Director of Sales

confidential; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Nashville Symphony is seeking a Director of Sales to lead earned-revenue across single tickets, subscriptions, groups, and corporate/hospitality. This hands-on, player-coach role requires mastery of Tessitura and a track record of driving new business while managing a small sales team.

Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, you will set quotas, develop campaigns, analyze performance data, and maintain your own book of business to achieve the organization's revenue goals during the season.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3–5 years of proven sales experience with quota responsibility.
• Experience supervising staff is preferred.
• Familiarity with arts or performing arts sales is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead sales strategy for single tickets, subscriptions, groups, and corporate/hospitality.
• Supervise two positions and set quotas.
• Develop and manage lead lists and campaigns with CRM.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Analytics to optimize performance.
• Maintain personal book of business and hit personal sales goal.
• Navigate Tessitura for campaigns and reporting.

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Combination of education and experience

Tools

Tessitura

Job description

I. Summary

Title: Director of Sales

Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Position Overview: The Director of Sales leads the Nashville Symphony's earned-revenue sales strategy, driving new patron acquisition and revenue growth across single tickets, subscriptions, groups, and corporate/hospitality partnerships. The Director supervises account managers and group sales managers, sets and enforces sales quotas and goals, and uses data to build targeted lead lists, analyze performance, and continuously improve campaign effectiveness. In addition to leading the sales team, the Director maintains their own book of business and is personally accountable to a sales goal set in collaboration with the Chief Marketing Officer, with a primary focus on new business development. This is a hands-on, player-coach role that blends sales leadership with individual sales production, and requires expertise working within Tessitura (a robust box office/ticketing platform that is not a traditional sales CRM like Hubspot or Salesforce).

II. Primary Duties and Responsibilities

1. Devise, develop, and execute proactive sales campaign strategies to drive new single-ticket, subscription, group, and corporate/hospitality revenue across the season, in alignment with overall marketing and revenue goals.
2. Utilize Tessitura CRM to build targeted lead lists and audience segments for outbound sales efforts, working closely with the Director of CRM & Analytics to identify high-potential prospects and lapsed patrons.
3. Directly supervise two positions, the Senior Account and Groups Manager and the Account Manager, including setting individual sales quotas and performance goals, conducting regular one-on-ones and pipeline reviews, and holding the team accountable to targets.
4. Recruit, hire, train, and onboard sales team members, and manage day-to-day performance including coaching, professional development, and, when necessary, corrective action.
5. Analyze lead and campaign performance data (conversion rates, source attribution, sales cycle length, revenue per lead, etc.) to identify trends and continuously refine future sales campaigns and outreach tactics.
6. Devise and implement tactics to increase patron lifetime value, including upsell and cross-sell strategies (single ticket to subscriber, subscriber to donor), renewal and retention campaigns, and patron journey/touchpoint mapping in partnership with the marketing and CRM teams.
7. Maintain a personal book of business and carry an individual sales goal, set in collaboration with the Chief Marketing Officer, with an emphasis on acquiring new patrons rather than servicing existing accounts (new-business acquisition should represent the majority of the Director's personal sales activity).
8. Personally cultivate, pitch, and close sales with prospective group, corporate, and hospitality accounts, and other high-value prospects as assigned.
9. Build and maintain sales pipelines, forecasts, and reporting dashboards to track team and individual performance against goals, and report results regularly to the Chief Marketing Officer.
10. Partner with the Marketing and Communications team to ensure sales campaigns, offers, and messaging are consistent with brand and marketing strategy.
11. Collaborate with the Director of Customer Service and Director of CRM & Analytics to ensure a seamless handoff between sales activity and ticketing/box office fulfillment.
12. Develop and manage sales-related budgets, offers, and incentive structures in coordination with the Chief Marketing Officer.
13. Stay current on sales best practices and trends in the performing arts and broader entertainment industry, bringing new tactics and technologies to the department.
14. Effectively navigate and troubleshoot Tessitura and related ticketing/CRM systems for sales purposes, including plan and campaign setup, reporting, and data hygiene, even without prior Tessitura experience.
15. Become an expert in all of the Nashville Symphony’s programs, products, and offerings, demonstrating increased fluency in orchestral music in order to communicate and sell effectively to a diverse audience of music lovers.
16. Other duties as assigned that help reach departmental and institutional goals.
17. Embrace the Nashville Symphony's commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, and actively support the organization's mission to welcome and serve everyone in our community.

III. Supervisory Responsibilities

Successfully carry out supervisory responsibilities for the Senior Account and Groups Manager and the Account Manager in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Supervisory responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; setting individual sales quotas and goals; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance and holding team members accountable to targets; rewarding and disciplining employees; and addressing complaints and resolving problems.

IV. Work Requirements and Qualifications

1. Education: Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalnt combination of education and experience.
2. Required Experience: 3-5 years of proven sales experience required, including experience setting and meeting sales quotas and supervising or mentoring other sales staff; experience in arts, entertainment, or a related industry strongly preferred.
3. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
   • Demonstrated track record of proactively generating new business and closing sales, not simply managing renewals or inbound requests.
   • Ability to learn and effectively operate complex, non-intuitive database/CRM software; prior Tessitura experience is not required, but candidates must demonstrate they can master advanced, less user-friendly systems (Tessitura is not a modern sales platform like Salesforce or HubSpot).
   • Working knowledge of data analysis principles, including the ability to interpret lead and campaign performance data to inform strategy and identify trends.
   • Proven ability to set, communicate, and hold a team accountable to sales quotas and performance goals.
   • Strong leadership, coaching, and team development skills.
   • Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook, including mail merge functionality; skill in building reports and dashboards in Excel or similar tools.
   • Strong customer service, organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills; excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact with patrons and all levels of staff.
   • Passion for orchestral music or the performing arts preferred.
   • Ability to work well with staff on timely projects and as a team player, as well as ability to delegate and oversee completion of projects.
   • Ability to formulate and work on projects independently, while keeping others informed of progress and any work issues.
   • Generally a standard work week; this role is not required to work concerts or a regular weekend/evening box office rotation.