplish goals and ensure work is completed.

Building Relationships

Coworker Relationships - Interacts with others in a way that builds openness, trust, and confidence in the pursuit of organizational goals and lasting relationships.

Customer Relationships - Develops and sustains relationships based on an understanding of customer needs and actions consistent with the company's service standards.

Global Mindset - Supports employees and business partners with diverse styles, abilities, motivations, and/or cultural perspectives; utilizes differences to drive innovation, engagement and enhance business results; and ensures employees are given the opportunity to contribute to their full potential.

Generating Talent and Organizational Capability

Organizational Capability - Evaluates and adapts the structure of own assignments and suggests improvements to work processes to best fit the needs and/or support the goals of an organizational unit.

Talent Management - Provides support and feedback to help individuals develop and strengthen skills and abilities needed to accomplish work objectives.

Learning and Applying Professional Expertise

Applied Learning - Seeks and makes the most of learning opportunities to improve performance of self and/or others.

Business Acumen - Understands and utilizes business information to manage everyday operations.

Technical Acumen - Understands and utilizes professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct.

Sales Ability: Persuasiveness - Using appropriate interpersonal styles and communication methods to gain acceptance of a product, service, or idea from prospects and clients.

Sales Disposition - Demonstrating the traits, inclinations, and outlooks that characterize successful salespersons; exhibiting behavior styles that facilitate adaptation to the demands of the sales role.

Sales Implementations - Driving and supporting the implementation of sales strategies and systems; seeking and taking appropriate actions on feedback; taking responsibility for implementation success.

Basic Competencies - Fundamental competencies required for accomplishing basic work activities.

Basic Computer Skills - Uses basic computer hardware and software (e.g., personal computers, word processing software, Internet browsers, etc.).

Mathematical Reasoning - Demonstrates ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly, correctly, and in a way that allows one to solve work-related issues.

Oral Comprehension - Demonstrates ability