Position SummaryLA Orbit is building a new professional sports franchise in Los Angeles and helping shape the next chapter of women's volleyball. We are looking for a
Director, Partnership Sales to help build our commercial partnership business and drive new revenue for LA Orbit. This person will own the development of new corporate partnerships, from identifying and engaging prospective brands through building the opportunity, negotiating the deal and ultimately closing the partnership.
We're looking for someone who is a proven seller, a strong relationship builder and comfortable creating opportunities from a blank page. You know how to open doors, understand what matters to a brand and turn that understanding into a compelling partnership. You are equally comfortable building a prospect list, leading a conversation with a senior executive and working through the details required to get a deal across the finish line.
ResponsibilitiesDrive New Partnership Revenue- Own the full partnership sales cycle, from prospecting and outreach through discovery, ideation, proposal development, negotiation and close.
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified local, regional and national partnership prospects.
- Develop thoughtful prospecting strategies based on category, business objective and brand fit.
- Leverage existing brand, agency and industry relationships while consistently building new ones.
- Meet or exceed individual annual partnership revenue goals.
- Develop multi-year partnerships and identify new categories and revenue opportunities for LA Orbit.
Build Meaningful Partnerships- Lead consultative conversations with brand and agency decision-makers to understand their business, marketing and consumer objectives.
- Translate those objectives into customized partnership opportunities that create value for both the brand and LA Orbit.
- Develop partnerships across platforms including content, social, digital, experiential, community, hospitality, player storytelling, intellectual property and in-arena assets.
- Build compelling presentations and proposals that clearly communicate the idea, opportunity and value of the partnership.
- Stay current on the brand, sponsorship, sports and entertainment landscape to identify new categories and opportunities.
Own Your Business- Manage your pipeline, prospect activity, forecasting and next steps with discipline and accuracy.
- Maintain consistent visibility into pipeline health, revenue projections, key opportunities and potential roadblocks.
- Bring forward new prospects, categories and ideas rather than waiting for opportunities to be assigned.
- Work with the CRO to identify commercial whitespace and evolve LA Orbit's partnership strategy and go-to-market approach.
- Operate with urgency, accountability and the ability to move work forward independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
Collaborate Across LA Orbit- Work closely with Partnership Marketing and teams across the organization to develop partnership programs that can be executed at a high level.
- Ensure partnership commitments, expectations and key relationship context are clearly communicated as deals transition from sales to activation.
- Maintain strong senior-level relationships with the partners you bring into the organization while Partnership Marketing leads the day-to-day relationship.
- Represent LA Orbit at games, partner meetings, industry events and other business development opportunities.
- Contribute to building the processes, tools and standards that will help LA Orbit's partnership business scale.
Qualifications- 5+ years of successful partnership sales, sponsorship sales or business development experience, preferably within professional sports, entertainment, media, an agency or another relevant property.
- Demonstrated track record of prospecting, developing, negotiating and closing significant corporate partnerships.
- Strong relationships across brands, agencies and the broader marketing community, with the ability to create new conversations and opportunities.
- Experience selling integrated, customized partnerships rather than primarily transactional sponsorship inventory.
- Strong presentation, storytelling and negotiation skills, with confidence engaging senior executives and decision-makers.
- Creative and strategic thinker who can develop a partnership opportunity from a blank page.
- Highly self-motivated, organized and accountable, with a strong sense of urgency.
- Comfortable operating in a growing organization without a large support structure or fully established processes.
- Collaborative working style and ability to work effectively across teams.
- Ability to work games, events, evenings and weekends as required.
CompensationThe anticipated base salary range for this position is
$110,000-$120,000, depending on experience, plus a competitive commission plan tied to new partnership revenue.
