Business Development & Group Sales Manager

The Role

The Business Development & Group Sales Manager is responsible for driving high-value group and corporate revenue by selling Draughts as a complete hosted experience, where food, drink, and play work together to maximise dwell time, spend per head, and repeat bookings.

This role focuses on quality of revenue, not just quantity of bookings.

Key Responsibilities

Outbound Sales & Pipeline Ownership (Primary Focus)

· Proactively identify and pursue new group, corporate, and events opportunities

· Build and manage an outbound pipeline targeting:

- Corporate teams and HR / People leads

- Agencies and creative studios

- Local SMEs and community groups

- Universities, societies, and clubs

· Conduct structured outreach via email, phone, LinkedIn, and in-person meetings

· Own follow-ups, objections, and deal closure

Group Sales with F&B Yield Ownership

· Sell group and corporate experiences that prioritise food and drink spend, not just room hire

· Confidently lead conversations around:

- Sharing menus

- Drinks packages

- Match the right format to the right client, occasion, and budget

· Maximise use of the space by reviewing different activities, even not related to the business that could be hired for

Event Structuring & Spend Optimisation

· Design and recommend event formats that balance play with food and drink offerings

· Coordinate with Operations on event execution and design considerations

· Avoid under-selling space or time where spend potential exists

· Track and show clear ROI for all events

· Protect guest experience while maximising commercial return

Account Development & Repeat Business

· Convert one-off bookers into repeat clients

· Track not just repeat bookings, but repeat spend behaviour

· Re-book clients into:

- New menus

- Seasonal drinks launches

- Different dayparts (e.g. midweek socials, end-of-year events)

· Build long-term accounts based on trust in the full experience, not discounts

· Look after all group enquiries and increase revenue by upselling packages and maximising hiring fees

CRM Ownership & Sales Reporting

· Take ownership of the CRM for all group and event leads

· Ensure accurate logging, tagging, and follow-up of every opportunity

· Maintain a live pipeline with deal value, probability, and forecast dates

· Participate in weekly pipeline reviews with leadership

Commercial Insight & Feedback

· Feedback insight on:

- What sells fastest

- Which formats repeat

- Price sensitivity and objections

- Soft periods and high-yield opportunities

· Help inform marketing campaigns and product development

· Own the writing and delivery of the business newsletter in line with the newsletter calendar, ensuring content is relevant, commercially focused, and drives engagement and repeat bookings. Suggest and implement structural changes where needed to improve performance and retention.

What Success Looks Like

· A healthy, predictable outbound sales pipeline

· Increasing group and events revenue month-on-month

· Improved utilisation of midweek and off-peak capacity

· A growing base of repeat corporate and group clients

· A CRM that contains real, usable commercial data

· Repeat group & events revenue growth

Skills & Experience

· Has proven experience in sales, business development, or commercial hospitality roles

· Is confident with outbound outreach and follow-up

· Can sell experiences, and spaces

· Is organised, resilient, and comfortable with targets

· Understands the balance between revenue growth and guest experience

· Is comfortable using CRM systems (platform-agnostic)

Nice to Have

· Familiarity with London corporate or community markets

· Experience selling to or working within the London events or hospitality sector

· Familiarity with group booking or events management platforms

· Experience producing or contributing to client-facing communications such as newsletters, proposals, or email campaigns