Being a social media marketer is like being a covert spy on a mission. On most missions a spy is pursuing a target and has a cover ID. To gain the target’s trust the agent sits back, listens, and studies the target for the perfect opportunity to engage them. By being patient and studying their target, a spy can collect valuable information.

As a social media marketer, my job is similar to being a spy. On each project my goal is to gain trust. Before I can I need to learn everything I can about them. Here are tips to becoming an expert social media spy.

1. Find Your Target

This first step is the leg work. You need to identify what community you want to target. This could range anywhere from a group on LinkedIn to a particular blog that focuses on a specific topic.

2. Listen

Now that you figured out what community you are targeting, it is time to start your stake out. This can be a lengthy process so you might want to get the snacks ready. But I assure you that it will be time well spent. Listening allows you to understand the dynamics of a community and follow the discussion that takes places. Listening allows you to gather information on who the influential contributors are, what they find interesting, and ultimately what you could possibly contribute with.

a. Setup Listening Devices

A spy can’t be everywhere at once and neither can you. Managing and keeping track of multiple communities or networks can be tough and extremely time consuming. The two most useful tools to help you listen are:

· Google Reader

· Tweet Deck

These “listening posts” can make it very easy to receive updates from multiple sources without having to visit them individually.

3. Engage the Community

A time will come when you feel comfortable becoming an active community member. This could happen in the following ways:

· Answering questions
· Commenting on articles
· Responding to comments
· Writing an interesting blog post on a specific topic

Dmitriy Gamarnik is a marketing analyst with Blue Fountain Media, an ecommerce design and development company in New York City. Photo by Tony the Misfit

About Dmitriy Gamarnik

www.bluefountainmedia.com Dmitriy Gamarnik is a marketing analyst for Blue Fountain Media. He is passionate about two things – sports and marketing. Sports have been a big part of Dmitriy’s life since he learned to crawl. When he isn’t keeping up with the industry and providing top notch analysis in New York City, he works on his golf swing and coaches basketball in his home town of Plainsboro, NJ.

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With a new NBA Champion being crowned in the Dallas Mavericks, not only does it mark the end of a long and exciting NBA season, but it also marks the beginning of the off-season. While the off-season provides an opportunity for players to rest (with a few exceptions. See Kobe Bryant.) and a chance for fans to turn their attention to other sports like baseball, social media and the digital space provides no such downtime.

3 years ago, the arrival of the off-season meant that sports executives and teams could begin preparing for the following season. Sales executives prepped for season ticket renewals, sponsorship teams organized marketing and promotional assets, and team news turned its’ attention toward the NBA draft and the pre-season. Fast-forward to the present though and you will see a bigger picture growing.

The digital space has afforded teams the opportunity to curate relationships with fans. With these relationships, teams are able to extend the season and engagement with their fan base. In essence, the season is no longer 9 or 10 months, but rather all year roudn. Yes, the passionate and die-hard NBA fans will always be there 12 months out of the year, but it’s the average fan that starts following the season after the all-star break through the NBA finals (about 5 months) that is the larger demographic. These ‘average’ fans are the ones that teams spend extra marketing dollars to get into the arena by means of special promotions and ticket discounts. Because of this, teams should be actively utilizing the open conversation and constant exchange of ideas and dialogue in the digital space to further their own goals.

Digital Off-Season Checklist

As mentioned, just because there are no longer any more games being played, that shouldn’t stop teams from continuing to extend their fan base and influence. While it’s understandable that there will be a drop in content production and activity across a teams digital assets, teams that get creative can come out of the gates strong when the regular season kicks off once again.

1. Re-evaluate manpower

As the digital space continues to become an important area for teams, teams need to audit themselves and determine if they are taking on more than they can handle. Many sports professionals would agree that digital and social media departments are far under-manned, therefore the off-season should be spent re-appropriating assets to support the digital team and potential responsibilities.

2. Season Evaluation

Similar to evaluating manpower, teams should also evaluate how their season went from a digital perspective. Team should be asking themselves questions such as if they reached all the goals they set prior to the start and also what measurable results they achieved.

Aside from determining what was done right, teams will be able to determine what was done poorly and figure out how they can improve upon them.

3. Content development

Although the season may be several months away, teams should begin planning and developing content for the regular season. From developing new ideas, to ensuring that the content from the previous season can be continued (players change teams, personnel leave, etc.). The most effective content are the kinds that resonate with the fan base right from the start and follow a fan through the length of the regular season therefore launching content with the start of the season works best.

4. Digital Partnerships

Just how sports teams spend the off-season looking for new partners for the following year, sports team should also begin looking for digital partners to help expand their distribution network. From contests to mutual sharing agreements, teams can benefit from the downtime of the off-season by exploring new avenues they previously wouldn’t have been able to pay attention to during the busy regular season.

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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

About Joseph Yi

Joseph is the Social Media & Marketing Solutions Manger at GAGA Sports & Entertainment where he works with professional sports teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, and San Francisco 49ers, where he develops engaging content as well as social media and digital strategies to help teams better understand and engage their fans. Read more from Joseph and follow him on Twitter.

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“All good things come to an end.” Those words couldn’t be any more true.

With Facebook investors looking toward an exit and an expected IPO sometime early next year, the casualties from Facebook not only include a multitude of social networks and startups, but very soon, Facebook developers.

While it may be a little premature to write off the future of Facebook developers, the signs are there that their door is closing.

Only A Matter of Time

When Facebook first started, they were on the outside looking in when it came to making money. While Facebook was laying the groundwork for their social network, other companies moved in and enjoyed the spoils of Facebook’s hard work. Social gaming companies like Zynga took full-advantage of a potentially limitless distribution network and market and turned themselves into a multi-billion dollar company.Fast-forward now to the present and you see a completely different landscape. No longer is Facebook standing around while others make money off of them. Rather, they have taken the upper-hand and have re-positioned themselves. From the removal of certain Facebook API’s (example: Static FBML app) to the upcoming July 30th deadline for Facebook games to move toward a Facebook credits based currency system (30% of transactions will be pocketed by Facebook), developers looking to make a profit off of the social network giant will find themselves with few opportunities.

While some may be surprised at this news, Facebook has steadily made it clear that eventually everything would be developed in-house. If you look at some of the early Facebook applications that fan pages and websites would embed and compare it with those available today, the numbers have dropped drastically. Facebook has taken every great application that’s been built by an outside developer and has built it themselves. Logically, it makes sense. Why would Facebook let others make something when they can make it themselves.

How This Affects Sports Teams

With the potential exit of Facebook developers and apps, sports teams should consider the following points:

1. Social Media Agencies. In most cases, social media agencies rely heavily on customized applications for Facebook. While these applications can be visually stunning, the downside lies in the actual conversion rate for Facebook apps. To give you one an idea of the conversion rates that they are looking at, ReadWriteWeb published an article earlier where they found the following:

Like blocking, where a user has to “Like” a Facebook Page in order to access a feature, typically has a 50% or more drop off rate, even when there is something there that is actually worth liking the page to get, such as exclusive content or a great coupon.

Asking the user for a laundry list of access to their profile usually results in a 30% or more drop off rate, and that is for well known brands that they trust.

With Facebook tightening the grip on privacy opt-ins for 3rd party apps, sports teams need to begin re-evaluating if there marketing dollars are spent in the right way. In addition, the bigger question becomes if social media agencies themselves can survive if custom Facebook applications increase in difficulty and decrease in conversion and effectiveness.

2. You don’t need custom Facebook apps to be successful. If you take a step back and view how the average user interacts with Facebook, you will quickly realize that you don’t need custom Facebook apps. As mentioned, if it’s useful, Facebook will undoubtedly have noticed and will build it themselves. From photo widgets to embeddable like buttons, Facebook has made it so that you don’t need to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on something custom. Especially with sports teams, what’s important is interacting and engaging with ones community, which doesn’t need a custom app.

3. Why are you spending money on Facebook? This is a big question that every sports team should ask themselves. As every dollar spent needs to be accounted for, spending money on Facebook should be done with the utmost caution. In addition, teams need to identify what factor success is being measured against. Spending money to get more fans may sound glamorous, but at the end of the day, what is that fan doing for you? Unless you are capturing fan data (which Facebook doesn’t allow), putting a dollar value on a Facebook fan is still too difficult. Additionally, Facebook apps have long been appealing because of their appeal in monetizing fans (ex: Enter and win contests), but they have been around long enough for us to understand that these rarely work.

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Ultimately, with or without outside Facebook developers and the custom applications that they build, Facebook will continue to be a valuable asset for sports teams. Still, just how the social network giant is constantly changing, sports teams need to continue to evolve as well.

About Joseph Yi

Joseph is the Social Media & Marketing Solutions Manger at GAGA Sports & Entertainment where he works with professional sports teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, and San Francisco 49ers, where he develops engaging content as well as social media and digital strategies to help teams better understand and engage their fans. Read more from Joseph and follow him on Twitter.

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The single most-powerful mental exercise for achieving sports career success is visualization.
This is how Harvey Mackay, author of the classic, best-selling business book, Swim With The Sharks, describes visualization:

“I came to realize that fantasizing, projecting yourself into successful situations, is one of the most powerful means there is to achieve personal goals.”

So, how do you do it? You start with the end in mind.

Ken Kragen, president of Kragen & Company, one of the entertainment industry’s most respected celebrity management firms, calls it:

“Backward thinking for forward motion: create a roadmap to where you want to be by thinking backward.”

In other words, start by creating a vision of yourself in a position of power; a position where you ultimately want to be. Your vision could be the CEO of an international sports marketing firm, General Manager of an MLB team, Sports Agent for NHL players, or an Anchor on ESPN.

Your vision could be anything!

The idea, however, is to create a vision of yourself that’s true to who you are as a person and what you want to become as a professional.

To establish your vision, think in terms of your God-given talent and your passion. You want to tie those two things together. For me, I always knew that “creating” and “selling” was my God-given talent. I also knew my biggest passion was basketball. So naturally, my path to a sports career was be create basketball events and sell sponsorships to Corporate America. Ultimately, my vision became a reality and I landed my dream job with my favorite NBA team.

I’ll leave you with this great quote from coach George Raveling:

“If your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it.”

ACTION ITEM: Start fantasizing and projecting yourself into successful sports career positions today!

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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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Has anyone noticed that mostly thin coaches win Super Bowls? Among the greats are Tom Landry, Joe Gibbs, Dick Vermeil, Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin, and Jon Gruden.

Now, take a look at a few of the heavyweights in the league, both current and former: Andy Reid, Rex Ryan, Eric Mangini, and Mike Holmgren.

What’s the point? Just take note that if your team’s head coach is abundantly overweight, your team might not be making an appearance anytime soon at the Super Bowl. When Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren won their championships, they were much leaner but still the heaviest men to win the title. This, of course, is not a hard and fast rule because we all know that thin NFL coaches lose too.

On a more serious note though, I want to present a couple of ideas on the seemingly increasing weight issues of NFL coaches and why they need to stand up and pay attention.

Everyone makes time to train and eat properly except the coach

Players are paid to weight train, eat properly, and keep their bodies in optimal condition. While players are sweating off the pounds in the weight room and on the field, the coach is sitting, watching game film and planning depth charts. He works an inhuman amount of hours. Even though he has field time, he is mainly directing traffic.

He is unable to stay focused on his own health

A head coach is like a CEO of a corporation. He leads, he inspires, and he makes sure everyone else is taken care of, all to the detriment of his own health. When you’re running the show, even though you have a supporting cast, it’s extremely easy to not see the warning signs of gradual, and ultimately massive weight gain. All of a sudden, it’s out of control.

Stress…period

Sure, head coaches make a few mil a year but it’s what he has to endure to make that salary. If you think you have a stressful job, peek into the life of an NFL coach and you’ll come away thinking your job is a cake walk.

Often, he’s up in the wee hours of the morning to start his day of analyzing game film, overseeing grueling practices, and meeting with GM’s and other staff. Job security? A thing of the past with the average coach’s career lasting about 4 years at the most. If a coach’s grueling schedule is not enough, add a few extra dozen pounds to the mix and here comes high blood pressure, hyper-tension, and heart disease.

Andy Reid trimmed down slightly a couple of seasons ago but seems to have gained it all back and more. It’s easy to do with the hours, the increased pressure to win, and eating whatever’s available at the time. Not a healthy combination.

Trying to win games to move toward a Super Bowl in front of millions of people every week can be utterly overwhelming. Heavyweight coaches must turn to eating to soothe their nerves and calm their over pressured hearts. What’s the answer?

• Step down as head coach to manage and coach his personal health. This decision could be made for him, with increased pressure to win from the powers that be.

• Reach out to national organizations for help. Nutrisystem has helped numerous coaches gain the edge over the battle of the bulge.

• Family members step in with intervention. A few families have done just this when they contacted the popular show, “The Biggest Loser” in an attempt to help their unhealthy, family member/head coach.

• The coach must take control of his own health and equip himself with the tools and resources available to make permanent lifestyle changes. An overweight, unhealthy coach will not have the stamina to lead his team to the big one.

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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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Do you love sports, but have no athletic ability beyond memorizing stats and fielding a fantasy league? Perhaps you’re an athlete, but realize a professional career isn’t in your future. Maybe you’re preparing for the draft, but need to prepare for a career once your playing days end.

If you enjoy sports, sales, meeting people, creative challenges, a fast pace, and travel, sports marketing may be what you’re looking for.

Still in High School?

Over 100 colleges and universities offer degrees in sports marketing and management, but they’re highly competitive. Give yourself an advantage. Classes from the mathematics, business, finance, and computer fields provide the business knowledge you’ll need, while communications classes, such as English, speech, and foreign languages will help you develop the oral and written essential for college success. In college, you’ll be required to take courses in the history of sport, and sports physiology; science and social studies classes now will prove useful. Of course, learn all you can about sports, either as a player, fan, or on the sidelines as a team manager.

The sports marketing field is a billion-dollar business. It stands to reason, therefore, that teams, advertising companies, and associations want well-trained employees ready to produce from day one. One way you can become this employee is to earn an undergraduate degree in sports marketing and management (the two are often grouped together).

You’ll study a core curriculum of business, English, science, and mathematics. Then you’ll choose from offerings like: Exercise Science, Legal Issues in Sport, Sport Sales, Financial Principles of Sport, Sponsorship and Retention, and Creative Sports Writing.

You’ll participate in practicums and internships providing practical industry experience, as well as contacts you’ll use to find a job once you graduate. Unable to attend a sports-specific program? Sports marketing companies look for candidates with degrees in law, business, marketing, and advertising, with a preference for an MBA.

In fact, education counts in this industry, so be prepared to earn an MBA (traditional or sports-related) at some point in your career.

Career Options

What kind of jobs await? You’ll find employment opportunities in many fields: events management, public relations, sports law, fundraising, promotions, the restaurant and hospitality industry, advertising, and licensing, to name just a few. Expect to be busy.

These jobs are fast-paced and often require a lot of travel. Having just gotten home for the first time in a month, I know first hand that it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. There were days where I really didn’t know what day it was because of the constant time zone changes. But if you’re up for the challenge, opportunity awaits!

Are you preparing for a sports marketing career? What are your plans for doing so? Let me know how I can help!

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About Lewis Howes

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We’re just two weeks into 2011, yet between NBA trade rumors, the BCS National Championship game, and the NFL Playoffs, we’ve already experienced a lot of excitement. Here are some of my early favorite tweets from the world of sports in 2011.

Blake Griffin, Professional Athlete, LA Clippers (@blakegriffin)

“I know everyone is saying this but have a safe new years don’t drink and drive… and please don’t drink and tweet!” – Dec. 31, 2010

Why Included: Good to see the young man recognize that driving isn’t the only thing that can get you in trouble after consuming alcohol. Also, have you seen Griffin’s top 10 dunks? NASTY!

Darren Rovell, Host of “Sports Biz With Darren Rovell, CNBC (@darrenrovell)

“I know they’re supposed to impartial, but sponsor Tostitos has to be rooting for a coach named Chip” – Jan 10, 2011

“Nike: Oregon’s neon socks from last night’s game are not available @ retail. Sorry to disappoint the THREE of you” – Jan 11, 2011

Why Included: Witty commentary after January 10th’s BCS National Title game. Also, I highly recommend anyone reading this site follow Darren Rovell. Fantastic sports biz commentary.

Adam Schefter, NFL Analyst, ESPN (@AdamSchefter)

“Newly-acquired WRs Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh were supposed to be the difference for the Ravens. They were.” - Jan 15 2011

Why Included: Boldin and Housh were brought on by the Ravens to make big plays in big games. Both had significant 4th quarter drops that contributed big time to their team’s season-ending loss.

Carmelo Anthony, Professional Athlete, Denver Nuggets (@carmeloanthony)

“some people kills me softly like Lauren Hill. I tell u.” – Jan 9 2011

“Born in Brooklyn, Manufactured in Bmore. Point blank period” – Jan 15 2011

Why Included: Amid trade rumors, it’s been interesting to follow Carmelo Anthony.

Bill Simmons, Sports Writer, ESPN (@sportsguy33)

“Congrats to Auburn for winning the 2011 title. And congrats in advance to Oregon for winning it retroactively in 2013.” – Jan 10 2011

Why Included: It’s been widely speculated that Auburn QB Cam Newton has participated in illegal activities that may very well come back to haunt him, and Auburn, down the line. Plus, Bill Simmons is worth following in general.

Greg Aiello, Public Relations, NFL (@gregaiello)

“To confirm what’s being reported: Ray Anderson contacted multiple clubs this week so they could remind players…” – Jan 15 2011

“..comments of a physically threatening nature are always taken into account in evaluating discipline for illegal physical contact on field.” – Jan 15 2011

Why Included: After escalating trash talk during the week, the NFL decided to let the Jets & Pats, in particular, know that they were taking a no-nonsense attitude on the field. Cool to see the tweet from the NFL PR guy.

Kevin Durant, Professional Athlete, OKC Thunder (@KDthunderup)

“Scarlett johanneson I will drink ur bath water…#random“ - Jan 16 2011

Why Included: Just ridiculous.

Santonio Holmes, Professional Athlete, NY Jets (@santonio10)

“Knock! Knock! IM BAAAAACCCCK!” – Jan 16 2011

Why Included: After his team’s big playoff win against the Pats, Holmes tweeted to let his former team (Steelers) & city (Pittsburgh) know that he was excited to see them in the AFC Championship game. I like it.

What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below, and here’s to a twerrific 2011!

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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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A lot of us endure setbacks in life, but few are lower than what a 15-year-old aspiring athlete experienced when he heard his mother’s parting words as he walked out the door with his worldly possessions in one small duffel bag: “I wish you’d never been born.” Little did he know, those would be freeing ones.

Sam Bracken eventually forgave his mother for that comment and choices she made that hurt him as a child. He realized that her following words that day – that he’d one day thank her, were in fact, true.

The book, “My Orange Duffel Bag; a Journey to Radical Change” is a creative, uplifting work of art in words, pictures and design. It is a combination story about Bracken’s difficult childhood to his realization that he had to change if he wanted to live. It spotlights his emergence as a standout football player and honors graduate at Georgia Tech, and follows his decision not to pursue his initial desire to play in the NFL, but to help others. It is also a guidebook of sorts, with questions that provoke and challenge those who want to change in their lives.

Bracken grew up in Las Vegas and was abused physically and emotionally. His neighbors and family’s friends were drug dealers, mobsters and members of motorcycle gangs, and drugs, alcohol and pornography greeted him instead of milk and cookies when he returned from school each day. He was shuffled among family members because his mother worked multiple jobs. It wasn’t long before he found himself going down a dangerous life path when a profound desire to live differently pulled him from the edge. Like many, sports were his salvation, but unlike other people, they would prove just one route toward his now positive, productive and inspired life.

How this man achieved success as a football player at Georgia Tech, then as a businessman, father, mentor and author are as miraculous as any story many of us will ever hear or read.

I learned about “My Orange Duffel Bag” and Bracken during a happenstance meeting with co-author Echo Garrett in New York nearly four years ago. When I told her I publicized authors and my business emphasis was as a sports publicist, her eyes lit up almost as brightly as her locks of red hair. She told me about her work with a former athlete whose story would blow minds. Michael Oher’s story was on the public docket and while she used a few words to compare Bracken’s transformation to the star of “The Blind Side” and member of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, she assured me that the Georgia Tech alumnus’ story would inspire in a different way.

Slow-forward to 2010 when I received the finished product that wowed me. Garrett had emailed me a pre-published PDF of “My Orange Duffel Bag” and that completely inspired and impressed, but I could see that the finished product would attract people far beyond those with sports interests. In fact, I found that sports could be a launching pad to dozens of audiences and great achievements, which it and a foundation created in tandem with the book, has done because of Bracken’s and Garrett’s work.

As for the sports element, “My Orange Duffel Bag” in its simplest form is about a teenage boy’s goal to be the best-ever football player to escape the purgatory that was his home life. It tells of his growth, experimentation and eventual goals, which led to trusted relationships and connections that now form his life.

Bracken woke up one day in his early teens and decided that he wanted better for himself than what he saw around him. An eventual bond with then Georgia Tech football coach Bill Curry would be Bracken’s inspiration and guiding spirit.

When young Bracken realized his talent and speed, he set out to play football for Brigham Young University, where he was promised a scholarship. After he graduated high school, however, he learned that the “promised” scholarship went to someone else. He maintained that he wanted to play Division I football and get a quality education at BYU, so he elected to work out with the Cougars and walk on. Again, his dreams took a hit with a knee injury during a high school all-star game. On the verge of seeing everything slip away, two health care specialists encouraged Bracken to stay the course on his desired road to play football and earn a respected degree. They sent game film and letters to which 10 schools contacted Bracken. Only Georgia Tech offered him a scholarship. Not only did Bracken start for Georgia Tech, but he also helped lead a team that logged the school’s best record in 20 years.

Oh, the orange duffel bag…When Bracken arrived in Atlanta from Las Vegas, all had with him was an orange duffel bag that his mother gave him before he attended football camp a few years prior. That and its contents – t-shirts, underwear and an extra pair of jeans — was telling in more than one way. He wanted to travel lightly, but also wished to let go of the past. He jumped into college life and subsequently, adulthood, devoid of the negative words and actions that dominated his childhood.

When we consider, per a statistic in the book, that of the more than 1 million high school football players only .01 percent score a Division I football scholarship, Bracken became a force with which to be reckoned.  I would add that such force – a determination – continues today and thanks to Bracken’s sharing his story, will help guide others, as well.

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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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Voice of the Box recently sat down with Brock Huard, the co-host of ESPN Radio’s Brock and Salk show and a familar face on ESPN TV. Not only is Brock one of the best at what he does, he is also a former all Pac 10 QB and enjoyed a 6 year NFL career too. In the interview, Brock details his transition into the sports broadcasting segment and provides guidance, advice and tips on how to break in to the sports industry. Any aspiring media personalities or pro athletes looking beyond their career should definitely take a look.

About Matt Crevin

If you are passionate about pursuing a career in the sports industry and want to discover how top level insiders got their start, connect with Matt today. Matt provides a unique look into the careers of many sports industry executives, revealing their success stories, advice and techniques you can put to use as part of your search strategy. Collaborate with Matt and start listening, learning, creating and executing your own action plan! Equipped with business background and sports insider’s knowledge, Matt is ready to share his passion and knowledge with you! He delivers to his individual clients a unique process and format which gives sports industry hopefuls a unique look into the numerous career opportunities available in the sports industry and more importantly how to position yourself to break in.

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If your goal for 2011 is to break into the sports industry, there are three things that will guarantee your success. (And it won’t cost you a dime!)

1. Write Down Your Goal

Breaking into sports doesn’t happen by accident. It happens on purpose. That’s why it’s crucial that you make it your number one goal in 2011. Goal-setting starts by writing down your goal.

Hall of Fame running back, Emmitt Smith, said it like this: “It’s only a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a goal.” Emmitt didn’t accidently become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. He did it by starting with the simple act of writing.

Personal development expert, Brian Tracy says, “You can’t hit your target if you can’t see what you’re aiming for.” Written goals bring clarity and focus.

2. Establish a Time and a Place

The biggest reason people fail to reach their goals is because they don’t establish a time and a place to work on them. They think setting the goal is the key, but it’s not. That’s only the beginning.

Just like a college football player establishes a time and place to prepare for the NFL Combine, you must do the same thing. You don’t haphazardly go into the Combine. You work up to it. Likewise, you don’t haphazardly pursue a job with ESPN, or Nike. You train for it.

But instead of a weight room, your training ground is at the kitchen table. Or a coffee shop. Or the library. Anywhere you can turn off your phone and get locked in on what you’re trying to accomplish — that’s where you need to be. Same place. Same time. Each and every week.

3. Make a Promise to Yourself

In your quest to break into sports, you will face challenges. Doors will slam in your face. You will hear the word “No.” And your insecure friends might even make fun of you for pursuing such a lofty goal.

So, how do you prepare for such harsh reality? You become resilient! You develop fortitude. Mental toughness begins by making a promise to yourself that you will not give up, no matter what.

Successful people have mastered this mindset. When things get difficult, they don’t quit. They simply hang on just a few minutes longer than everyone else. Making a promise to yourself will give you the inner strength to persevere.

CHRIS’ KEYS: Guaranteed success comes from your unbroken promise. Anticipate the challenges. Stay focused. And finish.

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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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