Catering & Events Sales Manager

A Catering & Event Sales Manager is responsible for developing and executing strategies to meet and exceed sales goal expectations, servicing social and corporate clients throughout Metro Atlanta, Georgia, and Southeast in conjunction with their counterpart in production.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Uphold the high standards of 1218 Kitchen Group's handbook and policies.
• Represent and uphold the 1218 KG's core values (CEASE): Collaboration, Excellence, Adaptability, Sustainability, and Education.
• Prospect and actively solicit all types of new catering business through various methods, including cold calling, attending industry & community networking events, referrals, office visits, etc.
• Pursue, develop, and maintain client relationships through networking and prospecting, ensuring that prospects are converted to clients, and clients' expectations are met through effective communication, planning and customer service
• Establish and maintain relationships with industry influencers and key community and strategic partners for maximum exposure
• Collaborate with counterpart in production on team sales goal & sales plan development to achieve monthly, quarterly, and annual team sales goal targets
• Ensure all inquiries and leads are responded to in an enthusiastic and timely manner
• Provide excellent customer service and expertise to clients, supporting them from initial inquiry through menu and event development during the proposal and negotiations stage, ensuring customer satisfaction and retention
• Process correspondence (internal & external), proposals, contracts, and BEOs accurately, and in a timely manner
• Conduct in‐house tastings for social/wedding/corporate events prior to event booking
• Conduct off‐site tastings/demos for potential new corporate delivery clients
• Conduct site tours/visits with potential clients prior to event booking
• Attend events day-of as needed to further client relationship and ensure customer satisfaction
• Work with a sense of urgency and duty to actively complete work assignments with detail, accuracy, and a focus on the customer experience
• Remain current of national trends in the industry and local market changes to best serve clients
• Develop and maintain relationships with industry partners & outside vendors
• Attend weekly sales team meeting
• Handle and resolve customer complaints with the support of upper management
• Keep the Director of Sales informed of any issues occurring during the negotiations and sales process for each event
• Other duties as assigned by the Director of Sales

SECONDARY/SUPPORT DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support and assist counterpart in production during the planning and execution process as needed to ensure the highest level of customer service and satisfaction
• Work with clients to gather all necessary information to ensure event setup & execution details are accurate and all information is efficiently communicated to the staff
• Communicate and distribute all event information to appropriate internal staff and managers, working directly with all other departments to ensure all event details are accounted for
• On occasion may need to conduct in‐house tastings for social/wedding/corporate events after event booking
• On occasion may need to conduct detailing meetings for larger detailed events
• On occasion may need to conduct site visits with booked clients, creating space plans/event layouts when necessary
• Manage outsourced vendor services for events, including placing/confirming orders, communicating event details, directing on-site as needed, and processing invoices in a timely manner
• Attend and manage on-site execution of events from installation, delivery, and setup through dinner service, and on occasion through to event conclusion as needed.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Indirectly supervise onsite staff. Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include planning, assigning, and directing onsite work, addressing complaints, and resolving problems.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

• Professional, enthusiastic, responsible, and dependable team player
• Highly organized with meticulous attention to detail
• Can work well under pressure
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to prepare and deliver clear, concise reports and presentations that are understandable by the target audience
• Strong management skills and proven project management experience with the ability to manage on-going multiple priorities
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Results driven
• Self‐motivated, takes initiative and willing to acquire new skills
• Adept at building teams
• Willingness to work in a collaborative environment with co‐workers from diverse technical backgrounds
• Ability to plan, service and supervise a variety of events with the assistance and cooperation of other staff members
• Ability to anticipate equipment and other logistical needs for individual events
• Proven ability to deal in a professional and cordial manner with the public attending events
• Ability to quickly identify and resolve problems
• Ability to function independently and intuitively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong logic and reasoning skills to identify strengths and weakness of alternative solutions and approaches to issues as they arise
• Ability to exercise sound judgement and make proper decisions in handling incidents at all types of events
• A basic knowledge of sales and business management practices and procedures
• Ability to compile and maintain records pertaining to events
• Ability to manage confidential information and maintain its integrity
• Strong computer skills that include proficiency with MS Office and Google applications, Catering and CRM software
• High level of personal hygiene
• Some local travel is required