Networking

3 Ways Industry Experience Can Launch Your Sports Career

by |April 11th, 2011

Before we jump into the three ways industry experience can help launch your sports career, it’s a good idea to first understand why employers want you to have industry experience.

Employers don’t want to spend the time, the money, or the energy to train you for certain aspects of the job. Some things just need to be learned in a real-world environment, not on the employer’s dime.

Employers also recognize that if you’ve been able to gain experience through an internship, or a part-time job, or even volunteering, this shows solid evidence that you’re willing to take action, a critical trait that employers love.

Your experience shows proof to employers that you’re a go-getter and that you’re truly passionate about your sports career. Employers also understand human nature: If you’re action-oriented before you have the job, the odds of you becoming an action-taking employee are very good.

The reverse is also true. If you can’t demonstrate on your resume that you’re action-oriented, then employers will perceive you as unmotivated, or just not that serious about your sports career.

Below are three ways sports industry experience can help launch your sports career: [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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A Sports Marketing Success Story

by |March 8th, 2011

Sports marketing has evolved over the last few decades. It used to consist simply of a television commercial, a signboard at a televised event, or maybe a player endorsement with a chosen player wearing a company logo on a shirt.  Today, sports marketing is far more innovative and sophisticated. Sponsors want returns for their investment and are getting savvier in that pursuit. Red Bull, by generating new and unconventional ideas, is one brand that has changed the sports marketing landscape.

The drink, created in 1987 and derived from Thai ingredients, is sold in those distinctive slim blue-silver cans we all know so well. Available in over 72 countries, Red Bull has become one of the most popular energy drinks in the world. Owned by the Austrian Red Bull Gmbh company, it is also one of the most recognizable brands.  [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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How to Market Yourself for a Job in Sports: 3 Keys to a Killer Pitch

by |March 7th, 2011

There are many types of pitches. Some pitches are for raising money for a new company. Other pitches are designed to pique the interest of a book publisher or a movie producer.

The pitch I’m going to help you with is designed to get you in front of the person who has the power to hire you, specifically in the Sports Industry.

We’ll call this pitch, the “First Pitch,” because it will be the first pitch you’ll make to the Hire Authority.

The primary goal of the First Pitch is to establish a connection. Making a connection is a lot different that just making contact. A connection with someone is more personal, more meaningful and much more memorable. (Please note: The First Pitch is not designed to land you a job on the spot. Think of it as the “first step” toward getting an interview.)

Below are the 3 Keys to a Killer Pitch:  [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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A TIP SHEET FOR TIP SHEETS

by |March 5th, 2011

Most everyone loves tip sheets. They’re easy to read, they don’t take more than a few moments to complete, and most often, they’re fun to read. If you’re an athlete embarking on your post-pro career or any other sports-related executive, a tip sheet, or a series of tip sheets, is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Here’s a tip sheet on how to write your own tip sheet. You can easily write a simple tip sheet to post on your website, blog, or social media sites.

1. Use a highly specific topic to center your tip sheet around. “Top 10 Tips on How to Lose 10 Pounds” is better than “How to Lose Weight.”

2.  Determine the purpose of the tip sheet. What do you want to use it for? To gather names? Market to prospective customers? To educate your current clients? A clear purpose will help you keep focused on the subject matter.

3.  Keep your tip sheet consistent with the tone of your website and blog. If your writing is serious, don’t try humor in a tip sheet. If your website has a casual tone, don’t write a deadly serious tip sheet.

4. Create short, bulleted lists that appeal to media. Print publications and t.v. stations love short bulleted lists because they’re ready-made and don’t require editing.

5.  Keep your tip sheet to no more than 12 items. More than that and you’ll lose your readers quickly.

6.  Use numerals instead of spelling out numbers in your headline. Example: Use 10 Tips for… not Ten Tips for…

7.  Write for humans, not for the search engines. Your readers are human and although keywords are important, don’t stuff your tip sheet with non-essential keywords.

8.  Use verbs in your tips. Action words tell your readers exactly what to do, eg: “Invest in gold with these 7 hot tips” or “Develop your business model by leveraging expert advice.”

9.  Write a series of tip sheets on one topic. Example: Motivation – 5 Tips to Stay Motivated When you Work Alone, 10 Tips to Revive Yourself on Emotional “Dip” Days, 7 Ways to Motivate other Self-Bossers.”

10. Publicize your books or reports with complementary tip sheets. Tip sheets are perfect instruments to draw attention to items you sell. It doesn’t give away all your information; it simply provides a “teaser” to make your readers thirsty for more.

If you’ve never written a tip sheet, use the tips above to sharpen your writing skills, gain public exposure, and establish yourself as an expert.

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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The Decision 2.0: Valuable Business Tips from Cliff Lee

by |December 16th, 2010

“It’s plenty of money. When you hit a certain point, enough’s enough. It’s just a matter of where you’re comfortable, where you’re happy, where your family’s the most comfortable, what team gives you the best chance to win. At this point, it’s about trying to win championships. That’s really the No. 1 thing for me. I think this team gives me the best chance to do that. That’s really it.” – Cliff Lee, 12/15/2010

Earlier this week, baseball’s most sought after free agent pitcher, Cliff Lee, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. All the speculation was that he would go with either the New York Yankees (who offered him a deal worth $150 million) or the Texas Rangers. Instead, Lee accepted a $120 million deal that will keep him in Philly for the next five years. “It feels great to land back here in Philadelphia,” Lee said at a news conference at Citizens Bank Park.

Lee pitched for the Phillies during the second half of the 2008-09 season, leading them to the World Series, where they would ultimately lose to the Yankees. After the ’09 postseason ended, the Phillies decided they would not re-sign Lee. He was shocked and saddened, almost in tears when he appeared on TV a day later. Philadelphia fans were upset as well. Lee was beloved by the fan base from the moment he arrived. Not only was he a workhorse on the mound, but he had a good personality, no-nonsense attitude, and an unquestionable desire to win. Even though the Phillies would sign Roy Halladay (arguably baseball’s best pitcher) later in the offseason, fans still mourned the loss of Lee… until Monday night. [click to continue…]

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

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Overtime Post – Networking on the Road

by |November 14th, 2010

It is the third week of the Overtime Post, and both Lewis and I are on the road this week. Ironically, he went from the east coast to the west, and I’m going from the west to the east. Twitter is great, but nothing beats real hi-fives, fist pumps, and sharing stories in person. If you’re in New York for the week, I’d love to meet you, just shoot me a mail, and don’t get left behind in the offline networking shift!

I took Virgin America for the first time and they have this neat feature of being able to chat with other passengers on the plane according to seat number. Much props to them for trying to make the flight experience more social. It could be a cool tool for networking in the future. I’m literally writing this on a plane so I’m going to keep it short.

This week’s posts:

[click to continue…]

About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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10 Tips to Help You Land Your First Sports Job

by |October 27th, 2010

1. Network, Network, Network

Have you heard the adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know?” Well, in sports, it’s more like “who knows you” or “who is familiar with your work“. The key to getting your first sports job (or any job) is networking. You need to get out there in front of the decision makers who have the power to hire you, whether that’s the head of the sales department, box office or the general manager.

Attending networking functions is a great idea. Most teams and leagues either run their own career fair or attend sports related fairs every year. For example, job seekers interested in a career in Minor League Baseball should attend the annual PBEO Conference (the same “Winter Meetings” where players are traded and the Rule V draft are held ever year) and network with as many people as possible.

2. Get Ready to Sell

Sales is the most important aspect of a front office. One of the first things you must know about working in sports is that you’re always selling, even if you don’t work in the sales department. Although you might work in marketing, public relations or events, you will be called to sell tickets-or perhaps even sponsorships-from time to time. You’re always selling the value of attending a game at your stadium/arena so the concept of selling tangible goods like tickets really isn’t that different from selling the experience itself.

3. Be Comfortable Wearing Many Hats

Get ready to wear many different hats throughout the day-it’s true of the sports industry and especially in minor league sports. One day you might be driving to the airport to pick up the newest addition to your roster and the next day you might be dressing up as the mascot. Understand that all sports organizations do this to some degree. It’s more prevalent in minor league sports where staffs are small and “to do” lists are long but it occurs in major league sports at times as well. [click to continue…]

About Brendan Wilhide

Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.

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San Francisco Giants Tweetup

by |September 28th, 2010

Tweetups have been one of the true successes of Twitter. Meeting new sports fans through social media is great, but nothing compares to the networking and bonding that occurs in face to face events. Embracing both social media and face to face relationships, the San Francisco Giants hosted the first tweetup for Major League Baseball earlier this season.

This wednesday, they are hosting another tweetup, called “Tweetup Happy Hour”. I am going to be there as well and would love to meet with you as well!

[click to continue…]

About Lewis Howes

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CoachBook – revolutionizing social media in the coaching industry

by |July 14th, 2010

Imagine a site where users could send friends messages, customize personal profiles, network through online chats, and have the ability to stay in contact with those whom they may not be able to see on a daily basis. No, I am not talking about Facebook, but rather the new and upcoming networking site for coaches, performance specialists, and sport professionals called CoachBook.

CoachBook is a powerful networking site that enables users to have the ability to connect with other coaches. Those who become members of the site have the ability to leave comments on as many profiles as they wish, invite friends, join groups, reply to discussions in forums, create a personal profile, and dive into a list of job postings from around the country.  Anyone can sign up on CoachBook—it’s easy and free. CoachBook encourages members to create a profile that allows them to promote not only themselves, but also their website, products, services, or company. [click to continue…]

About Matt Clark

Matt Clark is currently an intern for Sports Networker, studying sport management and public relations at York College of Pennsylvania. He has an extreme passion for learning about new trends in social media and technology and how it is revolutionizing sports. He has contributed as sports editor for the York College newspaper, been an event manager for collegiate sporting events, intramural supervisor, contributor to the sports information department, and executive board member on the Sport Management Student Association. Matt is heading into his third season as part of the game-day entertainment with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. Connect with him on Twitter @mattgclark

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The ABC’s of Asking for Referrals

by |July 13th, 2010

There was once a member in a Chapter who sold computer equipment. Just before joining the organization, he had sold dozens of computers to a local school system. Apparently, the state legislature had earmarked a billion dollars for school systems to upgrade their computer equipment and this particular member had come across an opportunity to tap into a small piece of these allocated funds.

After joining, this individual was eager to use the contacts in the organization to identify more school systems that he could sell upgraded computers. As these opportunities represented major transactions for him, each week he focused his infomercials on seeking contacts and inroads into local school systems.

Although articulately said, nothing came from his requests. The problem was that no one had legitimate contacts into school systems (partially because most Chapter members did not have school-aged children). After a year of trying, the member stood at the Chapter meeting when it was his time to speak and proceeded to resign his membership, stating that he had just not gotten any referrals. [click to continue…]

About Frank Agin

Frank Agin is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections, an organization that empowers entrepreneurs, sales representatives and professionals to become more successful through networking and developing stronger business relationships. He is the author of a book entitled Foundational Networking: Creating Know, Like & Trust For A Lifetime of Extraordinary Success, and the co-author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success of the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website, which is one of the first books to set forth a strategy for being successful with social media websites.

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