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.