Job title: Group Sales Manager

Hours: 37.5 hours   

Location: Havant Leisure Centre 

Salary:   £35,000 - £38,500 

Looking for a workplace that ignites your passion, values respect, encourages innovation, and embraces being dynamic? Look no further! This role offers you the opportunity to join a team that believes in empowering its colleagues to unlock their full potential with Horizon.

The Role:

Working closely with the Commercial Director, you will be responsible for the development and delivery of sales and reactive retention strategies to maximise membership income and growth while driving customer retention.

You will lead in developing and embedding a strong sales and retention culture throughout the business and actively seek ways to drive new customer acquisition opportunities. You will be the direct line management of Membership Sales Advisors and the Customer Retention Assistant. You will also design and oversee sales approaches for non-sales team members, including Receptionists and Duty Managers.

What does the role involve?

A hands-on role that requires you to: 

• Lead the Membership Sales and Customer Retention teams to achieve Horizon’s membership growth targets, improving attrition rates, increasing member yield, and optimising membership mix and count.
• Collaborate with the Marketing Manager on membership sales campaigns, ensuring high-quality execution, accurate tone, effective pricing, and impactful messaging.
• Foster a high-performance culture by coaching and developing team members to maximise day to day prospecting delivery, ensuring they reach their full potential.
• Embed and enforce sales policies and procedures across all teams, ensuring consistent delivery of monthly sales and retention targets.
• Champion the use of digital platforms and software systems to enhance membership acquisition and retention.
• Provide detailed performance reports to the Commercial Director, highlighting successes and areas for improvement.
• Lead on all pricing strategies, utilising competitor analysis to inform business decisions.
• Deliver a proactive sales outreach programme, including participation in local business and community events to enhance brand awareness and drive sales.
• Engage with local communities and businesses to build partnerships and drive corporate sales opportunities.
• Design and embed a compelling Sales & Reactive Retention strategy aligned with Horizon’s purpose, vision, and commercial objectives, covering all aspects of the customer journey (engagement, pre-sales, sales, delivery, and retention).
  Optimise every stage of the customer journey, including initiatives like ‘Refer a Friend’ and membership renewals.
• Create new member sales campaigns utilising our CRM system.
• Process commission for sales team, working closely with finance.
• Providing adequate sales cover for sickness and annual leave, covering where/if necessary.
• Create a comprehensive corporate sales and partnerships strategy, leveraging the local area surrounding each site.
• Coach and educate the sales teams in ensuring 60% of our new customers are booked in for an appointment at point of sale.
• Provide customer and prospect feedback to Operations and Marketing teams to improve offerings and experiences.
• Regularly review membership terms and conditions, ensuring compliance with legislation and industry best practices.
• Lead the execution of reactive retention strategies, with a focus on reducing cancellations and maximising renewals both online and offline.
• Present periodic performance updates to the Leadership Team and Board of Trustees.
• Conduct monthly Sales/Retention meetings, inviting the Leadership Team for input.
• Collaborate with the Area Manager and operational teams to uphold quality standards related to customer experience and feedback.
• Advocate for a customer-centric culture across the organisation.
• Proactively research new sales opportunities across all sites including outreach campaigns locally to deliver promotions and generate new leads.

Your Experience:

• Working in a commercial sales role within the leisure sector would be advantageous.
• Leading a team and setting SMART objectives to improve company performance.
• Demonstrable experience of developing continuous improvement in sales standards and performance.
• Working to clear sales KPI’s and targets to improve organisational performance.

Your Qualifications:

• A degree or NVQ 5 is desirable.

Skills and competencies:

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate at all levels.
• An effective and visible leader with the presence to inspire teams to achieve clear and measurable outcomes.
• Strong awareness and knowledge of customers across various exercise cohorts, such as gym, group exercise and swim.
• Providing concise reports as required by members of the Leadership Team.
• Strong organisational skills to ensure projects are achieved within clearly defined timescales.
  
• Demonstrate a balance between direction, coaching, empowerment, and assertiveness.
  
• Decisive and assertive when required.
• Commercial acumen and forward planning.
  
• Ability to implement new initiatives ensuring they are embedded across the operational teams.

What you can expect from us:

• A comprehensive induction and training programme; you don’t need to have worked in the leisure industry before. We will teach you all you need to know!
• Support from the wider team who have a great deal of combined knowledge and experience and who are eager to help you succeed!
• Variety; no two days is the same!
• An environment that encourages innovation and free thinking, surrounded by really dynamic, empowered individuals.

Benefits:

• Free access to our award-winning gym’s and exercise classes for you and a +1
• Employee discounts and wellbeing platform
• Healthcare Cash plan
• Free 24/7 access to GPs using our SmartHealth plan
• Employee Assistance Programme - support for when you need it most
• 23 days annual leave + 8 days bank holiday
• Internal recognition schemes
• Opportunities for training, development and progression
• Free onsite parking - subject to availability
• Hybrid and family friendly policies
• Generous company sick pay scheme
• Employee referral scheme
• Company pension scheme
• Death in service benefit
• And much more....

Who we are:

Horizon Leisure Centres is a leisure trust operating since 1997, with centres in Waterlooville, Havant and Guildford. We are passionate about health and wellbeing and are committed to making an outstanding positive impact on our customers and within our local community. Our mission is to support and inspire our local communities to live healthier and happier lives by providing affordable access to sport and leisure facilities to all.

This role will be based at Havant but will be expected to travel to other company site as the need requires. 

Interview Process: 

The recruiting manager will review your CV and if shortlisted, you will be invited to a formal interview/assessment process where we will evaluate your suitability for the role. 

There may be times when due to the volume of applicants to need to close a vacancy early to avoid disappointment, be sure to get your application in as soon as possible!