March 2011

Selling the Combine: A Case Study

by Lewis Howes|March 31st, 2011

Guest Post by Sam Caucci

It’s that time of year. From coast to coast trainers have just finished preparing NFL hopefuls for the most important race of their football career: the tests where millions of dollars are on the line. NFL Agents have turned over their newest investments to NFL Draft Prep facilities all over the country. As big as the NFL Scouting Combine is, only around 345 players get an invite, a highly competitive niche market for training programs.

Ten years ago NFL Combine training was offered in a few select facilities across the country. Today, it’s hard to find a facility without it. For the biggest facilities this is a $500,000 addition to their revenue stream; for others it is an opportunity to earn a name for themselves in the market.

A lot of action. And before that, a lot of selling.

So, how exactly do you sell a player on moving across the country and putting their trust in you? Just take a look at the principles that have guided me to bring nearly 300 NFL Draft prospects in the door. Here are the 3 principles that I live by in order to pack a facility full of NFL hopefuls: [click to continue…]

About Lewis Howes

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Making Hay Out of March Madness

by Lewis Howes|March 30th, 2011

This is a guest post by John Brubaker, The Sport of Business L.L.C.

According to the Gallup organization, disengaged employees cost U.S. companies an estimated $350 billion dollars annually. A study by Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc, an outplacement consultancy, indicates an estimated $3.8 billion of that is attributed to March Madness alone.

This is due not only to the volume of people calling in sick to watch the games but also because of employees who show up for work in body but are at the games in spirit. “Presenteeism” is in many ways more damaging than absenteeism when you consider the office pools, time spent watching the games online and the log jam of work created by absent co-workers. But smart employers can turn this negative into a positive by leveraging the NCAA Tournament so that it has a positive impact on morale.

Businesses can build March Madness activities into the organization by creating an event around the games. With budgets as tight as they are many companies have had to forgo giving raises, but March Madness provides a unique opportunity to reward your employees in a memorable way that extends beyond a raise in salary. Research indicates money is only the third ranked workplace motivator while appreciation is number one. Seize this golden opportunity to show your team that you appreciate them while letting them support their team. [click to continue…]

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Breaking Into Sports Starts With the Right Attitude

by Chris McKinney|March 28th, 2011

“Attitude is everything. Without a good one, nothing else matters.”– Unknown

To reach your goals in life—especially landing your first job in sports—you have to start with the right attitude. (Read: a positive attitude.) Your attitude will affect everything you do moving forward. This might strike you as standard-issue pep-talk language, but I’ll show you how and why it can genuinely set you apart from your competitors.

Paul J. Meyer, the No. 1-selling author of personal-development materials in the world (More than $2.5 billion, according to Success Magazine) says that success in life is not some magic formula. It’s about having the right attitude.

(Side note: I have to confess, I’ve never heard of Meyer until I read the article. It’s hard to believe any ‘one person’ can sell $2.5 billion worth of personal development materials. But I trust Darren Hardy @DarrenHardy and the editors at Success Magazine.)

Meyer says, “Don’t look to your weakness; look to your strength. Don’t look to your problems; look to your power.”

This is great advice for launching a sports career! However, the ability to ignore your weakness and your problems, while focusing on your strengths and your power, requires a concentrated focus with a positive attitude. [click to continue…]

About Chris McKinney

Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.

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3 Ways to Get Sports Industry Experience

by Chris McKinney|March 24th, 2011

If you’re pursuing a job in sports, one of the most frustrating things you will hear from employers—that is, if you’re not prepared—are those two dreaded words: “Experience Required.”

I always thought, “How in the world can I get experience, when the only employers hiring are those that require experience?”

It never made sense to me. That is, until I started hiring college students and young professionals for my other business, an event marketing company (www.bangadvertising.com). With my company’s reputation on the line, we have to weed through hundreds of job candidates to find the right fit for my clients.

Whether we’re organizing an NCAA Final Four promotion for Staples, or a simple grand opening event for Wells Fargo, I have to make sure the people we hire will represent my clients (and my company) at the highest level. [click to continue…]

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MLS National Sales Center: Inside Look with VP Bryant Pfeiffer

by Kristen Sonsma|March 23rd, 2011

Are you looking for a new innovative way to bring qualified account representatives to your sport? Are you interested in breaking into the MLS? Do you want to work in soccer (futbol), but have been told you don’t have enough ‘sales’ experience?

The sports ticket sales landscape in the MLS is currently in an evolution, and Bryant is right in the middle of it. If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Bryant Pfeiffer, you know that he is a talented resource in the MLS Club Services department with years of sport sales experience.

The MLS started their own National Sales Center to help train those who have a specific interest in breaking into the sport industry through the MLS. I had to reach out to Bryant to find out more.

Kristen: So to make sure we get this correct, what is your exact role and responsibility with the MLS National Sales Center?

Bryant: My primary role involved developing the business plan and selling it in internally at MLS.

Fortunately, Don Garber (MLS Commissioner) is a very forward thinking person and embraced the concept immediately. From there, it was taking the project from ideation to development. We set a goal of launching 30 days after we received the approval and funding from MLS so it was a mad scramble.

We were fortunate to hire a talented individual named Brett Zalaski who does most of the day to day heavy lifting as head recruiter, trainer, coach and placement officer. I travel heavily with my regular responsibilities with MLS Club Services so am not in the NSC every day, but try to have a regular presence as my schedule allows adding to the curriculum, support Brett and the students.

Kristen: Let’s get right to it! Most sport organizations create their own entry level opportunities for sales representatives. What is the vision behind the MLS National Sales Center? Why start your own sales training center?

Bryant: At its core it is a talent development program. The goal is to accelerate trainee’s learning curves in ticket sales so that when they are hired by a MLS club, they can hit the ground running and make a much quicker impact to the club’s bottom line, and their own pocketbook. [click to continue…]

About Kristen Sonsma

Kristen Sonsma has spent most of her sports career in ticket sales with experience in the AFL, MLS, and NHL. Connect with her on LinkedIn or on Twitter

From Social Media to Traditional Marketing, Coke Maintains its Fizz

by Chris Conway|March 22nd, 2011

Sports marketing strategies are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The days of corporations walking away satisfied after paying millions of dollars to display their logo on a team jersey are long gone. Savvy marketers know that you to have go where the eyeballs are. Whether it be social media, digital marketing or the more traditional channels, you need to communicate and then engage with your targeted customers (fans) using the medium (language) they favor.

Two recent news releases from the carbonated drinks industry illustrate this.

USA Today last week published an article revealing how large corporations such as Coca Cola are leveraging social media during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ‘March Madness’ annual basketball championships. Coke reserved 20% of its tournament spending for social media – a massive increase on the 2% that it gave social media marketing in 2010. When you consider the 11.7 million hours of live streaming in 2010, that is money well spent. As the article states, Coke:

“…devised a social-media gathering place dubbed the Coke Zero Social Arena, where fans can go for professional commentary and fan chatter. Coke will aggregate tweets about the game by team and try to refine social chatter in one place”.

On March 17th, The Wall Street Journal published an article revealing that Diet Coke is now the second best-selling carbonated beverage in the U.S, behind Coca Cola, but significantly in front of arch rivals Pepsi Co Inc who are pushed down to third place. [click to continue…]

About Chris Conway

Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Interview with Human Performance Mentors

by Michelle Hill|March 17th, 2011

According to their website, Human Performance Mentors works with individuals and organizations in the area of personal development and behavioral change. They work with clients to promote ongoing improvement in all aspects of life such as; relationships, health, wealth, social interactions, personal growth and career development.

My recent conversation with Founder and CEO, Michael Cooper, revealed HPM’s passion for helping others gain the competitive edge, no matter what the field of play. Their educated and highly skilled team works together to coach and empower individuals and teams to move beyond their comfort zone and achieve their greatest potential.

Michelle: How do you help your potential clientele realize how much they can benefit from your services?

Michael: We create awareness. We must first become aware of our strengths and weaknesses as individuals in order to get from where we are, to where we want to go. We do this through several mind exercises. One is called “Unpacking.” We also take our clients through an exercise called “PVG Clarifier.” When clients come to HPM’s mind gym, we help them discover their true purpose in life and gain clarity on what their purpose looks like. From this point moving forward, it becomes clear how to set, discover, and achieve goals they most truly desire.

Michelle: What type of mental obstacles do you encounter when your clients approach you for your service?

Michael: We always share with people coming to HPM, that going through HPM is going to be one of, if not the greatest, challenges of their life. The reason being, most people are operating from a level of awareness of limited thinking. Their current conditioning and habits are blocking them from breaking through to experiencing and living the life of their dreams. Athletes and coaches can’t deny that mental training really does work.

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About Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com

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