Much of success in sports and business happens between your ears. You may not be the most skilled at what you do (yet), but you can instantly become just like the world’s greatest athletes by having the same attitude and mindset as them. Having worked with pros in both sports and in business, I have discovered that the road to success are the same in both areas. So is the road to failure. Take your game to the next level by avoiding the most common mental mistakes below.

Mistake #1: They are too negative

Have you ever walked into a meeting and thought, “I hope I don’t screw this up!” and you proceed to screw it up? Sports and life are a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Don’t think about a pink elephant. Did you just think of a pink elephant?

Most people do. Our brain does not know the word “don’t,” so focus on what you want to happen, not what you don’t.

Losers think, “What if I don’t succeed?”

Winners think, “This is what I am going to do to make sure I DO succeed.”

You cannot have a negative attitude and get positive results.

Mistake #2: They focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses

It’s fun to do what we are good at, but that doesn’t help us improve our weakest link. When athletes only improve their strengths and ignore their weaknesses, they only get to a certain level, and smart opponents take advantage of it. Business professionals are the same way. If you are not good at giving presentations, don’t avoid them, improve your technique. Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.

Mistake #3: They think winning is everything

In the world of sports, if winning was everything, you would only compete against people you knew you could beat. That would be boring, so there’s something to be said about a challenge. Something about making a difference, and about constant improvement. If you give it your all and push yourself to play your hardest, then you’re a winner.  If you focus on the result, winning (or making the sale), you will put too much pressure on yourself and you won’t win.

When you focus on adding value to others and the ways in which you can increase your chances of winning, you are in a whole different league. It’s not the record-breakers who take steroids that I look up to, it’s the guys with character, who want to be the best in the world, but also the best for the world. Someone once said, “Nice guys don’t finish last…nice guys are winners before the competition begins.”

Mistake #4: They perform according to their feelings

The biggest difference between elite athletes and club players is that the club players act how they feel. The world’s greatest athletes have high energy – whether they feel like it or not. How do you do it? Act as if. If you act how you want to feel, then you will soon feel the way you act. Anyone can be high energy if they FEEL like it – I challenge you to act energized when you feel like it least.

Frank Bettger was a minor league baseball player and one day, his life changed when he got released. Bettger asked why he was fired and his manager said, “Because you’re lazy.”At that point in time he decided that nobody would call him lazy again in baseball. He then played for a lower level minor league team and something amazing happened. Bettger didn’t change anything with his throwing, hitting, fielding or running.

All he did was act like the most energetic player on the field. People took notice. Bettger himself even felt like a different person. He eventually made the major leagues.

Remember what Charles Schwab said, “A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”

Mistake #5: They don’t have goals

When I ask my clients what their goals are, many times they say, “To become a better tennis player” or “to make more money.” This mindset won’t help you get to the next level because it is not specific enough. A better goal would be, “I want to be able to get nine out of ten serves in the box with slice by March 26, 2011.” or “I want to make $3,000 more per month by the second half of the year.” Make your goals specific, realistic, measurable and timely. And get yourself an accountability partner to keep you on track. Then, get to work.

Secret formula: K – A = O (Knowledge minus Action equals NOTHING)

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you could wind up someplace else.” -Yogi Berra

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About Ed Tseng

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Super Bowl XLIV is a mere memory now. Faint echoes of “Who Dat” ring in our ears. We’ve seen a Brees blow through and we’ve seen the burning Bush. For fans, the season is over and we’re wondering what to do on Sunday afternoons. We could relive the season by watching games of our favorite teams on DVD but it just doesn’t hold the same magic. We could spend our days anticipating the draft or go on a hot wing fast in defiance of another season ending. We could turn our attention to other sports but football is football.

However, the end of a season often means the end of a pro player’s football life. Often, the end comes sooner than later due to an injury or just being cut from the roster. Other players, after a long and illustrious career, decide to hang up their helmet to preserve the remaining strength of their bodies.

What happens to any one of the 1,900 players once the NFL spotlight party ends, and they’re just a “regular” person?

How do their bodies cope from the myriad of hard hits they gave and received during their career?

Does a metamorphosis take place in their attitude toward winning, or does that same intensity and self-confidence translate into the corporate or entrepreneurial world?

According to Bob LaMonte, author of Winning the NFL Way, “Within five years of leaving the league, 75% of NFL players end up either broke, divorced, or unemployed.” Sad statistic and I don’t want to believe it. But, alas, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Many are addicted to painkillers, alcohol, or drugs, and facing bankruptcy and depression. Many players whose sole identity is wrapped up in being in the spotlight will have a difficult time adjusting to an everyday life of anonymity. One former player likens it to going from CEO, back to the mailroom.

Fred Vinson, former Cornerback for the Green Bay Packers states, “If you don’t have a strong self-identity before the NFL, you’ll have a harder time establishing one afterward.”

In 1956, to help aid the transition, the NFL established the NFL Players Association, a union to assure that the rights of players are protected. The Player Development division of each team encourages players to start businesses of their own, even during playing years. The program focuses on four primary programs: Continuing Education, Financial Education, Career Internships, and Player Assistance Services. Players are encouraged to invest and plan well for their 40-year post-football life.

For every story of post-football defeat, there are many more success stories. If you browse NFL profiles on LinkedIn, Prolebrity, or Google, you’ll see just how many former players are translating their winning attitude and work ethics into victorious combinations in business and life. The same self-confidence that helped them excel as pro players now helps them excel in their careers.

A lot of the former players I communicate with manifest that same exuberant passion for their current position in life; whether it’s financial services, non-profits, web design/SEO, or promoting their kicking school. To combat the beatings their bodies took during football, they maintain the relentless pursuit of muscular, strong bodies and healthy lifestyles. The defining difference between floundering former players and successful former players is attitude. Attitude is everything and it’s a choice we all make a million times a day…everyday.

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Michelle Hill, owner of Winning Proof, writes press releases, blog posts, brochures, and website content for fitness and sports-related companies. Her mission is to help fitness professionals and athletes achieve a greater level of success in their entrepreneurial endeavors with her writing expertise. Feel free to learn more and connect with her here.

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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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We all know there are numerous ways to brand your sports business.  From a professionally designed and well optimized website, to having consistent social networking usernames across a variety of social media platforms, you are well on your way to promoting your brand.

With a passion for domain names over the years, I have been able to appreciate what it means to have a unique vanity toll-free number.  With domain names, you can have a maximum of 64-characters (numbers and letter combinations) to create a domain name, but with a toll free number, you only have seven digits to work with.  Because of this length limitation, at least at the level of a true 800#, there are no numbers left in the 800# database left that have been unused.

So how do you find an 800# to market your business?  I’ve been using TollFreeNumbers.com over the years because it allows you to search for that perfect number and it lets you know if it is available.

For my Athlete Web Design company, I knew it would be as impossible to get 1-800-ATHLETE as it would be to getting Athlete.com for a reasonable price, even if the owner of the toll-free number wanted to sell it.  So I figured the next best option would be to get “WEB” in the three middle digits and 1-800-WEB-7502 (1-800-932-7502) was no longer being used.

A true 800# is the most desirable of numbers because it has been around the longest and most people associate a toll-free number having 800 in it, but you could also search for toll-free numbers using 888, 877, and 866.  Because it is a lot easier to find a nice vanity number with these toll-frees, I’ve noticed more and more companies using the non-800# toll-frees.

Here are just a few sports and media related companies using non-800# toll-free numbers:

• 1-888-539-SIRIUS (Sirius/XM Radio)
• 1-877-NFL-KICK (Sirius NFL Radio Show – Ch. 124)
• 1-888-SAY-ESPN (ESPN’s national toll-free)
• 1-866-STUB-HUB (StubHub.com)
• 1-866-2-RIVALS (Rivals.com)

Although 7-letter, 2-word vanity toll-free numbers are not easy to find, some are still available.  At the end of December 2009, 1-877-FAN-FEST was available and I picked it up for a project we are working on.  I was amazed that a phone number like that was still available.

If a toll free number is available, and if the final 4 digits do not end in with consecutive numbers (i.e. 1000, 1100, 0000, etc.), you can get the number for $50-$80, depending on what toll-free exchange it is (800, 888, 877, and 866).  If a number does have the final 4 digits ending with easier to remember digits such as 1000, 1100, 0000, etc., plan on paying a premium for this, because it is more desirable and easier to remember.  For example, 1-877-FAN-0000 is an available toll-free number, but is going to be $599.00 to pick it up, vs. $49.95 if you just were to buy 1-877-FAN-1247.

Looking for a vanity toll-free number for your sports business?  Below are just a few examples of vanity toll-free numbers that are currently available:

• 1-800-521-ESPN (great for a local ESPN affiliate who needs an 800#)
• 1-800-TIX-6700 (great for a ticket broker needing a memorable/established #)
• 1-888-921-SHOP (online or retail shop toll-free #)
• 1-800-MVP-3100 (is your organization an MVP?)
• 1-866-91-HOOPS (basketball related company or organization)
• 1-877-855-PICK (great for a Las Vegas sports book)
• 1-800-600-LINE (a more memorable/marketable vanity number for sports bets)
• 1-800-TEAM-597 (need a toll free number for your team?)

Vanity toll free numbers are a fascinating aspect to branding a business or organization.  Feel free to post your questions and comments to me on Twitter @athlete as well as post your experiences with your organization’s toll-free number below.

By the way, for all you New Orleans Saints fans, 1-800-WHO-DAT-1 was disconnected last month and can be requested as a backordered.

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About Tim Evans

Tim Evans is the CEO of Athlete Web Design, a web design and internet marketing firm for athletes and sports professionals based in Chicago. Tim has been online since 1997 and is an expert in the domain name sales, acquisitions, and monetizing realm. This expertise in domain names has evolved into helping athletes and sports professionals with a virtual presence online through official websites for athletes / sports entities. Twitter: @athlete E-mail: tim@athletewebdesign.com

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For the record, I am a Sixers fan, and I love Allen Iverson.

The Background

Three years ago, yesterday, Allen Iverson asked for a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. “As hard as it is to admit,” he said, “a change may be the best thing for everyone.” Eleven days later, Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets, seemingly having played his last game as a Sixer.

This September, Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. He played three games (starting none) and averaged 22 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 rebounds. However, the veteran could not accept his role as a bench player, and his relationship with the Grizzlies quickly deteriorated. In early November, he left the team for personal reasons, and on November 25th, he announced his intentions to retire from the National Basketball Association.

Ironically, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Sixers starting point guard Lou Williams broke his jaw. Immediately, the rumors began. Will Allen Iverson rejoin the Sixers? With Williams out for eight weeks, the move actually made some sense for the team. Not only would they generate massive buzz, but they would have the chance to renew a once troubled relationship with one of the greatest players in their team’s history, a player who just wanted a chance to start and prove he still had game. All of the pieces fell into place, and Iverson signed a one year deal with the Sixers in early December, starting his first game two nights ago.

Why the Sixers made the move

Obviously, Allen Iverson is a great player and a future hall of famer. He ranks 6th all-time in points per game with an average of 27, behind NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He’s a great player and he says he can still play. With the Sixers’ record well below .500, his scoring abilities were definitely a factor.

However, before Iverson signed with the team, the Sixers were having massive problems with ticket and merchandise sales, fan morale, and generating buzz. Without Iverson, they were looking at a half-empty arena for the foreseeable future, unless the young team could turn things around. With Iverson, they could generate immediate buzz (and jersey sales). Obviously, Iverson’s first game back was absolutely packed. Now, for the Sixers, the key is: how do they keep building on that initial buzz?

The Answer: Social Media

A major difference between Iverson’s last tenure with the Sixers and this one is that social media was not prevelant in the sports world back then. Now, the National Basketball Association is leading the way. Both the Sixers and Allen Iverson are on Twitter, so that’s a start.

My advice for the Sixers: make the rest of this season the “Allen Iverson Show.” He’s one of the greatest players in your team’s history, and more importantly, the fans of Philadelphia love him. You can start by taking advantage of all those extra tickets. It’s not like just because Iverson signed, you are going to sell out every game (or come close). So, here’s an idea: give away three (Iverson’s number) pairs of tickets in every section of the arena for three straight home games. Have your Twitter followers submit creative photos of themselves with their Iverson jersey/gear and give the tickets to the followers with the best photos. Then, give anyone who entered a coupon code for a pair of $3 tickets to a home game of their choice. Use Twitter as a place to inform the fans about anything and everything that is Allen Iverson. Post behind-the-scenes videos and photos, promote the Allen Iverson bobblehead giveaway you’ll surely have, and let people know that if they want news about AI, Twitter is their place.

My advice for Allen Iverson: Be you, be real, be honest, and keep showing the fans you care. For most people, you are that selfish bad guy who didn’t want to talk about practice. You say that’s not you anymore, that you’ve grown up and changed. I saw your emotional press conference, and I saw you kiss the floor after you were announced Monday night. We see your passion and your love and your good side, but that has to extend to social media. For starters, your Twitter profile still says you reside in Detroit and play for the Pistons. That needs to be fixed. Also, you need to stop letting other people take control of your account. All they do is link to your fan club and talk about Reebok! I saw, on September 25th, you wrote us a short Twitter novel about your experiences in Spain. It was great, but remember, Twitter is about 140 characters. If you take control of your account, tweet for yourself, and show the fans you care (e.g. film videos, respond to tweets), we will continue to show you love.

Conclusion

Obviously, the team has to have a balance of Allen Iverson and everyone else. They don’t want to create problems within the team because of Iverson’s presence. And clearly, if Iverson is a bust on the court this season or gets into some trouble, it won’t matter much what he’s doing in social media. But social media can provide both the Sixers and Allen Iverson with exactly what they’re looking for.

So, I’ve opened the conversation, and I’d love to continue it in the comment section below. How do you think the Sixers and Allen Iverson can capitalize on his comeback, knowing that the team wants to sell (tickets and merch) and Iverson wants to renew his image? How much of a role will/should social media play in all of this?

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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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Why an athlete should care about their domain name and personal brand.

As long as domain names have been around, professional athlete domain names have been valued property by domain speculators (domainers), cyber squatters, and sports fans.  If you do a whois search for most professional athletes, no matter what the sport, chances are that the domain is registered.  Even college athletes who have a shot at the professional level as well as high school recruits who haven’t committed to a school are having their domain names registered.

In a future post, I will dive deeper into the domain name speculator market, why names are registered, how to inquire about buying or recovering a domain, etc.  But in today’s post, I want to go over the reasons why you should own your own domain, and why an athlete should place a high value on owning their own domain.

Before the internet, branding an athlete was only done via commercials, magazine ads, and radio spots.  But with the age of the web and social media, from sports fans to teammates, family and friends, and advertisers and sponsors, anyone can type in a player’s name, do a search, and pull up everything they want to know about an athlete.  So here’s my question to you: Would you rather send visitors to your Wikipedia profile or to your very own custom designed and personally branded website?

For the athletes who do have a website, depending on how recently the site was launched and how your site was designed/developed, the official site should rank #1 no matter what search engine is used (a newer site does take a little while to climb the ranks above player profile pages).  But for those who do not have a site, fans have to go elsewhere to the likes of Wikipedia, league profile pages, team profile pages, Yahoo.com, CBSSports.com, etc., ultimately diverting traffic to other virtual real estate.

In my experience helping athletes build their brand online, here are 5 reasons why an athlete should own their own domain:

1. Creates a consistent place for visitors to learn more about you on and off the field.
2. Allows potential visitors using type-in-traffic of a domain name find your official website immediately.
3. Gives the ability to promote your favorite charity or your own charitable foundation year-round.
4. Protects your brand from cyber squatters, irate fans or fans that have an agenda.
5. Allows for marketing off the field for opportunities after a playing career is over.

There are more reasons that just these five for owning your own domain name to build your personal brand.  Feel free to discuss this in the comments section below and via Twitter.

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About Tim Evans

Tim Evans is the CEO of Athlete Web Design, a web design and internet marketing firm for athletes and sports professionals based in Chicago. Tim has been online since 1997 and is an expert in the domain name sales, acquisitions, and monetizing realm. This expertise in domain names has evolved into helping athletes and sports professionals with a virtual presence online through official websites for athletes / sports entities. Twitter: @athlete E-mail: tim@athletewebdesign.com

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Have you read and heard more than your share about Tiger Woods’ unfortunate meeting with a fire hydrant and a tree last Friday morning?

I think I have. But one last thing…and only because it’s the main, if not the biggest sports PR story this year, and is already leading Jay Leno’s monologue.

The quickie recap: World-famous professional golfer, Tiger Woods, decides to take a joy ride in his Cadillac Escalade at 2:30 Friday morning and upon leaving his driveway, tips a fire hydrant and makes contact with a neighbor’s tree. Upon hearing the ruckus, Woods’ wife Elin rushes out of the house and reportedly helps her husband. A neighbor calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that the victim is lying on the ground.

What occurs for the ensuing 72-plus hours is the making of a public relations case study that is still being written. Initial reports were that Woods was in serious condition after the accident. When his agent confirmed that Woods was treated and released, the public said “phew” … and then “huhhh?”

Gossip tattler, National Enquirer, earlier in the week, reported an alleged affair between Tiger and a New York nightclub hostess. Inquiring minds said, “we want to know what happened and why.” However, according to Florida law, Woods was in a traffic accident and he didn’t have to provide anything more than a driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. His attorney did that and Woods, via his website, said the rest would remain private.

The bottom line is this: In the early hours of the Tiger hunt, I, like many publicity and media professionals, said Woods was damaging his reputation by not talking to the public. If he didn’t want to speak with Florida Highway Patrol, that was his legal prerogative, but the public buys golf tournament tickets and Nike clothes emblazoned with his name….he owed the public and his sponsors an explanation to quell rumors of everything from domestic unrest to drugs and alcohol use.

All along I agreed that it was a double-edged sword. Woods, like all of us, deserves his privacy when he’s not playing golf or pitching a brand. However, His Privacy could be no longer unless he took charge of the message, which after 24 hours in the social mediasphere, not to mention mainstream media, was like a sand trap of rumors and innuendo.

I was in good company. Award-winning sportscaster, Len Berman said, “Finally, something the control freak couldn’t control. He should have pulled a ‘Letterman.’ Confront the issue publicly head-on and move along. (Ok…I said early that Woods should do a T.O. and do a presser in his front yard, but the essence is that we thought he should have spoken quickly and honestly.)

But my question to self is, today, what would Tiger say if he took to a podium now?

Fellow public relations professional, Amy Mengel, answered that question for me.

“At this point it’s been too long,” said Mengel who is @amymengel on Twitter. “[The] Public has made up its mind & judged him, regardless of what he says/does. Nothing to be gained.”

“I think he may have been able to quash things if he had come right out on Friday and said something, but that’s obviously not his style and would have contradicted his intensely private off-the-course lifestyle,” Mengel continued. “Saying anything now would just rekindle the fire. Fire can’t burn without oxygen, and so I think if he just keeps quiet, eventually this one will smolder out. There will always be questions, but if he just gets back to winning Majors, then people should quickly brush it under the rug.”

I tend to agree with Mengel, but only if things remain quiet for the next several days, weeks and months.

Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist, Mark Bradley, put the personal aspect of Woods’ situation in perspective in his blog entry:

“I say again: We are not naive. We have cause to believe something is indeed amiss in the Woods marriage. But that is not our business. Nobody has been arrested. No court documents have been filed. As much as we might hunger for the latest dollop of dope from TMZ, we have no inalienable right to satiation.”

So it’s come to this…nearly 100 hours after the incident. My biggest question now? Why did it take 10 minutes for an ambulance to get to Woods’ house in Windermere, Fla., that has a population of about 2,000, at 2:30 a.m?

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About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

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Last week Antonio Ramirez wrote in from Mexico to ask what the best arguments were for convincing players to participate in a social program.

It’s a great question, and in Antonio’s case, for a great cause. Childhood obesity is quickly becoming an epidemic in Mexico, particularly surrounding low income areas and schools. And he’s looking to get a few futbol (soccer) players to be ambassadors for a program to inspire/lead these kids.

Certainly the kids would love if athletes would take time out of their day to visit a couple of times during the semester, but I’m certain there are people with more experience in philanthropic endeavors far more qualified to answer that question than me.
So, I’ll take a different approach and give Antonio (and all of you) my best advice on how to get athletes to participate in social media, which can still empower and inspire not only local kids, but anyone who wants to follow them. Ah, the power of social media.

Why?

It’s All About the Story

First, tell a compelling story, very similar to the one Antonio told Lewis. Athletes won’t be compelled to participate, much less to help if you don’t give them a damn good reason.

As a quick aside, here are two things I do know about philanthropic efforts:

1.) Don’t make the problem seem insurmountable. Define it such that someone knows their contribution will make a difference.

2.) Pick out one person. Find one overweight kid and highlight him. He resonates; people identify more with one person than the entire group. See above.

Now that you’ve told a compelling story, it’s important to remember that chances are these athletes are important people, at least they think they are. And you can bet your ass they’re asking what’s in it for me.

3 Reasons Athletes Should Use Social Media

Here are three arguments you can make that will work every time:

1.) At some point your professional career is going to be over. One of these days your body won’t be physically capable of doing what it could when you were 24. If you’ve saved your earnings you might live a nice, comfortable, quiet life. But having lived in the spotlight all your life is that really want you want? To ride off into the sunset? (Note – If they haven’t been in the spotlight, having a kick ass personality in social media is one way to get there.)

Being active in social media maintains your relevancy long after your sports career is over. Look at Shaquille O’Neal. His best days are behind him, but that didn’t stop over 2 million people from following him on Twitter. You think that even after he’s done playing he can’t leverage that following for more sponsorship dollars? For a goofy television show? Think again.

2.) You know how hard sending a tweet is? About as hard as writing a text message. Yeah, no excuses. Your fans want to connect with you. They love what you do on the court, but they want to know what you do off of it, what goes through your head during games, who you hang with, what team you play with in Madden ’10.

Being involved in social media a great way to increase your humanize yourself and increase your brand affinity. Oh, you didn’t think of yourself as a brand? Well there was your first mistake. Chad OchoCinco was an average wide receiver last year, but fans are still buying his jersey like crazy. Why? Because he’s got a shtick, and because fans can witness it because he provides them that opportunity via social media platforms: Twitter, video, etc.

3.) You can only sign one autograph at a time. You answer post-game questions on the spot when they’re asked. The media can see you out with a friend and tomorrow’s tabloid will say you’re cheating on your wife. Did you know that social media gives you the power to influence, facilitate, and protect your brand on your terms?

Instead of one autograph at a time you can take 15 seconds to send a tweet out to all of your fans at once thanking them for their attendance, their support, whatever. You can say what you want to say post-game on YouTube, in a blog post. You can sit down and craft the message you want to convey, not what you were forced to come up with on the spot with a microphone shoved in your face. And finally, you can clear up all the BS by setting your story straight on the platform of your choice.

If you take the time to tell a compelling story and then explain these three simple reasons, there’s no way an athlete will refuse to participate in social media; not if they ‘get it.’

And from there, the sky’s the limit. Can you imagine soccer players in Mexico writing blog posts, posting videos or tweeting about their workouts, their elaborate diets, how hard they practice? It’s not foolish to think that the youth in Mexico would follow these athletes, and start trying to prevent obesity.

It’s tough to tackle such a complex topic in 900 words, but I hope I answered your question Antonio, at least to some extent, and I hope I gave all of you some solid reasons to convince athletes to participate in social media. Unfortunately they’re not having the impact they could/should have. At least not yet!

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About Ryan Stephens

Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his article in the comments section below, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or on Twitter @ryanstephens, and read the rest of his bio here.

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In roughly four months, Bob Ruxin and I will be releasing a new book: An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5^th 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.

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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Most amateur athletes have recurring dreams about that future big payday. They assume that the money will start pouring in once they sign a contract with a professional organization in a large American sports league. For many, that day never comes. For those who do “go pro” they will quickly realize that the first contract does not pay much. The second and third contract will garner the big bucks. In all actuality, though, if an athlete wants to truly strike it rich, he will be the best at his trade, and command most of his earnings off of the field of play.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, LeBron James, and a host of other superstar athletes make more money per year in endorsements than in salary and winnings. An endorsement is simply an athlete giving approval, sanctioning, and support to a product or service. The product or service being endorsed hopes to benefit from a boost in image through the association with the athlete…with the intention of earning more profits in the end. The athlete receives compensation for endorsing the product or service.

In the past, endorsements included an athlete making public appearances, recording television commercials, and posing for billboards, often in exchange for an up-front payment. Times are changing. Many companies want to know that they are getting value from their endorsers, and have decided to strike deals that include the athletes as a part of their core business. For instance, you have undoubtedly seen Mike Golic on TV promoting Nutrisystem. He reveals a unique URL that provides a discount to those who sign up for the service. This serves as a tracker, which may be built into his payout per the contract Golic signed with the company. Expect to see more of this in the future.

Twitter and Facebook will continue to promote these new types of endorsements. Dwight Howard has over 350,000 fans on his Facebook page. A company may ask his agent to post a link on that page to the company’s product or service. That same company may buy a certain number of “endorsed tweets” on Twitter. The links and tweets can have certain trackers built in, to see how much value the athlete is bringing to the company. The new mediums allow companies to track results, but also integrate the strong communication features of these social networks. A brilliant viral campaign or a fun contest can be much more beneficial than a paid tweet.

In sum, I believe that in the future, we will see more athletes working with companies looking for endorsements, instead of working for them. Gone are the days of huge up-front payments for a plain old endorsement. Endorsements 2.0 is about using the new mediums effectively and paying athletes for the true value that they bring to the table. Dream about that for a while.

Photo Credits: Preppy Princess and Bettorsedge

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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Hey guys,

I recently had Marc Cuban, Curt Schilling, Jerry Rice, along with many others top Sports Executives connect with me online.  Pretty cool stuff right?

Well a friend of mine said he thought some of you may want to know how I did this, so he is going to conduct a tele-seminar with me on Monday.

Before we do this though, I want to know if you would be interested in this program.

I am going to share all my secrets in this program…

• How to most effectively network on LinkedIn 

• How to improve your profile to attract targeted people 

• How to begin creating your own group most effectively 

• And many more LinkedIn Secrets that will blow you away… 

A great example of this is how I got over 375 people to show up for a local LinkedIn Networking event in Cleveland last night… all by using features on LinkedIn.

Anyhow, make your comments below to let me know specific questions you would like me to address.

Thanks,

Lewis Howes

- Your Sports Networker

About Lewis Howes

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