Overview
You attend retail conferences and trade shows around the world, networking with retail executives and solution providers on behalf of RETHINK Retail. Your job is to build relationships, identify potential event sponsors/partners, generate content leads (executives willing to contribute insights), and grow their community of retail decision-makers. You're the face of the brand at these events.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | Hybrid BD/Community Manager |
| Sales Motion | In-person networking / Event-based outreach |
| Deal Complexity | Consultative (sponsorships/partnerships) |
| Sales Cycle | Varies - immediate connections to 3-6 month sponsorship cycles |
| Deal Size | Likely $10K-100K+ for event sponsorships/partnerships |
| Quota (est.) | Likely measured on connections made, sponsors secured, content contributors recruited |
Company Context
Stage: Established media company (128 employees, no VC funding - likely bootstrapped or private equity backed)
Size: 128 employees
Growth: Stable presence in retail industry media/events space
Market Position: Niche player focused on retail innovation and executive insights - competing for attention with NRF, Retail Dive, RetailWire, and various retail-focused conferences
GTM Reality
Pipeline Sources:
- 60% In-person networking at conferences - your main job is working the room at NRF, Shoptalk, eTail, and regional retail events
- 30% Follow-up outreach - post-event nurturing of connections made
- 10% Inbound - executives who already know RETHINK Retail reaching out
Support Structure: Likely working with marketing/content team to coordinate which events to attend and what to promote; probably collaborating with sales team on sponsor prospects
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: National Retail Federation (NRF), Retail TouchPoints, Retail Dive, Chain Store Age, plus dozens of retail conferences competing for sponsor dollars
How They Differentiate: Executive-led insights and community focus - they position as bringing retailers and solution providers together, not just covering news
Common Objections: "We already sponsor NRF/Shoptalk", "What's your audience size vs [bigger competitor]?", "How is this different from other retail media?"
Win Themes: Quality of community over quantity, focused on innovation and future trends, CEO-led perspective from Marie Chevrier Schwartz
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Travel/Conference Attendance (40%) | Follow-up & Relationship Building (30%) | Internal Coordination (20%) | Content/Social (10%)
Key Activities
- Attend 12-20+ retail conferences per year: You're on-site working the expo floor, attending sessions, hosting dinners/drinks, collecting business cards. You need to be comfortable walking up to strangers and starting conversations all day.
- Qualify sponsorship/partnership leads: At events, you identify solution providers who might sponsor RETHINK events or advertise on their platform. You're gauging budget, decision-makers, timeline.
- Recruit content contributors: Part of your job is finding retail executives willing to be interviewed, write articles, or speak at RETHINK events. You're constantly asking "Would you be open to sharing your insights with our audience?"
- Follow-up nurturing: After events, you send 30-50 personalized follow-ups per week via email and LinkedIn. Most people won't respond. You keep track of who to ping when the next event cycle starts.
- Internal reporting: You update the team on who you met, what you learned about industry trends, which leads are hot, what competitors are doing at events.
- Social media presence: You post event photos, tag people you meet, share insights from sessions - representing the brand online during and after conferences.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Travel fatigue is real: 1-2 weeks per month on the road means constant hotels, airports, eating out, being "on" for 10+ hours at events. It's exhausting even if you love networking.
- Most conversations go nowhere: You'll meet 100+ people at an event. Maybe 10 will respond to your follow-up. 2-3 might turn into actual business opportunities. Lots of dead ends.
- Measuring ROI is fuzzy: Unlike quota-carrying sales roles, success here is about relationship quality and brand presence. Your manager might ask "Was it worth sending you to that $3K conference?" and you won't always have a clean answer.
- Event cycles are unpredictable: Sponsorship budgets get allocated months in advance. You might have a great conversation in March, but they already committed their 2024 budget to someone else.
- You're always competing for attention: At big conferences, everyone's networking. Standing out and being remembered requires hustle and creativity.
What Success Looks Like
- You build a network of 50-100 quality relationships per year that generate repeat engagement (they attend RETHINK events, contribute content, make intros)
- You secure 5-10 new sponsors or meaningful partnerships annually for RETHINK events/platform
- Retail executives you recruit produce content that drives engagement on RETHINK channels
- You become a known face at major retail conferences - people start approaching you
Who You're Selling To
Primary Targets:
- VPs/Directors of Innovation, Digital, Omnichannel at retail brands (these are your content contributors)
- CMOs/Heads of Marketing at retail tech solution providers (POS systems, inventory management, e-commerce platforms - these are sponsor prospects)
- Conference/event organizers at retail brands (potential co-hosts or participants in RETHINK events)
What They Care About:
- Retailers: "Will this help me learn what's working at other brands? Is it worth my time to contribute/attend?"
- Solution providers: "What's the audience reach? Who attends your events? What's the lead quality vs other sponsorships?"
- Both: "Is RETHINK credible in the retail space? Do the right people pay attention to their content?"
Requirements
- You genuinely enjoy retail as an industry and can have informed conversations about store operations, e-commerce, supply chain, customer experience
- Comfortable traveling 40-50% of the time, often solo, to conferences in different cities/countries
- Strong interpersonal skills - you can work a room, remember names/details, and follow up thoughtfully without being pushy
- Experience in events, business development, partnerships, or community management (doesn't have to be sales specifically)
- Self-directed - you need to manage your own schedule, prioritize which events to attend, and track relationships without constant oversight
- Active on LinkedIn and comfortable with light content creation (posting updates, tagging people, sharing insights)
- Thick skin for rejection and lots of "no response" to follow-ups