Business Development Analyst, Visit Charlotte, CRVA

Who We Are

The CRVA works to deliver experiences that uniquely enrich the lives of our visitors and residents. Through leadership in destination development, marketing and venue management expertise, the CRVA leads efforts to maximize the region’s economic potential through visitor spending, creating jobs and opportunities for the community. Brands supported by the CRVA include the Charlotte Convention Center, Spectrum Center, Bojangles Entertainment Complex, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte Film Commission, Visit Charlotte and Visitor Info Centers.

Job Summary

The Business Development Manager is responsible for growing Visit Charlotte's future business pipeline through data-driven prospecting, market analysis, account reactivation and targeted lead generation. The position transforms market intelligence into action by identifying organizations and events that are an ideal fit for Charlotte, with particular emphasis on need periods, future-year gaps, underrepresented segments and incremental business that would not otherwise enter the pipeline.

This position serves as the gatekeeper of the sales process by uncovering opportunities, qualifying demand, developing evidence-based pursuit strategies and partnering with the appropriate Sales Manager to advance qualified business toward conversion. Success is measured by the quality, value and conversion potential of the pipeline created, not simply by activity volume.

Job Responsibilities 

1. Essential Job Duties

Data-Driven Opportunity Analysis

• Analyze historical bookings, lost and turned-down business, market share, booking windows, seasonality, compression patterns, account production and competitive-destination activity to identify high-potential opportunities.
• Build and maintain target lists aligned with Charlotte's ideal customer profile, facility and hotel capacity, room-night contribution, economic impact and priority need periods.
• Use CRM, industry databases, hotel and venue intelligence, market research and internal dashboards to identify demand signals and translate findings into actionable prospecting priorities.
• Identify future-year pipeline gaps by month, segment, geography, booking window, peak-room profile, meeting-space requirements and destination fit.
• Develop concise opportunity briefs explaining why an account or event should be pursued, the best timing and message, and its potential value to Charlotte.

New Business Discovery & Origination

• Proactively uncover meetings, conventions, sports events, tournaments, reunions, social and fraternal organizations, corporate programs and other group opportunities not currently represented in Visit Charlotte's active pipeline.
• Research new-to-Charlotte organizations, competitive-city events, rotating groups, emerging industries, organizational expansions, leadership changes and other triggers that may create viable sales opportunities.
• Analyze CRM, market, competitive set, historical booking, industry and third-party data to identify new accounts and high potential business development targets.
• Conduct strategic outbound outreach through phone, email, industry events, referrals, digital research and partner networks to establish contact and generate qualified interest.
• Identify and pursue business that can fill priority need dates while recognizing opportunities suited to high-demand periods and maximizing destination value.
• Create complete, well-qualified opportunities in the CRM and coordinate disciplined handoffs to assigned Sales Managers, remaining engaged as needed to support momentum and conversion.

Account Reactivation & Pipeline Development

• Execute a structured dormant-account and lapsed-client reactivation program using booking history, relationship intelligence, lost-business reasons and current organizational activity.
• Review aged leads and inactive opportunities to determine whether they should be requalified, reactivated, redirected or closed with a documented reason.
• Partner with sales leadership to establish target pipeline coverage by year, segment and need period and monitor progress against those targets.
• Maintain a forward-looking prospect calendar and outreach cadence focused on future-year opportunities and priority booking windows.
• Develop prospect lists and business intelligence reports that support proactive sales efforts and future-year pipeline development.
• Continuously improve prospecting approaches by testing messages, channels, segments and data sources and documenting what produces qualified opportunities.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Reporting

• Collaborate with convention, sports, venue, partnership, destination services, marketing, research, hotel and facility partners to validate availability, strengthen intelligence and align pursuit strategies.
• Provide sales leadership with recurring reports on pipeline creation, target-account movement, need-period opportunities, conversion trends, barriers and recommended actions.
• Ensure all prospecting activity, account intelligence, contacts, next steps and opportunity details are entered accurately and promptly in the CRM.
• Share market intelligence with sales managers and leadership so teams can adjust deployment, travel, client engagement and business-development priorities.
• Represent Visit Charlotte at selected industry events, prospecting missions, client meetings and community or partner engagements.

1. Consistently deliver the best in customer service. Represent our city by setting the standard in Southern hospitality. By applying the CRVA Service Standards, ensure customers’ needs are met and offer an authentic closing with appreciation by offering personalized and complete solutions that exceed expectations, to deliver memorable customer experiences.

1. Champion CRVA’s mission, vision and core values and comply with organizations policies and procedures. 

Scope of Responsibility

• This role will be responsible for analysis and recommendations related to business opportunities, account prioritization, need-period deployment, pursuit strategy, and pipeline development utilizing business intelligence and prospecting technologies.
• This role will exercise judgment in determining whether opportunities meet established qualification and destination-fit criteria before handing off to the Sales team.
• This role will have periodic access to confidential data including, but not limited to, financial statements, company records and/or minutes, customer quotes, data, product costs, and company plans, designs, and/or programs.
• This role may assist with budget analysis, forecasting and planning related to business development activities.
• Key performance indicators would include:
  • Room nights, economic impact, revenue potential and future-year value represented in the sourced pipeline.
  • New-to-Charlotte accounts identified, and dormant accounts successfully reactivated.
  • Qualified opportunities generated for identified need periods and strategic market segments.
  • Pipeline coverage, opportunity progression, conversion rate and time from identification to qualified handoff.
  • Accuracy, completeness, timeliness and usability of CRM data and opportunity intelligence.
  • Actionable insights delivered to leadership and adopted by the Sales organization.

Supervisory Responsibility

• This job has no supervisory responsibilities but may coordinate cross-functional work and project teams.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements

• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to interpret data, recognize patterns, develop a business case and convert insight into focused outreach and measurable pipeline activity.
• Demonstrated ability to generate business through proactive prospecting, strategic research, relationship development and account cultivation.
• Understanding of group booking patterns, hotel room blocks, peak rooms, meeting-space requirements, economic impact, need dates and destination sales cycles.
• Strong written communication, presentation, data-storytelling, project-management and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities independently, maintain disciplined follow-through and work effectively across departments and external partner organizations.
• High standards for CRM accuracy, data stewardship, confidentiality and documentation.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the following programs and platforms:
  • Microsoft Applications: SharePoint, Planner, Teams, Copilot, Office (with specific focus in PowerPoint and Excel to include PivotTables, XLOOKUP, Power Query and data analysis)
  • Data Analytics: SQL, Tableau, Power BI, or other comparable programs/tools
  • Industry Platforms: Simpleview CRM, MINT+, Planner Navigator, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, CoStar/STR, or other comparable destination marketing platforms 

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, hospitality, tourism, data analytics, economics or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Three to five years of experience in business development, sales strategy, market research, revenue strategy, hospitality sales, destination sales or a comparable analytical sales role preferred.
• Experience with convention and visitors bureaus, hotels, convention centers, sports tourism, venues, associations or the broader meetings and events industry preferred.
• Understanding of group booking patterns, hotel room blocks, peak rooms, meeting-space requirements, economic impact, need dates and destination sales cycles preferred.

Physical Demands

• The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to handle or feel, and talk or hear, and is frequently required to stand and walk.

Work Environment

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Travel Required

• This position may require occasional travel and work outside standard business hours for industry events, client engagement and destination activities.
• The employee must possess a valid driver's license to transport clients for onsite inspections, trade shows and/or conferences.

What We Offer

• Education Reimbursement
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus other great benefits.
• 457 Plan
• NC Retirement System plan
• CRVA University 
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee 1st Culture
• CORE Values

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Our “employee first” culture requires engagement and engagement can’t happen without the voices of many talented individuals charting our direction.