agents

The role and compensation of a sports agent is often misunderstood by the public. A sports agent’s job is to market the athlete or the products associated with that athlete to promote the athletes career. The agent works to negotiate contracts that are in the best interest of the athlete. What we don’t see is the incredible amount of personal sacrifice it takes to acquire and manage each client.

A sports agent is available 24/7/365 for his clients. Hundreds of phone calls with players, their families, physicians, and sponsors. Countless meetings with team owners, managers, and coaches. NFL sports agents in particular spend an enormous amount of time negotiating contracts, including player injury provisions and public relations presence. Networking is a huge part of a sports agent’s daily life – it never stops.

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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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rocketaceSo you’re not having the kind of success you’d like. Your calls are more difficult, you’re not closing as many sales as you’d planned, your manager is supportive but insists on results. Your check isn’t enough to do the things you want to do.

This sports thing wasn’t what you thought it would be. This is way too stressful.  Where’s all that fun and excitement you thought would be coming your way? This is more like…a JOB!

If you’re feeling this way, here are several things to consider:

Look at how you’re spending your time each day. Do you talk a lot with your co-workers about how bad things are?  It’s a natural thing to do, but it’s not doing anything to move you forward. In fact, psychologists say that peer group reinforcement of a particular negative belief can actually hold you back.  Is it worth feeling good for a few moments just to stay where you are?

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About Bill Guertin

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.  He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market.  Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla. 

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sports agentsSports agents who take any and every athlete who contacts them on their website will not last very long in this industry.  Representing athletes is much like playing the stock market; you have to make a rather large initial investment in order to have a chance to make any significant profit.

You could load up with a bunch of penny stocks that are high risk, do not cost much.  One or two of those athletes break through and you could be generating a solid profit.  On the other hand, you could invest big money into a guy with proven skill and high ratings from scouts.  Unfortunately, the main difference between stocks and athletes is that stocks are not going to leave you mid-investment.  An athlete can. [click to continue…]

About Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner is a CEO, sports agent, journalist, entrepreneur, and innovator. Darren created the first sports agent blog on the internet, SportsAgentBlog.com, which receives upwards of 5,000 unique visits per day from sports agents, athletes, media sources, and the general public. In the blog, everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals are examined, providing the framework for a great deal of information upon which he has been able to depend. In 2009, Darren created EntertainmentAgentBlog.com, which has the same purpose of SAB, but focuses on the entertainment industry. Darren is also the CEO and Founder of Dynasty Athlete Representation, a full service sports and talent agency that handles contract negotiations, marketing endorsements, financial planning, legal services, etc. Darren graduated from the University of Florida in May 2007 with a Political Science Major and was valedictorian of his class. He is a member of many Honors Societies including, Florida Blue Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He is now in his third and final year at the University of Florida Levin School of Law, where he is serving his second consecutive term as the President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society.

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Sports Agent CartoonIn roughly four months, Bob Ruxin and I will be releasing a new book: An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5th Edition.  The book will cover everything from NCAA rules and regulations to turning pro early…and it even discusses the agent selection process.  That process is not a one-way street.  The principal is the athlete, who has control over his agent; however, the agent also has to agree to represent the athlete.

Athletes are often asked, “What influenced you to pick the particular agent/agency you chose for contractual and/or marketing representation,” but a question that is rarely asked of an agent is, “Why did you choose to recruit that particular player to be your client?”  Some agents, especially those first starting on their own, do not have the luxury of being picky.  But once an agent has a firm client-base, he is not going to go after twenty players in all fifty states. [click to continue…]

About Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner is a CEO, sports agent, journalist, entrepreneur, and innovator. Darren created the first sports agent blog on the internet, SportsAgentBlog.com, which receives upwards of 5,000 unique visits per day from sports agents, athletes, media sources, and the general public. In the blog, everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals are examined, providing the framework for a great deal of information upon which he has been able to depend. In 2009, Darren created EntertainmentAgentBlog.com, which has the same purpose of SAB, but focuses on the entertainment industry. Darren is also the CEO and Founder of Dynasty Athlete Representation, a full service sports and talent agency that handles contract negotiations, marketing endorsements, financial planning, legal services, etc. Darren graduated from the University of Florida in May 2007 with a Political Science Major and was valedictorian of his class. He is a member of many Honors Societies including, Florida Blue Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He is now in his third and final year at the University of Florida Levin School of Law, where he is serving his second consecutive term as the President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society.

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