The Sports Info Business

Many of the students I mentor at the Long Beach State Sports Management program insist that when they begin their sports career, it will not involve sales.  I always let these student declarations hang in their air for a moment.  I find it funny because they do not yet realize that everyone within a team administration or a front office is part of a sales effort whether they realize it or not.  Let me show you an example and then I will illustrate more specifically with relative job descriptions. 

When I was a part of the Mighty Ducks Management team earlier this decade, we developed a fan zone for Sunday games.  There were a few reasons for this, but the main reason was to allow the fans to get more involved in the hockey experience before the puck dropped at 5:00 p.m.

For example. fans that came early were allowed to play hockey on  mini hard court floor constructed outside.  There were stations to make signs for that night’s game or to allow sponsor sampling as part of sponsorship agreements.  Overall it was a great family experience that people had BEFORE the game.  Out goal was to take a passive fan experience and make it active before fans reached their seats.

Each Sunday home game also became a challenge for me and for the Director of Marketing, my close friend Michael.  The two of us made game out of it.  Michael and I challenged each other to get fans to paint their hair.  Now, many of the fans (especially the kids) came ready to show their support on Sundays.  With the help of the Power Players, fans would visit a station near the stadium entrance and paint their hair in the team’s purple and green colors.  It was all part of the pre-game fun.

Back to sales.  Michael and I both agreed that if we could convince fans that would not normally paint their hair in the team’s colors, then we were extending the fan experience and creating lasting memories.  The bottom line is this would tie people closer to the team moving forward.

So here were two grown men, standing in suits and ties, challenging each other to get the grandmother with her grandkids, the biker with the long goatee or the conservative dad to visit the temporary hair coloring table.  Failure was not an option.  For Michael, I always to pick for Michael the fan that would never allow anyone to touch his hair.  He then had a short window to get the fan to the table and allow someone to color their hair.  Michael did the same. 

Most of the time, we succeeded and believe me, we kept track of the score.  Others tried to join in the game, yet we were the most successful.  Why?  It was the passion, the challenge and we were committed to this sale.

Here are specific examples of positions with sales related functions

Ticketing – Your job is to sell tickets.  Need I say more?

Sponsorship – Again, selling sponsors on reasons why to partner with the team

Marketing – Selling the brand and the brand vision.

Public Relations – Selling journalists on why to write/broadcast a story about the team

Community Relations – Selling tickets for special events.  Selling players on doing community work.

Finance – Not really selling a lot.

The bottom line is each department is part of the selling process.  Get used to it.  We are all in it together.

About a week ago, I attended the Long Beach State Sports Management Program’s annual luncheon.  Four panelists addressed the group.  Tim Mead, the Vice President of Communications for the Los Angeles Angels, Penny Toler, General Manager for the Los Angeles Sparks, Andy Roeser, the President of the Los Angeles Clippers and Bob Wagner, Senior Vice President for the Anaheim Ducks.

Bill Shumard, served as moderator and asked important questions of the panelists and how their respective teams are dealing with current events.  Here is a sampling….

Topic:  Current economic impact on teams

Andy Roeser:  Overall we are doing okay, but ticket sales are down a bit.  Fans are being more selective and we have to be more creative.

Penny Toler — There certainly are changes going on. I am sure you have heard the talk about rosters being reduced from 13 to 11.  Like many other teams, our biggest hit is in sponsorship.  Season renewals are about the same but things are changing.  The league is now negotiating hotel deals for all the teams.

Bob Wagner:  We should not be using the economy as an excuse.  We have three million people to draw from in Orange County.  From a building perspective, where we are seeing dramatic hit is in family shows — Harlem Globetrotters, Disney on Ice.  There is no using the same ‘ol playbook.

Tim Mead:  It is an interesting time.  Baseball is the last sport to get caught up in economy. Clubs (teams) that will hurt this year are the ones that had bad seasons last year and no big off-season signings to help with ticket sales.  It will be important to get out of the gate quickly.

 On Sponsors:

 Tim Mead:  Signage is no longer the end all for sponsors now.  It is about player availability.  We have the audience, both in stadium and TV but you have to do business a bit different now.

On New Roles:

Penny Toler:  PR people at home are now responsible for players on both teams.  

On advice for current graduate students seeking jobs with teams……  

 Tim Mead:    You have to sell your passion to executives.  You might have to do the work of two but all of us sitting on this panel have done it.  Meet as many people as you can.  Getting a job in this business is based opportunity and timing.  Continue to be aggressive in your pursuit.