Senior Sales Manager - LIONS Riyadh

The Senior Sales Manager is responsible for revenue generation from new customers, existing customers and engaging external agents. 

The Senior Sales Manager will drive commercial growth for LIONS Riyadh by building and converting a strong pipeline of brands, agencies, media companies, technology platforms and creative businesses. 

You will be expected to source and close leads, to develop strategies to attract new customers through strong account management.

The role requires a consultative and creative sales approach – understanding client objectives and translating them into relevant opportunities across Festival presence, brand experiences, showcases and wider commercial participation. 

The successful candidate will combine strong sales discipline with a good understanding of the creative, advertising, marketing and media industries, allowing them to engage credibly with senior decision-makers and develop long-term client relationships. 

Working closely with the Head of Sales and wider Commercial, Marketing, Content and Creative teams, the role will help ensure commercial opportunities add value to both clients and the overall Festival experience.

Areas of Responsibility and Accountability: 

• Build and execute sales and account-development plans for LIONS Riyadh.

• Achieving personal and event revenue targets. 

• Identify and engage new prospects across brands, agencies, media, technology, production and the wider creative economy. 

• Build strong relationships with existing clients, identify growth opportunities and develop long-term account plans. 

• Develop a strong understanding of client objectives, challenges and audiences, and position relevant LIONS Riyadh opportunities against them. 

• Working closely with customers to ensure ROI 

• Meet with customers face to face, over the phone, virtually or in writing 

• Identify and map potential Customer pain points/needs/challenges and accurately position Tahaluf products, services and solutions as a solution to them 

• Write business proposals, drafting and reviewing Customer Contracts 

• Negotiate with multiple stakeholders for a win/win outcome 

• Develop bespoke commercial solutions in collaboration with internal teams rather than relying solely on standard inventory. 

• Maintain strong knowledge of the LIONS proposition, audience, content, Festival experience and commercial opportunities. 

•  Prepare sales forecasts and analysis and present findings to management through weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly reporting including risks, opportunities, wins and losses.

• Build and manage a high-quality sales pipeline across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and priority international markets. 

• Work collaboratively across Tahaluf to promote the wider capabilities and solutions 

• Build a social media presence through social selling to drive referrals and nurture potential Customers 

• Stay abreast of trends across advertising, media, marketing, technology, creativity and culture locally and internationally. 

• Keep Customer information/records up to date such as interactions, transactions, pipelines, new business account plans and record on the CRM system. 

• Attend/participate in Tahalufs and industry relevant seminars, associations, events, conference and competitor events where appropriate 

• Contribute market intelligence and client feedback to help shape future commercial products and Festival opportunities. 

Measures of Success: 

• Personal revenue targets.

• Conference portfolio revenue targets.

• New business revenue against target/KPIs.

• Number of net, new logos and new subsidiaries of existing logos.

• Forecasting accuracy.

• Ability to follow process – Salesforce / Forecasting / internal operations. 

• Pipeline conversion rate. 

• Achieve total revenue and profit targets monthly, quarterly and annually in line with New business Sales Strategy.

• Individual Development plan in place embracing Sales Excellence.

• Work with the Tahaluf team to deliver solutions and share best practices. 

• New business/Customer development plan objectives vs achievements. 

• Value and quality of strategic accounts secured. 

• Revenue generated across new commercial products and bespoke opportunities.

• Strength of relationships with priority brands, agencies, media and creative-industry clients.

• Client retention and rebooking performance.

• Contribution to the overall quality and commercial mix of LIONS Riyadh.

Function: Sales
Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level