After successful networking events in New York and London, we’re headed to the City of Angels – Los Angeles! However, this event will be run a little differently than the ones in the past. As space is limited, it will be an intimate event capped at 50 sports executives in the L.A. area.  Also, part of this event will be filmed during a live online web reality show.

If you want to be part of this limited-space event, fill out your information below and I’ll email you with more details about the time and venue for this event. It will either be in the evening of Nov 10 or 11 and I’ll email you soon if you qualify. Hope to see you there!

About Lewis Howes

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Last night I hosted the first ever Sports Networker event in London along with my good friends over at iStadia.  It was a big success with nearly 200 top sports professionals in the area who attended (along with two world record holding athletes… see images below).

It was fun for me to throw an event over seas, seeing that I hosted close to 20 events in the U.S. last year.  I was amazed when a few people told me it was the best networking event they had ever been to (they must not go to many networking events in London

The venue was extremely nice, but too small, and nearly impossible to find since there was no sign on the door and it was down a dark alley.  There was a major traffic jam in the doorway as people were trying to find their name tags and head on in.  And we were unable to make any announcements, as previously planned, due to the loudness of the venue and no mic to communicate with.

I guess my point is, you don’t have to have everything perfect to create an event where people find massive value in.  As long as you bring quality people together, and help them make positive connections, then you have done a good job.  I doubt there has been one event produced where everything went as planned.

Make sure you start bringing people together locally, nationally, or globally.  We already do this online through our various blogs, and social networking sites, but let’s get more personal, intimate, and build stronger relationships by connecting face to face.  What do you say?  Watch my video below where I share more on this topic, and I would love to hear your thoughts about throwing events in the comments section.

Here are some images from the London Sports Networker Event.  Thanks again to Eight Club, and David Fuller for giving us the venue.  And thanks to our sponsor Tim Gentles from Brands in Football and Football Fans Census for helping make it an even greater event!  Here are some pictures from London.

About Lewis Howes

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Last May I was kicking back with Lewis Howes at a Chicago Cubs game, not knowing in two weeks time I would be doing the same thing with another colleague, Jude LaRose.  Still digesting the LinkedIn knowledge Lewis dropped on me, Jude and I ended up not paying much attention to the play on the field and instead spent most of the time hatching a plan.

In working with LinkedIn, I have started to see the value in being a part of different groups and organizations that can benefit my career.  With a desire to become more actively involved, we decided to start a group in Chicago for sports professionals working in the area.

The following day we launched the Chicago Sports Business Professionals group on LinkedIn, inviting all local connections we had within the industry.  The group quickly began to grow, and we decided to supplement the online networking with live events.  The next step involved asking one of our good friends and colleagues (and networking guru), Lindsey Nealis, to help us with our new venture.

Since Lindsey’s arrival we have hosted three controlled events, each with around 40-60 guests.   With each event, the group has grown and word has spread further.  After six months and three events, the LinkedIn group has more than 300 members. The members all work in the Chicagoland sports industry – representing front office employees from every Chicagoland professional and minor league sports team, Northwestern University, various sports law firms, sponsorship agencies, and local media.

The connections and relationships formed have been great.   As Mr. Howes mentioned in his book, “It isn’t who you know, but who knows you.”  I would reason one could take it a step further and add, “How do they know you?”  I have found many great resources within our group and believe the others involved share in the sentiment.

“We are excited to provide a group for sports industry professionals to share ideas and best practices, trade resources, and form lasting relationships,” said Lindsey.

A former Chicago colleague Mark Washo, who now resides in Washington D.C. has recently kick started a similar spin-off group in D.C.  Follow Mark on Twitter @Breakintosports.  If you are in the area, reach out to him!

Lindsey, Jude and I look forward to an exciting 2010 as we continue to meet new people and build relationships with those in the town we call home – Chicago.

* Jude LaRose is currently a Senior Account Executive with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.  Prior to working with the Wolves,  Jude was with the Chicago Rush of the AFL where he holds the record for most new season tickets sold in the franchise’s history, was a  three-time Discover Card Arena Football League Salesperson of the Month, and recognized as the number two account executive in the AFL in sales for the 2007-2008 season. You can follow Jude on Twitter @judelarose or Link Up on LinkedIN

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* Lindsey Nealis has been with the Chicago White Sox for 4 years, and is currently the Coordinator of Client Services and Group & Party Area Sales.  Prior to working with the Sox, Lindsey attended Indiana University Alum where she played Division I Field Hockey.  You can follow Lindsey on Twitter @lindseynealis or Link up on LinkedIN

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Image by Bari D

About Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson is an innovative thinker inspired by the likes of Bill Veeck, Jon Spoelstra, Pat Williams & Brooks Boyer. Currently working for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a Group Sales Account Executive for the Denver Nuggets. Prior he worked as the New Business Development Executive with the Chicago White Sox. Tyler has also worked directly with the inventor and creator of Arena football and also for Mike Ditka’s former Chicago AFL franchise. As a former collegiate athlete and business sensed individual Tyler ventured to combine his passions to get into the business side of sports.

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Sports Networker Summit NYC

Sports Networker is taking their next networking event to the international level. Sports Networker and iStadia are co-hosting a sports networking event Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at the Eight Club in London. This event is not only open to sports professionals but it is free to attend.

iStadia is the global community for those in professional sport and exercise to network, promote themselves and develop business. Organized locally on a global basis, iStadia brings together athletes (beginners to elite), coaches, sport scientists, academics and businesses involved in sport and exercise. Also creating new opportunities for referrals, jobs, projects, business development, access to expert support or advice, research and shared learning.

This event will be a great opportunity to meet new people in the sports industry face to face. The evening will be mainly informal with one or two assisted networking activities.

There will be more announcements to come regarding the program, so check back for updates. It is free to attend this networking event, but you must pre register on the LinkedIn event link here to attend. We look forward to seeing you January 19th at the Eight Club!

About Lewis Howes

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We are about to enter Sports Symposium season.  This Friday is the granddaddy of them all: The Princeton Sports Symposium.  Amongst the panelists are former Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox general manager Roland Hemond, Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci, President of Ponturo Management and chairman of the Leverage Agency sports marketing firm Tony Ponturo, IMG agency’s executive vice president of sports programming Barry Frank, etc.

Other fantastic symposiums that are right around the corner include the UF Sports Law Symposium on January 29, 2010 and the University of Miami’s 13th Annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium on February 5, 2010.  Travel costs in this economy are not always easy to justify, but these events are some of the best places to learn about the business of sports.  They are also the premier spots to network with the sports industry’s leaders.

If you are fortunate enough to attend at least one of the major sports symposia, you should go to the functions fully prepared to network effectively.  Below, I provide some Dos and Don’ts so that you are able to venture to these locations with a full arsenal.

Dos

• Bring at least 100 business cards.  Don’t have a company?  No problem.  Get creative.  Symposiums are great places to meet a bunch of new people.  For the people you already know or have communicated with, don’t waste their time exchanging the paper.  Pretend that you care about the environment and keep the cards in your pocket.  For the people you would like to know, start with a handshake and ease your way into a conversation before you exchange your contact details.  Grab other peoples’ cards and after the symposium, use that information to link up with them on sites like LinkedIn.
• Put your nametag on the side of your body that you shake hands with.  Simple thing that many people miss.  I am terrible with names; do everything you can to make me remember yours.  If you shake with your right hand, put your nametag on your right lapel.
• Talk to as many people as you can during breaks. Breaks are not for coffee and cake.  They are the primetime to network.  Find someone who is not on a phone and not already with a group of people.  Introduce yourself.
• Get to the symposium early and stay late.  Use every moment available to try to meet new people.  Make yourself seen and stand out as much as possible.  Leave the lime green button down at home (unless you can pull it off…and kudos to you if you can), but make people wonder why you seem to be so important.
• Smile.  No one got great sleep the night before and everyone is going to be groggy by the end of the day.  Cheer other people up with your brilliance.
• Butter up the organizer.  No matter how much prep you put into this day, the organizer of the symposium has put 10,000 times as much effort into making sure that the event runs smoothly.  The organizer is someone you want on your side, as he/she had to secure all the speakers to attend.  You better believe that the organizer has quite a few connections.

Don’ts

• Skip panels to network.  While the networking is great, the main purpose you are there is to learn from those who have a lot to share.  Skipping the panels to network is frowned upon.  Bathroom breaks are permissible, and small talk from the room to the bathroom is fine.  There will be plenty of time to schmooze.
• Talk about how you can’t wait to get out of there.  Then why are you there in the first place?  You have to have something better to talk about.
• Lack enthusiasm.  This is your one chance to be in front of the “decision makers” in this industry.  You don’t have to call a central office and be redirected to a voicemail, only to never hear back from the person you are trying to contact.  Drink 10 cups of coffee and be ready for showtime.
• Forget your notepad.  Jot notes about the topics discussed on the panels, but also keep notes on the people you meet outside of the rooms.  Don’t do it in front of those you just talked with, but when you have a chance, make some notes so that you have something to follow up on with the subjects you met.

If you are at this Friday’s Princeton Sports Symposium, make sure to come say hi to me.  I will be a panelist on the Partnership Activation Rising Stars Panel along with some other awesome young entrepreneurs.  It’s at the same time as Lewis Howes’ panel, so you better be going back and forth between the excellent panels instead of trying to network with those taking a bathroom break!

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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