Sales Lead

SUMMARY:
Luxury Estate, Hotel & Spa based close to Somerset West is looking for an experienced and commercially driven Sales Lead to join their team and take ownership of growing the sales pipeline, developing strategic client relationships and driving sustainable revenue growth.
 
The Sales Lead will be responsible for identifying, developing and converting new and existing business opportunities across key market segments, while building strong, long-term relationships with high-value clients and commercial partners.
 
The role will have a strong focus on:
 

• Corporate and leisure business
• MICE, groups, conferences and incentives
• Weddings and events
• Travel trade, DMCs and tour operators
• Luxury travel and lifestyle markets
• Preferred partnerships and strategic accounts
• New business development and proactive prospecting

POSITION INFO:
Duties: Develop and implement sales strategies aligned with commercial objectives. Take ownership of agreed sales targets and revenue objectives. Proactively identify, qualify and convert new business opportunities. Develop and maintain a strong and measurable sales pipeline. Build and grow relationships with key corporate accounts, agencies, DMCs, PCOs, travel trade partners, event organisers and wedding planners Conduct regular sales calls, client visits, presentations, networking and industry engagements. Develop strategic account plans and identify opportunities for account growth and repeat business. Drive MICE, group, incentive, wedding and events business. Conduct client site inspections, familiarisations and hosted experiences. Work closely with Revenue Management to align sales activity with demand, pricing, availability and commercial strategy. Provide market intelligence, competitor insights and forward-looking sales information to Revenue and senior management. Collaborate closely with Marketing to support campaigns, partnerships and brand initiatives. Ensure confirmed business is accurately and comprehensively handed over to the relevant operational teams. Maintain accurate pipeline, account and client information and provide regular sales reporting and forecasts. Monitor sales performance, conversion, room nights, revenue and other agreed KPIs. Requirements: Proven experience in a luxury hospitality sales environment. Strong knowledge of corporate, leisure, MICE, groups, weddings, travel trade, DMC and high-end travel markets. A demonstrated track record of generating new business and achieving sales targets. Strong business development, prospecting, negotiation and closing abilities. Experience in strategic account management and developing commercial partnerships. Excellent relationship-building and communication skills. Strong presentation and negotiation skills. The ability to interpret sales and revenue data and translate insights into practical sales activity. Experience working with luxury travel advisors, consortia, DMCs and international travel trade partners will be advantageous. Experience with Event or similar MICE\/RFP platforms. Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the full sales cycle. The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a wider commercial and operational team. Willingness to travel locally as required. A valid driver's licence.