Chief Sales Officer

GREATER CINCINNATI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU INC; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Visit Cincy seeks a Chief Sales Officer to lead conventions, meetings, and sports sales efforts. You will stabilize and grow future event and hotel room night booking pace, rebuild pipelines, and align booked events with capacity and partner contributions.

You will lead the sales team, collaborate with partners, and deliver clear forecasts and timely recommendations to the President/CEO.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience; substantial progressive experience in convention, destination, hotel, venue, or related group sales, including senior team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own annual and multiyear sales plans for venues with separate demand targets, and lead strategies to hit booking pace milestones.
• Assess bookings, identify pace gaps, and develop recovery plans for open dates and soft years.

Skills

Senior leadership

Forecasting

Strategic sales

Bid negotiations

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

CRM

Job description

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• Employee Type Full Time
• Required Degree 4 Year Degree
• Travel 15%
• Manage Others Yes

Description

• Own annual and multiyear sales plans for First Financial Center and Sharonville Convention Center, with separate demand targets, target segments, need periods, lead strategies, and booking pace milestones for each venue.
• Assess historical, current, and future definite and tentative bookings by event date. Identify pace gaps early, build recovery plans for open dates and soft years, and report progress against agreed baselines and targets.
• Lead prospecting, account development, bid strategy, site visits, contract progression, and customer relationships for conventions, meetings, trade shows, and other appropriate group business.
• Set and deliver measurable goals for qualified leads, pipeline value, conversion, definite events, room nights, and economic impact where reliable data is available. Use consistent definitions and avoid counting tentative business as definite.
• Maintain a credible sales forecast by venue, market segment, and future year. Review opportunity stages, decision dates, probability, lost business, and displacement considerations; take corrective action when conversion or pace falls behind.
• Build productive working relationships with the management teams of First Financial Center and Sharonville Convention Center, hotel leaders, and event partners to coordinate availability, pricing, room blocks, proposals, and customer commitments.
• Address hotel block and rate barriers with partners; document recurring obstacles, develop workable solutions, and escalate issues that put convention bids or booked business at risk.
• Lead, coach, and evaluate sales and convention services staff. Assign accounts and territories, establish individual goals, develop talent, and create a culture of customer service, accountability, and ethical selling.
• Oversee sales operations, CRM discipline, lead response, proposal quality, sales travel, trade show participation, and the sales budget. Direct resources toward opportunities with the strongest fit and return.
• Provide concise, regular reports to the President and CEO and board leadership on booking pace, pipeline health, wins and losses, hotel participation, risks, and actions underway.
• Provide strategic oversight of sports development in partnership with the Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission, aligning event opportunities with regional priorities and monitoring progress, partner coordination, and results.
• Align leisure sales and niche account sales, including film production and other priority markets, around measurable strategies that generate overnight visitation and hotel room nights across the region

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience; substantial progressive experience in convention, destination, hotel,venue, or related group sales, including senior team leadership.
• Demonstrated success building future group business, improving conversion, negotiating complex bids, and working across convention centers, hotels, and destination partners.
• Ability to analyze booking pace and pipeline data, develop practical forecasts, and translate results into sales priorities and executive reporting.
• Ability to travel and work evenings or weekends as business needs require.

Summary

The Chief Sales Officer leads Visit Cincy’s conventions, meetings, and sports sales efforts and is accountable for stabilizing and growing future event and hotel room night booking pace. The immediate priority is a disciplined, venue-specific sales plan for First Financial Center and Sharonville Convention Center that rebuilds a reliable pipeline, converts qualified opportunities into definite business, and aligns booked events with hotel participation and destination capacity. The Chief Sales Officer leads the sales team, works directly with customers and partners, and gives the President and CEO clear forecasts and timely recommendations.