Group Sales Manager

Confidential • Full-time • Cleveland, OH, US • $55k - $60k / year • 1w ago

About the Company

We are a growing hospitality organization with a portfolio of distinctive brewery, restaurant, sports, and event venues throughout Ohio. Our properties serve as community gathering places and destination venues, offering a wide range of experiences including corporate events, celebrations, private dining, weddings, fundraisers, social gatherings, sporting events, and community functions.

We are seeking a Group Sales Manager to grow group sales, private events, and private dining revenue across the portfolio.

Position Overview

The Group Sales Manager will be responsible for generating, managing, and growing group sales and private event revenue across multiple hospitality properties.

From corporate outings and rehearsal dinners to watch parties, holiday events, fundraisers, brewery experiences, and custom celebrations, this role is focused on building relationships, filling event calendars, maximizing revenue, and delivering memorable guest experiences.

This is a hands-on sales role for a highly motivated relationship builder who is comfortable prospecting for new business, closing deals, managing multiple clients and events, and working closely with operations to ensure successful execution.

The ideal candidate will be both sales-driven and hospitality-minded, with the ability to balance revenue goals with exceptional client service.

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Lead Generation

Develop and execute a group sales strategy across the company’s portfolio of hospitality properties.
Proactively identify and pursue new group sales opportunities for corporate events, private parties, group dining, celebrations, weddings, fundraisers, sports events, and other gatherings.
Build and maintain relationships with corporate clients, event planners, wedding professionals, hotels, tourism organizations, local businesses, chambers, and community organizations.
Respond promptly and professionally to incoming event inquiries and guide clients through the sales process from initial inquiry through booking.
Conduct proactive outreach, including cold calling, email campaigns, networking, referrals, and in-person business development.
Maintain a healthy pipeline of prospective clients and consistently pursue new business opportunities.
Conduct venue tours, tastings, client meetings, and presentations.
Develop customized proposals and event packages based on client needs and revenue objectives.
Negotiate and close contracts while protecting company revenue and profitability.

Client Management & Event Planning

Serve as the primary point of contact for group and private event clients.
Manage the full sales cycle, including inquiry, proposal, contract, deposit, planning, execution hand-off, and post-event follow-up.
Work closely with General Managers, culinary teams, event managers, and front-of-house staff to coordinate event details, menus, layouts, timelines, and guest expectations.
Maintain clear and consistent communication with clients throughout the planning process.
Ensure accurate BEOs and event documentation are completed and communicated to the appropriate operational teams.
Provide a seamless hand-off to operations for day-of execution.
Follow up with clients after events to encourage repeat business, referrals, and long-term relationships.
Assist at venues as needed to support successful events and maintain a strong connection between sales and operations.

Revenue & Calendar Management

Own and grow the group and private event calendars across the company’s portfolio.
Maintain a healthy mix of corporate, social, community, and special-event bookings.
Identify opportunities to increase event revenue, average spend, and frequency of bookings.
Develop strategies to maximize space utilization and revenue per event.
Work with leadership to establish and achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual sales goals.
Monitor sales performance across each property and adjust strategies based on seasonality, demand, and business needs.
Identify opportunities to drive business during traditionally slower periods.
Develop seasonal and property-specific sales strategies in coordination with marketing and operations.
Analyze event sales trends and make recommendations to improve revenue and profitability.

Marketing & Business Development

Partner with marketing to develop campaigns promoting private events, group dining, and venue experiences.
Assist in the creation and ongoing refinement of sales materials, event packages, menus, proposals, and promotional collateral.
Represent the company at local networking events, bridal shows, chamber meetings, trade events, community functions, and other business development opportunities.
Develop strategic partnerships with local businesses, hotels, event professionals, tourism organizations, and community groups.
Leverage each property’s unique identity and strengths to create compelling sales opportunities.

Reporting & Administration

Track leads, proposals, bookings, follow-ups, and sales activity using CRM and event management tools.
Generate weekly reports on booking performance, sales activity, pipeline health, and upcoming events.
Maintain accurate client records, contracts, deposits, BEOs, and communication logs.
Track key performance indicators including lead volume, conversion rate, booked revenue, average event spend, repeat business, and revenue by property.
Close out all events with appropriate details and accounting metrics.
Provide leadership with regular sales forecasts and recommendations.
Maintain accurate and timely administrative records while ensuring no sales opportunities fall through the cracks.

Portfolio & Team Collaboration

Because this role supports multiple unique hospitality properties, the Group Sales Manager will act as a central sales resource for the portfolio while working closely with each location’s leadership team.

Partner with each General Manager and operations team to understand the strengths, capacity, and sales opportunities of each property.
Communicate upcoming events, client expectations, and special requirements clearly to operations.
Establish consistent sales processes and best practices across all locations.
Share successful sales strategies and opportunities across the portfolio.
Help ensure that the client experience remains consistent from the initial sales conversation through event execution.
Serve as a bridge between the client, sales team, and venue operations.

Qualifications

3+ years of experience in group/event sales, hospitality sales, catering, venue sales, or a related field.
Proven ability to meet or exceed sales goals and grow event revenue.
Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
Hospitality-first mindset with a genuine commitment to exceptional guest experiences.
Highly organized with excellent attention to detail, follow-through, and time management.
Comfortable managing multiple clients, events, and properties simultaneously.
Self-motivated and proactive, with the ability to generate new business rather than relying solely on inbound leads.
Strong understanding of private events, group dining, and hospitality operations.
Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with leadership and venue teams.
Familiarity with CRM systems, event software, BEOs, and Google Workspace preferred.
Flexibility to travel between venues regularly. Company vehicle or travel stipend available.
Availability to occasionally work evenings, weekends, and special events as business needs require.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means more than simply booking events. The Group Sales Manager will be responsible for building a repeatable, scalable group sales program that consistently drives revenue across the company’s portfolio.

Key performance indicators may include: