Sales Manager, BBC Gardeners' World Events

Sales Manager, BBC Gardeners' World Events (up to £45,000 plus commission)

Immediate is home to some of the biggest and most loved consumer brands in the UK, including Radio Times, Good Food and BBC Gardeners World magazine. Our trusted, quality content reaches millions of people a month across digital, print, video, podcasts, apps and live events.

We’re the destination for people looking to get more from the things they love. We’re here to inspire, fuel, encourage and educate.

Whether it’s the big things, or the little things; from reaching fitness goals to savouring good food, cultivating outdoor spaces, or enjoying the latest TV sensation – we help bring our audience’s joy!

About the role

BBC Gardeners’ World is the UKs biggest and most trusted gardening brand. You will manage and lead a team selling across the BBC Gardeners’ World Event portfolio, which includes our flagship event, BBC Gardeners’ World Live now in its 35th year, and 2 new BBC Gardeners’ World Fairs. Reporting into the Event Director you will be responsible for all revenue sales across your team as well as selling stand space, sponsorship packages and digital assets across the events, to both existing and new clients – from retailers to well-known household brands; and sponsors that are endemic and nonendemic to the brands. 

You’ll love this role if;

If you are a passionate and highly skilled Sales Manager who is target driven, this could be the perfect role for you. You will be a natural leader, who thinks strategically and creatively for commercial gain, and can execute a plan that delivers results.   

The right candidate will be extremely organised and able to perform well under pressure. Knowledge and experience of sales planning, pipeline management, KPI metrics, delivering results and detailed reporting are fundamental to this role. You will be results focused in everything you do.  

This role requires exceptional leadership and management skills. You will be able to coach, train and manage to ensure that commercial expectations are met, and your team are highly motivated.

As a Sales and Sponsorship Manager you will;

• Manage and lead the Sales Executive to drive revenue working to a team target. You will report into the Event Director but be in regular contact with the Sponsorship Manager to ensure you are aligned and reporting correct.
• You will sell stand space, a proportion of sponsorship, and digital assets to new and existing business, demonstrating excellent phone and face to face skills, and delivering high quality written communication including complex proposals.  You may be required to travel to meet with key clients.
• Identify where there is opportunity to not only deliver sales result but grow the business through yield, average order values, volume, earlier sales, up sells, pricing structures and new revenue streams.

• Communicating and managing all sales KPI’s with an outstanding knowledge of the pipeline and the impact it will have to forecast sales. You will forecast with accuracy for short and long-term periods, making informed evidence-based decisions, and will communicate this at all levels with absolute clarity.
• Sourcing, selling, managing, and maintaining sponsorship customers, with the assistance from Sponsorship Executive to help deliver agreements. You will have excellent sales skills with the ability to understand the needs of a client, match them to products or create new profitable opportunities.
• Report with attention to detail, good narrative and present in an informative way. You will communicate all commercials with the Event Director ensuring forecasts are tracked and monitored in line with the budget. Any concerns for potential revenue issues must be raised in a timely fashion with proposed solutions.
• Be a role model and great leader for your team and others across the events business.  You will be mentor, manager, and motivator for your sales team to ensure they deliver results and have the ability to develop personally. You will help support and manage their workload and responsibilities.
• Creating an exprom plan in line with the sales strategy. You will work in collaboration with marketing team, creating a clear brief for impactful email campaigns, sales materials and creating excellent copy. Insight from the marketing team will support decisions on what marketing activity is working, when PR campaigns should run and what content will help support the sales.
• Commercial management of the show floorplans for each show, ensuring the plan is offering the best commercial opportunities, and will deliver and exceed the budgets (P&L sits with Portfolio Director and Event Director maximising where there is opportunity).
• Support in the delivery of all exhibitor-associated assets that are requirements or provided by  partners and service providers. These include but are not exhaustive to; event guides, web listing, onsite floorplans.
• Establishing an excellent understanding of the business CRM system (salesforce), ensuring both yourself and all team members use it for all customer contact, and it is used for all financial reporting outside of reports from accounts.
• Have a good understanding of our GDPR obligations and how all salespeople must be communicating with clients/prospects, storing, and managing their data.

• Demonstrable success in sales roles with a goal and target driven approach  
• Highly organized with excellent time management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Clear communicator and strong interpersonal skills, with excellent listening skills
• Outstanding negotiation and objection handing skills
• Passion for organizing events
• Effective manager, leader, coach, and mentor
• Decisive and self-led
• Presents as professional and trustworthy
• Desire to network with others to build a better business

Desirable Criteria 

• Experience in consumer events or exhibitions
• Demonstrable market and industry knowledge

• A relaxed working environment with regular socials including a summer festival

• Supportive well-being initiatives and benefits, talks & workshops, and Mental Health First aiders & Champions
• 25 days holiday plus a day for your birthday. Our offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s which are in addition to your annual entitlement
• Tailored training and development through both our inhouse learning platform and LinkedIn Learning
• A progressive and transparent culture focused on your development  
• Flexible / hybrid working
• Cycle to work scheme
• Enhanced Family Policies including paternity, adoption and surrogacy leave. We also provide a pregnancy loss, fertility, and carers policy
• Competitive pension plans and Life Assurance
• A newly renovated modern office with lots of collaborative spaces

At Immediate, we pride ourselves on our open, inclusive, collaborative, and dynamic culture that empowers our people to thrive and give their best. We care deeply about our people, our local communities and the impact we have on the environment. Our active Diversity & Inclusion network, comprehensive well-being programs, and clear sustainability strategies reflect this commitment.

People are at the heart of our business and creating a diverse and inclusive working environment is important to us. Immediate is an equal opportunities employer. We’ll never treat anyone less favourably because of their sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marital/civil partnerships, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic origin, age, religion or belief or disability. We’re also committed to supporting applications from those who are returning to work following a career break, maternity leave or caring responsibilities.

Immediate is a place you can grow, be supported, and make a difference.