Director, Corporate Partnerships – LA Lakers
LA Lakers

The Director, Corporate Partnerships is a proactive, high-energy sales executive with a deep love for the sports industry. This is a high-pressure, high-reward role. This position will leverage a positive reputation in the sports industry with the Lakers iconic brand to generate team revenue. It is ultra-responsive, corporate-client focused, and is responsible for business development and client relationship management, while maintaining Lakers brand guidelines.

Key Metrics Used To Evaluate Performance

• Dollars raised annually
• Renewal rate
• Client satisfaction (survey at end of each season)
• Number of new partners signed
• Impact of new/updated partnerships signed (amount of intangible value that can be leveraged across the Lakers company)
• Level of innovation incorporated into contracts

Essential Functions (Duties & Responsibilities**): 

Research

• Research and qualify leads (companies/people) and set up face-to-face appointments in pursuit of new business (usually spearheading 2-3 meetings before final proposal)
• Brainstorm creative leads in new categories capitalizing on changes in sports industry, Lakers team, fan preferences, what other NBA teams are doing, etc.

Sales

• Work cross-functionally with all departments to create comprehensive packages for sponsors, while ensuring a high level of internal communication relative to sales activities
• Understand partner brands and their competitors to develop solution-based platforms to help amplify partners’ brands, enable them to break through the clutter and achieve their marketing objectives 
• Provide new, innovative marketing ideas to assist in the advancement of sales efforts or upselling renewals
• Leverage Lakers games and other events to demonstrate the full-range of sponsorship potential to warm leads 
• Use Lakers Rate Card to creatively capture business and maintain accurate reporting regarding sales, forecasting, and account maintenance

Activation & Servicing

• Manage client relationships and drive renewals for future marketing programs (e.g. understand clients’ business priorities, timelines, and budgets to adapt past proposals and drive increased revenue)
• Represent the Lakers at games and promotional events

Management

• Lead, direct, and partner with the Coordinator(s), Corporate Partnerships to prepare complete sponsorship proposals
• Coach the Coordinator(s), Corporate Partnerships on partner brands in portfolio to better understand new brand strategies and changing budgets/ priorities to pitch strongest proposal
• Responsibilities subject to change based on organizational needs and direction from management.

Education (required/ preferred): Bachelor’s Degree (Business Administration or Marketing, preferred)

Previous Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years work experience in sales and customer service
• A proven track record of sales success (including cold calls and environments with high rates of rejection)
• Past experience making impactful presentations to senior executives
• A good reputation within the sports industry, in LA and nationally

Technology Capabilities: Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PPT essential), LinkedIn (Sales Navigator), the List, the Sports Business Journal (Resource Guide), Yahoo Finance, and other online lead generation tools. Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Strong Interpersonal skills (high EQ)
• Excellent people management skills
• Excellent presentation skills (must be client-ready)
• Creative problem solver who is able to connect today’s trends with Lakers inventory and differentiate new sponsors from existing sponsors
• Strong networking skills within the corporate community and the ability to develop lasting relationships
• Strong client relationship management (CRM) skills and exceptional responsiveness 
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership 
• Strong negotiation and sales tactics 
• Proven ability to meet ambitious deadlines and quotas
• Proven ability to navigate office politics and create internal buy-in around new ideas
• Proven track record of prioritization, organization, and the ability to multi-task

Location: El Segundo (offices M-F), downtown Los Angeles (Crypto.com Arena for select Laker home games), and other off-site client meetings

Travel: Must be willing to travel 5%-10% of the time to league meetings, client meetings, and occasional away games.

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