Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Business Development serves as Louisville Hotel Partnership's dedicated business development executive focused on identifying, originating, qualifying, and advancing new citywide convention, trade show, exhibition, association, corporate, and group business opportunities for Louisville, Kentucky.

 This position is structured as an independent contractor engagement. LHP anticipates an initial three (3)-year relationship and is seeking a seasoned business development professional interested in building a sustained, long-term partnership with the organization. The engagement will be governed by a written independent contractor agreement that includes periodic performance and strategic alignment reviews, renewal provisions, and termination rights. Continuation of the engagement will depend on performance, strategic alignment, continued business need, available funding, and compliance with the agreement.

This position operates as a highly strategic "hunter" role. The engagement is primarily intended to generate new opportunities, create relationships with key decision-makers, develop a robust pipeline of future business, and advance opportunities through the sales cycle primarily focusing on citywide programs.

Unlike traditional destination sales positions, this role is principally responsible for originating and cultivating new business opportunities rather than managing the full transaction process. Once qualified opportunities are identified and positioned for pursuit, leads may be transitioned to Louisville Tourism Convention Development team members for proposal development, bid management, and final contract execution while the Director remains strategically invested throughout the sales process.

The Director of Business Development will focus on securing citywide convention and trade show opportunities, targeting need periods and high-impact business that drives incremental hotel demand and economic impact for Louisville Hotel Partnership stakeholders.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Business Origination & Pipeline Development

• Proactively identify, research, qualify, and originate new convention, trade show, association, exhibition, and corporate group opportunities for Louisville.
• Develop a continuous pipeline through strategic prospecting, relationship development, market intelligence, industry research, referrals, and outbound sales efforts.
• Serve as Louisville Hotel Partnership's dedicated new business development resource focused on generating opportunities not currently within Louisville Tourism's active sales pipeline.
• Conduct targeted outreach using industry databases, IDSS CRM, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Knowland, Mint+, industry directories, exhibit house intelligence, and market research tools.
• Maintain a robust pipeline with emphasis on high-value citywide business and need-month demand generation.

Strategic Market Development

• Identify opportunities to shift market share from competing destinations and convention centers.
• Pursue business displaced by convention center renovations, expansion projects, capacity constraints, and market disruptions throughout North America.
• Develop new opportunities in underpenetrated and emerging markets.
• Monitor industry trends, convention rotations, corporate meeting patterns, and trade show marketplace activity to uncover future prospects.

Relationship Development

• Establish and maintain executive-level relationships with association executives, corporate decision-makers, exhibition organizers, third-party intermediaries, exhibit houses, show management companies, and industry influencers.
• Develop portfolio-level relationships with organizations capable of producing multiple future opportunities.
• Represent Louisville Hotel Partnership in conjunction with Louisville Tourism while traveling to potential convention/show targets.
• Maintain active membership and participation in targeted industry organizations.

Opportunity Advancement & Pull-Through

• Coordinate with designated Louisville Tourism Convention Development representatives to evaluate and prioritize opportunities while independently determining the appropriate methods and approach for performing the contracted services.
• Transition qualified opportunities to designated Louisville Tourism sales professionals for proposal development, bid coordination, transaction management, and contract negotiation based on the current team deployment.
• Remain actively engaged throughout the sales cycle to influence outcomes, remove obstacles, strengthen customer relationships, and support successful conversion to definite status.
• Assist with strategic presentations, customer site inspections, executive-level meetings, and bid presentations as needed.

Sales Activity & Reporting

• Maintain all prospect activity, contacts, opportunities, sales calls, customer interactions, notes, and traces within IDSS CRM.
• Deliver regular pipeline development reports, activity summaries, and performance updates for Louisville Hotel Partnership leadership as established in the independent contractor agreement or mutually agreed-upon annual work plan.
• Track and report key performance indicators related to lead generation, qualified opportunities, customer engagement, pipeline value, and business development effectiveness.
• Assist with annual business plans, target account strategies, budget management, and market development initiatives as needed as it pertains to the needs and demands of the role.

Industry Representation

• Maintain memberships in relevant industry organizations.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of Louisville's hotels, Kentucky International Convention Center, Kentucky Exposition Center, attractions, transportation infrastructure, airline service, and destination enhancements.

Engagement Reviews and Continuation

• Participate in formal engagement reviews at mutually established intervals, anticipated to occur at least annually.
• Reviews will consider progress against agreed-upon objectives, pipeline development, business origination, strategic alignment, collaboration effectiveness, continued organizational need, and available funding.
• The parties may update objectives, priorities, target markets, and performance measures by mutual agreement as business conditions evolve.
• LHP’s intention is to establish a successful, long-term relationship extending beyond the anticipated initial term. Any continuation or renewal will be subject to mutual agreement, satisfactory performance, organizational need, available funding, and required LHP approvals.
• The engagement remains subject to the termination and notice provisions contained in the independent contractor agreement.

Other Responsibilities

• Perform additional services or special projects that are mutually agreed upon by the contractor and authorized LHP representatives and documented as appropriate under the independent contractor agreement.

KEY PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

Engagement success will be evaluated primarily through agreed-upon results and deliverables, which may include:

• Qualified new business opportunities originated
• New citywide leads generated
• Pipeline value created
• Decision-maker relationships established
• Strategic account development
• Need-month opportunity generation
• Sales activity levels
• Future room night potential identified
• Definite bookings influenced through originated business
• Return on investment generated for Louisville Hotel Partnership partners

Success will be based principally on measurable business origination and pipeline creation, followed by the contractor’s contribution to the pull-through and conversion of originated opportunities in coordination with the Louisville Tourism Convention Development team. Specific annual objectives will be established by mutual agreement and may be adjusted to reflect market conditions, destination priorities, and the maturity of the sales pipeline.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Minimum 8-15 years of progressive experience in convention sales, destination sales, hotel national sales, trade show sales, exhibition sales, or related hospitality industry experience.
• Experience in a hunter-oriented business development role with responsibility for identifying and generating new business opportunities.
• Proven track record of developing high-value business opportunities and revenue generation.
• Experience selling large-scale convention, trade show, exhibition, association, or corporate meeting business preferred.
  Industry Knowledge
• Strong understanding of DMO/CVB operations, convention center sales, hotel group sales, and national meetings industry dynamics.
• Knowledge of convention, association, trade show, and exhibition business cycles.
• Understanding of third-party intermediaries, the exhibit house ecosystem, and meeting industry distribution channels.

Professional Competencies

• True hunter mentality and self-starter.
• Exceptional prospecting and relationship-building skills.
• Strong executive presence and presentation abilities.
• Strategic thinker capable of identifying emerging business opportunities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly organized with strong time-management skills.
• Results-oriented and accountable.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a broader sales organization.

Technical Skills

• Experience with CRM platforms such as Simpleview preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience using sales intelligence and prospecting tools preferred.
• Ability to analyze market data and build strategic target account plans.

Travel

• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout North America.
• Estimated travel commitment of approximately 30%-40% annually.

This is a full-time contract role for 3 years.