Amy Topnick is a sales manager at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. She started in December.
WHAT DOES SHE DO AS SALES MANAGER?
“I am responsible for handling the religious as well as the multicultural sectors of the market. I target all organizations within the religious market throughout the United States and multicultural groups, such as the Black Chemists or the Southern Federation Syrian-Lebanese-American Club, to bring them to our hotel for banquets, meetings and conventions, anything entailing 50 rooms a night or more.”
WHY TARGET THESE AREAS?
“Because we have strong support of all the churches in the downtown area, the religious market is huge for the Adam’s Mark and Jacksonville in general. Many religious organizations want to have strong local support when bringing their conference or convention to a city. So far as multicultural groups are concerned, Jacksonville is a highly diverse community. The diversity is a very strong issue within Jacksonville that’s absolutely positive. Jacksonville does everything in its power to accent the cultural diversity that it has.”
IS SHE THE ONLY SALES MANAGER?
“We have a total of 12 sales managers. Each of us is assigned a different target market. ”
WHERE DID SHE WORK BEFORE?
“For 10 years prior to the Adam’s Mark, I worked as a trade show and event manager for a consumer electronics company based out of Orlando.”
WHAT BROUGHT HER HERE?
“My husband, Jeff, transferred here with his job.”
ANY CHILDREN?
“My son Zachary is nine months.”
HOW DID SHE MAKE THE TRANSITION TO HER CURRENT POST?
“With my meeting planning background and the fact that I negotiated contracts with hotels throughout the country as part of my job, basically what I did was jump the fence. I think my background gave me a leg up. Not only had I worked with the hotel industry, but I also had been on the other side of the desk. Even if they’re an unexperienced meeting planner, I know what questions to ask.”
WHAT ASPECT OF THE JOB IS MOST IMPORTANT?
“Follow-up and communication.”
WHY MAKE THE SWITCH?
“Being in the hotel industry is very focused and there are not many consumer electronics companies in the area.”
WHAT DOES SHE ENJOY ABOUT HER JOB?
“The fact that I get to work with people. I enjoy the face-to-face contact on a daily basis. Also the fact that it’s a challenging job, in my opinion. It offers a lot of variety. The markets I cover have a lot of really good people in them, so it makes me want to be a better person.”
WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE?
“Making contacts and getting to know the people in the industry. That’s a big part of being successful in sales.”
EDUCATION
Topnick has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business management from the University of Phoenix.
HER HOME STATE?
Virginia.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Topnick participates in the Religious Conference Managers Association, the Christian Meeting & Conference Association, the Trade Show Exhibition Association and the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau. “My greatest tool is being a member of CMCA and RCMA.They match me with the meeting planners in the religious market. The history the Adam’s Mark has with a lot of the groups provides a way for them to pull them back into our hotel. Plus, you can find tons of information about religious and multicultural organizations on the Internet.”
HOW DOES SHE MARKET TO THESE GROUPS?
“Regardless of someone’s faith background, it’s still the same process to plan a meeting. They may have special days that you don’t meet, special menus or special musical arrangements but the basic meeting planning is the same.”
HER HOBBIES?
Outdoor activities with her family, such as bicycling, beachcombing or visits to the zoo. Her favorite movie is “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and she loves Italian food. “As a new mom, I like to read parenting magazines, too.”
HER PET PEEVE?
“Punctuality.”
ANY BRUSHES WITH FAME?
“I once told a member of the Eagles that he was not allowed to come to our private party because he was not invited. We were hosting a customer party at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. There was free booze and lots of music but he had quite a bit already. I don’t know his name but he was the drummer. I didn’t recognize him so when he said he was with the Eagles. I said, ‘Yes, and I’m the Queen of England.’ It didn’t go over very well.”
— by Monica Chamness