After the first round of the Baylor S3 Pro Day of virtual recruiting with 30 interviewers, 54 of the students rated each of the interviewers, selected their favorite two interviewers, and commented on one that didn’t go as well as hoped. After the second round of S3 Pro Days on March 5 (click here for…Continue Reading The students POV on interviews for internships & careers
by Kirk Wakefield – October 2018 Forbes reported before the 2018 season started that clubs planned over 1800 special event promotions, including about 28 giveaways per team on average. The Cardinals (49), Dodgers (42), and Cubs (41) all topped 40 giveaways. The Marlins (11), Athletics (14), and Diamondbacks (15) were the least giving. If you’re…Continue Reading Do MLB giveaways and special events influence attendance?
by Kirk Wakefield – January 2018 People. Purpose. Performance. (Pictures.) S3 2018 Board Meeting Paul Epstein challenged the room of executives, managers and students to truly put people first. With over a decade of managerial experience in pro sports, most recently as Director of Sales at the San Francisco 49ers, Paul shared how their sales organization…Continue Reading Do you have your P’s in order?
by Kirk Wakefield – June 2017 What is Grit? Angela Duckworth made an industry out of her own passion and perseverance toward a long-term goal–her definition of grit–and measuring it in others. Controlling for other factors (SAT scores, IQ, self-control, and the Big 5 personality traits), she and her colleague’s research[ref]Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly…Continue Reading Does Grit Lead to High Performance in Sales?
by Kirk Wakefield – January 2017 Business intelligence is old school. Business analytics is new school. Sport business analytics is finally going to school. In the past decade, interest grew beyond the 100 or so nerds at the first MIT Sports Analytics Conference to sellout crowds (>3000 geeks and wannabes) today. At the same time, courses and programs have emerged…Continue Reading Sport Business Analytics: A Review of Harrison & Bukstein’s Book
by Kirk Wakefield -October 2016 Nationwide Study of Recent Online Ticket Buyers Efficient and effective salespeople convert ticket buyers into season ticket holders and serve their needs. However, the secondary market is the primary market for many fans who do not differentiate between buying from StubHub, TicketMaster or the team’s website. What do these buyers look…Continue Reading The Online Ticket Buyer: By the Numbers
by Kirk Wakefield – August 2014 Back in the early 1990’s, I started out with my Baseball Almanac contacting major and minor league teams to conduct research. Being at Ole Miss during that time, just an hour south of Memphis, I made quick friends with every pro franchise that came through town–among them the Memphis Chicks,…Continue Reading Why the best teams and brands partner with academics
by Kevin Gwinner – July 2014 You probably rely on a variety of benefits when pitching a sponsorship opportunity to a prospect, including things like signage options, hospitality opportunities, media exposure, and activation potential. However, have you considered the value of how well your brand “fits” with the prospective partner? What does research tell us?…Continue Reading 7 Ways to Make Sponsorships Fit
by Kirk Wakefield – May 2014 The State of the Sports Sales Industry Survey With your help responding to the S3 Sales Report survey in December (N = 328) and the help of the NBA & Murray Cohn in surveying inside sales and account reps in the NBA and WNBA (N = 391), we gained…Continue Reading Top 5 Things We Learned About Compensation, Salespeople and Their Managers
by Kirk Wakefield – January 2014 Is sponsorship more about media or meaning? Why should brands pay for the rights to be an anchor sponsor of an NFL, MLB, or NASCAR property? Can these properties defend their rate cards that afford brands the rights to communicate with their fans via the property’s venue, television, radio,…Continue Reading How can properties support sponsorship rate cards?