Sales Executive

Who you are

• Demonstrable success in, or understanding of, a sales or target-driven role
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with strong interpersonal and listening skills
• Effective negotiation and objection-handling abilities
• Highly organised with excellent time management
• Comfortable with high-volume outreach and proactive sales activity
• Self-motivated, resilient and results-driven
• Natural relationship builder and networker
• Experience in consumer events, exhibitions, or media sales would be desirable
• Market and industry knowledge relevant to live events would be an advantage
• Ambitious, with a strong desire to learn and develop
• Curious and proactive in identifying opportunities
• Collaborative team player
• Passionate about events and live experiences

What the job involves

• We are looking for a highly organised, enthusiastic, and resilient Sales Executive who enjoys building relationships, generating new business, and working closely with clients to deliver a high standard of customer service
• You will be part of the team working across the Craft portfolio, which includes 5 market leading events: The Festival of Quilts (Birmingham), Knit + Stitch (London/ Harrogate/ Northern Ireland) and The Stitch Festival in London)
• The five craft shows are some of the most successful in the business and you’ll be joining a fun and hard-working team, committed to making the events the best in the market
• Reporting to the Sales Development Manager and Head of Sales, you will work closely with the sales, sponsorship, marketing and operations teams to support both revenue generation and client delivery
• You will help manage stand bookings, lead generation, sales administration and exhibitor relationships, with a key focus on outbound activity to support stand sales
• Sales & Revenue Generation
• Sell stand space and digital products across the events, working to achieve revenue targets and meeting KPIs and yield expectations
• Make high-volume outbound calls (minimum 50 per week), with a strong focus on new business development
• Communicate clearly and professionally with clients via email and phone
• Attend competitor and industry events (as agreed) to generate leads and insights
• Client Management
• Manage client relationships from initial contact through to event delivery, attending meetings when required
• Develop a strong understanding of exhibitor needs through ongoing communication
• Pipeline, Reporting & Administration
• Actively generate new leads to build and manage your own pipeline with accuracy and accountability
• Maintain accurate forecasting and communicate pipeline progress to your manager
• Use the CRM system (Salesforce) to record all client interactions and maintain accurate data
• Track performance against KPIs and report on sales activity and achievements
• Maintain strong organisation across all aspects of your workload
• Ensure floorplans are accurate and support the team to ensure they align with Salesforce data
• Take responsibility for key admin tasks such as creation of the list of nameboards, creation of Welcome Packs and other onsite paperwork, proof reading for exhibitor related marketing collateral, ordering of required stationery etc
• Ensure the Exhibitor Manual is distributed to all exhibitors and work closely with the marketing team to ensure all digital benefits of participation are delivered
• Use project management tools and processes to ensure workflows are managed in a timely manner, and deadlines are met across multiple projects
• Collaboration & Internal Working
• Attend and actively participate in weekly sales & team meetings
• Collaborate with marketing to understand campaigns and enhance sales messaging
• Work closely with multiple teams across Immediate Live including the sales, marketing, editorial and operations teams, to help ensure seamless and positive participation for exhibitors
• Event Delivery & Onsite Activity
• Support onsite event delivery, including rebook campaigns to secure future revenue
• Attend agreed events, which may require travel and overnight stays
• Work closely with the operations team to deliver a seamless exhibitor/ client experience and ensure successful event execution and that onsite deliverables are fulfilled
• Use the time onsite to support relationship building and offer excellent customer service to all clients

Benefits

• Contributory pension
• Life assurance
• 25 days annual leave,
• Extra day off for your birthday
• Extra day off around Christmas
• Holiday purchase and sale scheme
• Recruitment referral scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Flexible/Hybrid Working
• Gym Discount
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption benefits
• Retail and restaurant discounts
• Child-care vouchers