How To Become A Sales And Event Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sales and event manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Joel Reece Ph.D.

A sales and events manager is in charge of organizing and managing events or event spaces on behalf of hotels, restaurants, and other businesses. You will plan and organize events and also supervise every activity going on before and during the event. Your responsibility in this role may also include receiving incoming and outgoing calls from clients and attending to their inquiries.

You are also in charge of building and maintaining customer relationships to boost sales. You will work to build and maintain customer relationships, work with the chef on menu requests, and are involved in coordinating all information resources regarding events. Furthermore, a sales and events manager ensures that all bills relating to an event are duly paid and also works together with the sales/marketing department to promote business.

The minimum educational requirement for this role is a bachelor's degree and a high school diploma in business administration. Some employers also prefer you to have a little experience in event planning. Additionally, you should possess good organizational skills and excellent oral and written communication skills. A sales and events manager earns an average salary of $55,623 in a year and $27 per hour.

What general advice would you give to a sales and event manager?

Joel Reece Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Brigham Young University–Hawaii

Review job postings of career jobs you want to see what types of skills and experience they are looking for in applicants, then go find opportunities to gain those skills and experience.

Look for opportunities to get involved. It is ok to be a volunteer or have an entry level job.
Think of your job as a place you can get paid to learn. Work with the attitude to add value to the company.

ScoreSales And Event ManagerUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,986

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 74.72%

male 25.28%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sales and event manager

Explore sales and event manager education requirements

Most common sales and event manager degrees

Bachelor's

76.7 %

Associate

13.3 %

Master's

4.4 %

Start to develop specific sales and event manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Event Planning	7.80%
Booking	7.40%
Event Management	7.02%
Guest Satisfaction	5.90%
Wine	4.54%

Complete relevant sales and event manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales and event managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sales and event manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales and event manager resumes.

Research sales and event manager duties and responsibilities

Achieve highest contract ADR through driving short term and smaller high-end groups.
Achieve company revenue goals by booking and executing logistically successful events.
Manage and supervise the reservations operations department including individual and group sales.
Manage all aspects of these events and act as onsite manager to ensure meeting are delivered effectively and professionally.

Prepare your sales and event manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales and event manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sales and event manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sales and event manager resume templates

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