Regional Sales Director - Midwest

Job Summary 

The Regional Sales Manager (“RSD”) position is responsible for revenue generation from travel agency partners and direct management of all aspects of Crystal Cruises’ business development in an assigned geographic territory. The RSD is responsible for increasing sales and achieving established Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) for Crystal Cruises. This position will collaborate with various teams and departments within the company including but not limited to Marketing, Revenue Management, IT and Strategic and National Accounts to create programs which drive sales within their assigned sales region in order to support Crystal Cruises commercial objectives.  

Essential Job Duties

• Responsible for developing a Tier One portfolio of travel agency partners within their assigned geographic territory.  

• The number of travel agency partners in assigned territory will be established in conjunction with executive sales management, guided by revenue generation and business needs and is subject to change on an annual basis based on revenue.

• At such time Tier 2 agency partners are determined, collaborate with the Business Development team in an effort to engage and drive revenue production from that group of travel sellers located in the assigned region.

• “Sales Call” frequency:  RSD will be responsible for 20 – 25 physical and virtual sales meetings/calls each week and must be recorded and reported through the company’s CRM platform (TBD) and incorporated into monthly reports. Physical and virtual meetings are scheduled and conducted with the following objectives in place:

Revenue growth of the agency partner is the primary driver of each call.  Plans to achieve revenue growth will vary by account and business model.

Establish revenue targets with appropriate agency partners and consistently review revenue productivity and progress toward achieving assigned targets.

Conduct staff training (physical or virtual via webinars) to familiarize the agency’s travel advisors with the Crystal product to effectively sell the Crystal Cruises brand experience to the appropriate target customer.

Seek out and close affinity or promotional group business.  Assist agency advisors in identifying group opportunities within customer database as well as local/regional organizations.

• Create an annual overhead budget to achieve the above goals.

• Effectively and efficiently manage an assigned budget provided for the purpose of supporting co-operative marketing plans mutually agreed and developed in partnership with agencies in assigned region.  RSD will be required to provide a monthly forecast of marketing budget spend for the year as well as submit all invoices on a monthly basis. 

• Participate in travel agency partner consumer events both physical and virtual (i.e., Cruise Nights) as feasible given availability, cost, budget, and revenue opportunity.

• Identify and cultivate opportunities to generate NEW to brand revenue streams with existing accounts as well as new potential partnerships that will elevate Crystal Cruises’ market penetration and brand awareness.  

• Represent Crystal at industry trade shows and events when required in assigned territory in addition to any conference or event sponsored by a National Account or Consortia partner as requested.

• Participate in ship inaugurals and onboard events as required as well as plan and conduct “seminar at sea” or familiarization cruises as approved.

• Maintain an e-mail database of travel advisors for the purpose of communicating offers, news, and information about Crystal Cruises.

• Conduct informational webinars as appropriate and/or requested by executive management.

• Maintain a presence on at least one Social Media site of choice (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.). RSD can choose to use their personal social media account or establish a separate account for Crystal Cruises messaging. Create original content under the direction of Crystal Cruises’ brand guidelines or share Crystal Cruise posts at least once per week.

• Annual Business Plans:  RSD will be required to analyze territory sales, marketing ROI, challenges and opportunities and provide a detailed business plan to supervisor by December 1st of each calendar year that covers the next calendar year. This plan must include a detailed course of action to grow sales within assigned agency partners in their region, including but not limited to requested marketing funds, trade show/conference attendance, anticipated travel & entertainment expenses, sponsorship opportunities, memberships, etc.

• Effectively utilize both company technology and online technology to ensure speed to market.  Must be proficient in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Crystal Cruises’ reservations system, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform and standard business technology including all features of mobile devices, office electronics, printers, scanners etc. Reservation system (viewing access only) and CRM training will be provided.

• Competent in creating and submitting required monthly reports or ad-hoc reports in a timely manner as requested by Crystal management. Reports will include but not limited to:

• Weekly Sales Report – data entered into and reported via CRM and ultimately in monthly report.

• Monthly Sales Report – includes executive summary of activities by week, summarizes the competitive environment, advising management of any specific problems that need attention, and report any trends or observations that may be crucial to our business environment and may have impact on Crystal Cruises’ operating environment. Includes monthly sales call and event activity.

• Expense Reports – submitted bi-weekly or monthly as determined by the accounting department.

• Marketing spend Forecast – due monthly.

• 60-day planned calendar with detailed calls, 3-month advance notice in calendar of locations for travel, annual overall plan for travel.

Business Development Expectation:  RSD must achieve no less than a yearly average of 85% of the established revenue target.  An individual quarterly performance may fall below 85%, however, the average of all four quarters combined must be 85% or above.  Incentive payout begins at 90% of goal.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Functions, duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Competency

Education: Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 5 – 10 years of experience in travel industry sales. Luxury Cruise Line experience preferred.

• Extensive knowledge of the luxury cruise market and competitive set.

• Extensive international destination knowledge, including Crystal Cruises’ destinations preferred.

• Existing travel industry sales relationships in assigned territory/region.

• Demonstrated track record of sales success required with a leading luxury travel company.

• Management experience that includes sales team management preferred.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Positive, energetic, and professional demeanor.

• Excellent sales, customer service and relationship building skills.

• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.

• Exceptional organizational and administrative skills.

• Self-motivated and results oriented with proven ability to achieve sales objectives.

• Capable of working independently with minimal day to day direction.

• Capable of multi-tasking and working in a fast-paced environment.

• Skilled at problem solving and decision making.  

• Ability to tactfully handle both internal and external contact challenges with the intent of finding mutually beneficial solutions.

• Ability to maintain professionalism when faced with adversity, particularly when supporting company policies and positions that may not be accepted or understood.

• Fluency in MS Office applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

• Must be able to travel as needed domestically and internationally.

• Must have a valid driver’s license as well as a reliable and well-maintained vehicle to be used for business purposes.

Physical Demands