Overview
The Detroit Lions are building something special and we want the right person in the room when it matters most. We're looking for a Senior Director of Corporate Partnership Sales to lead the charge in growing our corporate partnerships portfolio. This isn't just a sales role — it's a chance to shape the commercial future of one of the NFL's most storied franchises.
Responsibilities
- Drive the full sales cycle: identifying prospects, crafting compelling pitches, and closing deals that bring in new revenue while deepening relationships with existing partners.
- Work cross-functionally to build creative assets and programs backed by data, clearly demonstrating the values of a Lions partnership to sponsors, advertisers, and corporate allies.
- Create, develop, and sell fully integrated partnerships with local, regional, and national clients/markets and establish effective pursuit strategies to secure partnerships.
- Identify and collaboratively assess partnership opportunities while establishing new client relationships utilizing various sales strategies, including research, cold calls, site visits, and outside sales calls.
- Initiate contracts and develop mutually beneficial strategic relationships with partners to drive additional revenue generation.
- Manage the sustained development and management of partner relationships with a focus on plans which accomplish strategic objectives and a measurable return on investment.
- Work with internal departments to develop and execute programs that support partnership elements.
- Execute meetings, calls, and presentations with high-level corporate executives.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree with emphasis in Business, Communications, Marketing, or Management required.
- Minimum seven (7) years of sponsorship sales experience with a major league professional sports team or high-profile entertainment entity.
- Experience leading and coaching a team of sales professionals in a competitive environment.
- Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple assignments in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills with proven interpersonal aptitude.
- Ability to exercise sound business judgment and generate effective solutions quickly.
- Strong working knowledge of MS Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).
- Willingness to travel and work flexible hours including some weekends and evenings.