Event Sales Manager

Ballers; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Performance-based incentive

Employee discounts

Job summary

Ballers Boston Seaport seeks an Event Sales Manager to drive revenue across private events, corporate outings, and sponsorships. You will own the Boston market plan, build the pipeline, and close meaningful business while coordinating with operations, events, and marketing for scalable growth.

You will lead with hospitality‑first client interactions, develop seasonal sales strategies, and manage multi‑season opportunities to maximize venue performance and partnerships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality, Marketing, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive sales experience in hospitality, events, experiential venues, sports, entertainment, sponsorships, or related field.
• Proven record of meeting or exceeding substantial revenue targets through both new‑business development and repeat‑account growth.
• Existing relationships within the Greater Boston corporate, event‑planning, hospitality, tourism, or brand community preferred.
• Ability to sell two differentiated seasonal venue concepts and manage overlapping pipelines and booking windows.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the annual Boston sales plan with separate revenue targets and priorities.
• Personally prospect, pitch, negotiate, and close private events, corporate outings, and group experiences.
• Build relationships with Boston-area corporations, hotels, and event partners.
• Lead venue tours, proposals, and contract negotiations translating capabilities into client solutions.
• Maintain a qualified pipeline, forecast discipline, and weekly reporting against goals.

Skills

Relationship building

Cross-functional collaboration

Sales leadership

CRM proficiency

Negotiation

Public speaking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality, Marketing, or a related field

Tools

Tripleseat

GoHighLevel

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Role: Event Sales Manager

Location: Ballers Boston Seaport

Reports to: Director of Sales

Employment Type: Full Time, Salary Exempt

About Ballers

Ballers is the ultimate sports venue where passion for the game meets community spirit. We're the place to be for racquet sports (pickleball, padel, squash, and tennis), field sports, and golf. Each Ballers location features state-of-the-art facilities where members and guests can play, compete, and connect. At Ballers it's all about living the game, not just playing it!

We’re looking for a candidate who:

• Brings commercial urgency, energy, and ownership to the Boston market
• Builds relationships naturally and is equally credible with senior executives, event planners, and local partners
• Thrives in a seasonal, fast-moving business and plans ahead rather than reacting to demand
• Works cross-functionally with operations, events, programming, and marketing to convert opportunities into revenue
• Represents Ballers with a polished, hospitality-first approach in every client and partner interaction

Role Overview

The Event Sales Manager for Ballers Boston is the senior commercial leader responsible for generating event, group, corporate, partnership, and sponsorship revenue for our Seaport location. This is a hands‑on, market-facing role: the Manager will set the Boston sales plan, build the pipeline, personally close meaningful business, and create a disciplined process that can scale as the venue grows.

Boston operates through two distinct selling seasons. From spring through fall, Ballers is an outdoor social sports and hospitality destination featuring pickleball, padel, food and beverage, corporate outings, private events, leagues, and brand activations. During the winter season, the venue transitions to a skating-focused experience with igloos, seasonal food and beverage, holiday parties, and winter programming. The Sales Manager must sell both concepts proactively, manage the transition between them, and build demand far enough in advance that each season opens with a strong book of business.

Here’s what your day-to-day will look like

• Develop and own the annual Boston sales plan, with separate revenue targets, pipeline strategies, and account priorities for the spring-through-fall sports season and the winter skating and holiday season.
• Personally prospect, pitch, negotiate, and close private events, corporate outings, group experiences, holiday parties, buyouts, leagues, and recurring corporate business.
• Build relationships with Boston‑area corporations, event planners, hotels, convention and tourism partners, residential communities, universities, professional services firms, and Seaport businesses.
• Create a year‑round sales calendar that anticipates seasonal buying cycles, including summer outings, fall corporate events, holiday parties, winter activations, and advance bookings for the following outdoor season.
• Lead venue tours, client presentations, tastings, proposals, and contract negotiations, clearly translating Ballers’ sports, hospitality, and event capabilities into compelling client solutions.
• Maintain an active, qualified pipeline in the CRM; establish clear follow‑up standards, forecasting discipline, conversion metrics, and weekly reporting against monthly, seasonal, and annual goals.
• Coordinate the transition of contracted events to the event planning and operations teams, providing complete turnover documentation, commercial terms, event briefs, and client expectations.
• Maintain senior‑level client relationships after contracting and following events to generate repeat business, referrals, and multi‑event or multi‑season accounts.
• Identify and help build / create local partnership and sponsorship opportunities, including corporate access programs, branded leagues and tournaments, court or program sponsorships, on‑site activations, signage, content, and hospitality packages.
• Build tailored proposals for prospective sponsors and partners, define deliverables and valuation, negotiate agreements, and coordinate fulfillment with marketing, programming, and operations.
• Work closely with the Director of Sales and Ballers’ marketing team to develop sales collateral, outbound campaigns, referral channels, hosted buyer events, and market‑specific programming that produces qualified leads.
• Monitor competitive venues, market pricing, client feedback, and sales performance to refine packages, minimums, inventory, and promotional strategy by season.
• Represent Ballers at industry events, community gatherings, corporate associations, and key venue programs, serving as a visible commercial ambassador for the Boston business.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality, Marketing, or a related field preferred
• 5+ years of progressive sales experience in hospitality, events, experiential venues, sports, entertainment, sponsorships, or a related field
• Proven record of meeting or exceeding substantial revenue targets through both new‑business development and repeat‑account growth
• Existing relationships within the Greater Boston corporate, event‑planning, hospitality, tourism, or brand community are strongly preferred
• Ability to sell two differentiated seasonal venue concepts and manage overlapping pipelines and booking windows
• Experience structuring and closing private events, venue buyouts, corporate programs, or group hospitality business
• Experience developing sponsorships or strategic partnerships is strongly preferred; candidates must be able to distinguish true partnership value from simple logo placement
• Skilled in pricing, proposal development, negotiation, contract structuring, forecasting, and commercial decision‑making
• Comfortable operating as both a strategic leader and a hands‑on individual producer in an entrepreneurial environment
• Exceptional communication, presentation, networking, and relationship‑management skills with senior decision‑makers
• Disciplined user of CRM, pipeline reporting, and basic sales analytics; experience with Tripleseat, GoHighLevel, or similar platforms is a plus
• Willing and able to work select nights, weekends, holidays, and key events based on client and venue needs
• Knowledge of pickleball, padel, skating, experiential hospitality, or Boston’s corporate and events landscape is a plus

What’s in it for you

• A competitive base salary, performance‑based incentive opportunity, and benefits
• A senior commercial role with meaningful ownership of the Boston market and direct impact on venue performance
• A dynamic workplace at the intersection of sports, hospitality, events, and brand experiences
• Employee discounts on Ballers services, programming, and food and beverage