Vacation.com Adds Agencies, Restructures Sales Team
Vacation.com has reorganized its sales team, redefining roles and expanding its outside and inside staff. Vacation.com continues to grow and just added 100 cruise-focused agencies thanks to its acquisition of Weston, Fla.-based Cruise Shoppes. This was in addition to 300-plus travel agencies added in 2011 through traditional, successful recruiting methods.
The new structure for the sales team brings four dedicated account development managers (ADMs) and four sales managers (SMs) to the outside sales team. The account development managers will focus on helping member agencies maximize their membership benefits and supplier sales, while the sales managers will recruit new members.
The revamped sales team includes many industry veterans who have held long-standing positions with Vacation.com, including ADMs Mike Spinelli Jr. and Linda Geer, along with SMs Michael Migliore and Ron Bentley.
New to the team are ADMs Laura Dominguez, formerly with Princess Cruises and Cunard; and Ginger Russell, previously with Results! Travel and Qantas Holidays; along with new SMs Edi Meadows, formerly of Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line; and Jeff Cimack, previously of Brendan Worldwide Vacations.
“In the past, our business development managers did it all -- recruiting, training our members on new programs like AirPRO and In-Sites, and, of course, helping grow their sales,” said Vacation.com President John Lovell. “Now, thanks to the new structure, our newly created account development managers are focused on one thing and one thing only -- making our members more profitable. This was a necessary step to take as Vacation.com’s membership continues to expand.”
Both the account development managers and the sales managers will be strategically based across the United States in the Northeast, Southeast, Mid-Central and West. They will be supported by two new inside sales personnel, along with newly appointed Director of Sales Chris Blandamer. Blandamer has been with Vacation.com since 2007 and previously held the position of manager, sales planning and analysis.
