Director of Business Development, Northwest in Seattle, Washington at Southern Marinas LLC

Director of Business Development
Elliott Bay Marina | Seattle, WA
Reports to: SVP, Revenue Management
Works closely with: General Manager, Elliott Bay Marina
Status: Full time, on site. Individual contributor, no direct reports

THE ROLE
Elliott Bay Marina is one of the largest privately owned marinas on the West Coast, sitting on the Seattle waterfront with views of downtown and the Olympics. We are hiring a Director of Business Development to own the top of the funnel and the close.
This is a hunter role. You will fill slips, chase transient business before it reaches Seattle, and build the broker, captain, and dealer relationships that make Elliott Bay the first call for any boater looking for moorage. And you are not selling a rectangle of water. You are selling the boating life: summer weekends with the family, the community on the dock, and the peace of mind that the boat is looked after. Sell it that way.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN
Lead Conversion
• Work every inbound lead from the website, phone, walk in, Dockwa, and trade referrals, and respond the same business day, every time
• Run tours, qualify on vessel specs and timing, present pricing with confidence, and close
• Work the waitlist as an active pipeline alongside the Dockmaster on vessel fit, slip assignment, and timing
• Mine old and cold leads, past inquiries, and lost deals when slips need backfilling, and stay in touch with prospects who are not ready yet
• Drive contracts to execution with the admin managers. A verbal yes is not a closed deal until it is signed and paid
• Log every lead, conversation, and next step in the CRM. Deals that are not in the CRM do not exist
Broker, Captain, and Dealer Relationships
This is the core of the job. On larger vessels the decision rarely comes from a web form.
• Build a working book of yacht brokers and dealers across the Puget Sound and up and down the West Coast, and be the name they give a client who needs a slip
• Develop direct relationships with captains, who are frequently the one deciding where a boat ends up, and with the yacht management firms and fleet operators that control multiple vessels
• Build dealer and manufacturer relationships and use them to bring rendezvous, owner groups, and factory events to the property
• Maintain a regular contact cadence, and track every relationship in the CRM with contact history and referral volume attributed back to the source
Transient Targeting and AIS Monitoring
• Monitor AIS traffic across the West Coast corridor from Alaska and British Columbia down through California, and work it as a live prospect list
• Do not wait for a vessel to reach Puget Sound. Identify boats days or weeks out and make contact before they commit to a stop
• Own the seasonal migration. Boats running north to Alaska in spring and south in fall are our highest value transient opportunity
• Track repeat transient vessels year over year and reach out ahead of their known travel windows
Pricing and Promotions
• You have latitude to flex transient and short term pricing within approved guardrails to win the boat. Use it
• Get creative on annual moorage. Build promotions that fill empty slips: introductory rates, term commitments, move in incentives, and referral rewards
• Bring proposed promotions to the SVP of Revenue Management with the math behind them, and document every negotiated rate in the CRM
Events
• Plan, promote, and host on site events, rendezvous, owner groups, and broker days, and represent Elliott Bay at the Seattle Boat Show and regional industry events
• Own events end to end: concept, budget, vendors, promotion, execution, and follow up
• Every event produces a lead list, captured on site and loaded into the CRM before it closes out
• Report on attendance, leads captured, and deals sourced
Property Coordination
• Partner daily with the GM, Dockmaster, and dock team on availability, vessel fit, and arrival logistics, and confirm availability before committing to a customer
• Work with the admin managers on contract generation, account setup, and payment so nothing sits between a handshake and a signed agreement
• Track competitive rates and availability across the Seattle market and bring that intel back
• Report weekly on pipeline, lead volume, source, conversion rate, and closed won activity

TOOLS YOU WILL USE
HubSpot CRM, Sharper, Dockwa, SimpleTexting, AIS tracking platforms, and Microsoft 365. We are a technology forward operator and you will be expected to learn these systems quickly and use them daily.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Required
• 3 plus years in a quota carrying sales or business development role with a record of hitting targets
• Strong closing instincts and comfort asking for the business
• Proven ability to build and work a referral network
• Event experience, or a clear willingness to own it
• Highly organized and self directed
• Comfortable working weekends and evenings during peak season and events
• Valid driver license and ability to work outdoors on docks in all weather
Preferred
• Marine industry experience: marina, yacht brokerage, dealership, or marine services
• Existing broker, dealer, or captain relationships in the Puget Sound
• Prior CRM ownership experience, ideally HubSpot
• Boating background or hands on familiarity with vessels 30 to 100 plus feet

WORK ENVIRONMENT
• Regular work outdoors on floating docks and gangways in wind, rain, and cold
• Ability to safely board vessels and lift up to 40 pounds
• Weekend and evening availability during peak season, boat shows, and events
• Some travel for shows, industry events, and portfolio meetings

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
• Competitive base salary of $90,000 depending on experience
• Uncapped commission tied to signed moorage agreements, transient bookings, and event driven revenue
• On target earnings of $135,000 in year one, with top performers exceeding it
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, 401(k), and employee discounts on marina services
We pay for production. The more you close, the more you make, with no ceiling.

ABOUT THE COMPANY
Elliott Bay Marina is part of Southern Marinas, an owner operator of premier marina properties across the United States. We invest in our properties, our technology, and our people.
Southern Marinas is an equal opportunity employer.