JOB SUMMARY:The
Director, Business Development leads the Cleveland Sirens' new business membership sales strategy and the team responsible for it. This is a builder's role: the Sirens take the court for the first time in 2028, and this leader will grow the season ticket membership base from the ground up, turning early community momentum into a full book of new members. Reporting to the Vice President, Ticket Sales & Service, this leader owns new membership acquisition end to end - lead generation, prospecting and closing - and carries the annual new-business membership revenue plan. They are equally comfortable building a strategic plan and getting on the phone or in the room to close business themselves. The successful candidate is a strategic thinker and a proven sales leader who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and is energized by the challenge of building a new membership base from scratch.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: - Own the annual new-business membership revenue plan, and be accountable for hitting and exceeding it.
- Lead, coach and develop the Business Development team of Account Executives through regular one-on-ones, team meetings and performance reviews.
- Design and run the prospecting, lead generation and closing process for new season ticket memberships, including outbound calling campaigns, referral programs and Early Bird-style initiatives.
- Set the strategy for gameday and in-arena selling initiatives and prospect events aimed at converting leads into new members, and own the ROI analysis for each.
- Build and continuously improve the new membership sales process - prospecting, RSVP tours, online inquiries - and ensure the team documents activity accurately in Salesforce.
- Partner with Business Intelligence and Consumer Marketing to generate and qualify new membership leads, drive traffic to clevelandsirens.com, and grow online sales.
- Design and lead ongoing sales training and onboarding for new team members on the Business Development team.
- Manage the department's budget, staffing plan and hiring, and build the team structure needed to scale new membership sales from launch through the Sirens' first full season.
- Hand off new members to the Membership Development team smoothly, and partner with that team and Premium Sales & Service to align pricing, inventory and the overall Guest experience.
- Perform additional duties as assigned by the Vice President, Ticket Sales & Service.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: - Bachelor's degree in business, sports management, sales or a related field.
- 6-8 years of relevant sales experience, including 3+ years leading a sales team; experience in season ticket membership sales in sports or entertainment strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success building and hitting aggressive new-business revenue targets.
- Experience hiring, developing and retaining sales talent.
- Comfort operating in a start-up or launch environment, where process and playbooks are still being built.
- Proficiency with Salesforce or a comparable CRM, plus Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint).
- Excellent communication and executive presence; able to represent the department to senior leadership and lead from the front on major pitches.
COMPENSATION: - Base Salary + Annual Bonus + Commission.
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision benefits for team members and dependents.
- Employer 401K match.
- Complimentary downtown/onsite parking at arena.
- Vacation (PTO), Personal Significance Days, Holiday pay
- Home tickets (Cavs, Monsters, Charge), Cavs team shop discount, and much more!
