patience – BaylorS3E

9 Ways to Best Use Time to Build Your Sports Career

kirk_wakefield 2015, Careers, Integrity, Lead, Learn, Networking, Sales Management, Work ethic June 17, 2015October 31, 2018candour, give back, job search, leadership, leadership skills, marathon, patience, persistence, training 0 Comment

by Jeff Eldersveld – June 2015

The most valuable thing any sports professional can give is time. It doesn’t matter what stage in the career – looking for a job, recent hire at a job, or a seasoned veteran – because how time is spent defines one’s self and, ultimately, one’s career advancement.

Time management is often not formally taught in school or even at jobs for that matter. Yet it is directly mentioned in a vast majority of sports job descriptions. Entering college, students are thrust into an environment where they have to balance a workload of multiple classes, assignments, and extra-curricular activities. So, they become self-taught time management enthusiasts. Some students figure it out. But, what worked in college may not equate to success in the sports industry when it comes time to get a job, start a job, or continue as a seasoned veteran in this industry.

How to Best Use Time to Get a Job

Let’s focus on first-time job seekers.

1. Intentional Internships: To get a job you have to have experience and to get experience you have to have a job. So, the most important use of your time should be finding an internship that directly translates to a desired occupation, rather than just accepting whatever will give course credit. Sometimes that means pursuing & creating an internship where one didn’t exist. You must intentionally commit scheduled time to develop relationships & connections. Your university, as well as the sports organizations in your area, often provide opportunities to network with executives. You should be first in line and last to leave after getting their business cards.
2. Navigate Patience vs. Persistence: College students work their way through four years of school (or more) and have a job waiting for them when they graduate. Wrong. Not in sports! In a perfect world, sports administration programs would have rolling graduation dates to coincide with the off-seasons of the four major professional sports. Because that is not a reality, most first-time job seekers must be patient. The hiring cycle in sports does not always fit with recruiting practices of corporate America.

While patience is necessary, persistence is required to make sure your resume floats to the top of the pile when a job opens. Time must be spent reaching out to prospective employers letting them know about a related school project, something you saw in the S3 Report (duh), or some form of warm and NOT random conversation. Then when a job does open up, the decision becomes much easier on who the employer should reach out to first.

How to Best Use Time as a Recent Hire

Too many want to rush this stage without taking the time to develop their skill sets, instead diverting focus by looking for the next promotion or better job opportunity.

Figure1-Candour1 — Linking Candour to Leadership

3. Train like it’s a marathon, not a sprint: Rarely does someone become General Manager or Vice President before the age of 30. Developing leadership competencies (see right) don’t happen overnight or even in a few years. Marathon runners are known for superior endurance and mental toughness. Half of running a marathon (other than the 26.2 miles) is believing it can be done. Time must be devoted to training, learning how to crash through “the wall,” and sacrificing momentary pain for long-term accomplishment.

Recent hires need to work like this. Impress the person who hired you by showing a high level of commitment and ability to accomplish delegated tasks. It may seem tough to endure while wondering if that promotion is ever going to come. That is a mental block or wall to overcome. Stay focused on the task at hand. Gradually earn more responsibility as you train, ready to go the entire distance. Don’t be the one who stops halfway and hops on the bus for the easy ride back home.

How to Best Use Time as a Seasoned Veteran

As you develop leadership skills and are in a position to lead and help others, two of the best ways to use your time are to give back and to work with the right people.

4. Give Back: To become a “seasoned veteran,” others had to help along the way. Devote time to the next generation of up-and-coming sports industry superstars. These superstars could be looking for internships, first-time jobs, or taking a step to further their careers. But one thing is the same: a knowledge transfer from a veteran is what will help pave the way for the superstar’s future success.
5. Hire the Right People: There is no better way to spend time than building a highly functional team. The trick is to identify resources during one’s career that produce top talent either by coming up through a highly reputable organization (led by seasoned veterans) or college students who have been given a superstar skill set by their institutions. Once these areas have been identified, finding the right people becomes much more efficient. And with efficiency comes better productivity and more time to train – making the team that much better.

Time is Always Needed for This

Here are a few exercises to practice no matter what career stage.

6. Say Thank You: Handwritten notes are still king because they take time to write. But, don’t neglect a verbal thank you, either. Whether in the office or over the phone, saying thank you preaches humility – which is also why this act should be done to subordinates as much as superiors.
7. Learn More to Teach More: Take time to find your inner curiosity. Discover something new like learning HTML or attending an online seminar. Better yet, gain new knowledge and disseminate that knowledge amongst peers and coworkers. It doesn’t help anyone when knowledge is concealed.
8. Call Your Family: Whether it’s a special occasion like Father’s Day or just the start of a new week or month, make a point to reach out to your family – especially Mom and Dad. They are, after all, the ultimate seasoned veterans.
9. Find Your Happy Place: Everyone goes through difficult days where stress pops up in unforeseen ways. Powering through it some days may work but use these opportunities to “take a lap” around the office. With most teams, a lap means walking around the arena to clear the mind and refocus but it could also be in the form of a physical workout.

Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Davidson.

How to successfully transition from sales to management

kirk_wakefield 2014, Careers, Lead, Learn, Personal Development, S3, Sales Management, Tickets October 3, 2014November 1, 2018Astros, career plan, development, game plan, manager, patience, ticket sales 0 Comment

by Andre Luck – October 2014

Early in my sales career I knew I wanted to make an impact in young people’s lives, and I felt the best platform for me to do so was as a ticket sales manager. The transition from a successful salesperson to a successful sales manager is an exciting yet challenging transition. Fortunately I had great leaders and mentors that prepared me for this step. I wrote this article for salespeople that aspire to one day take the step to sales management. I’ve provided a few tips that helped me along the way.

Management vs. Sales

We hear that the best athletes do not always make the best coaches. The same principle exists in sales. Yet, organizations continue to take top salespeople and rush them into management even if they are not fit to lead. Make sure you step into a management position for the right reasons. There is nothing wrong with being a lifelong salesperson. There are great opportunities to make a lot of money in premium and corporate sales. Very successful salespeople will actually take a pay cut when stepping into their first management opportunity. I have friends in the industry that tell me they enjoy only having to manage themselves day to day opposed to an entire department.

Good Bucket/Bad Bucket

Jason Howard, Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales & Marketing for the Houston Astros, gave me great advice early in my sales career. You will see bosses do a lot of things you agree with and not agree with. As you observe different management styles and actions, put these items into a good bucket and a bad bucket. The good bucket would consist of the things I liked and wanted to make sure I did when I became a manager and the bad bucket would be the opposite. To make sure I did not forget what was going into each bucket I started keeping a journal as new ideas would come to me.

What’s Your Game Plan?

How will you recruit the best talent for your team? What do you want your team to look like? What are your methods to keep your staff motivated? What are your non-negotiables? These questions along with a list of many others are questions you should be thinking about now. Start preparing your business plan now and get feedback from those you respect in the industry. The first time you think through your plan should not be when you are asked to put together a 30-60-90 day business plan as part of your interview.

Hire Tough

The most important thing you can do as a leader is hiring the right people or what the book Good To Great calls “getting the right people on the bus.” Know exactly what it is you’re looking for and never settle on a candidate. During an interview is the very best you will ever see a candidate; they will not all of a sudden be better once they are hired. If there are any doubts on a candidate it is better to pass, as you may regret it down the road if you lower your standards.

What, How, and Why

As a manager it is important to set clear expectations for your team of WHAT you expect them to do, train and coach them on HOW to best do it, and clearly explain WHY you want them to do it. Senior Director of Group & Inside Sales for the Houston Astros, PJ Keene, says,

“Be prepared. The best salespeople want to know why you make the decisions you make. Since they value their own career development, understanding your decision making process is important to them. In order to help progress their careers, think through ahead of time what is really most important to you and be able to explain why you made a decision or why you think a particular direction is the best way to go. Be prepared to answer those questions before your best salespeople ask them.”

When your team knows what is expected, how to do it and why they are doing it they are more motivated and you will see greater results.

Patience is Key

Ralph Waldo Emerson has a great quote: “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.”

Be patient and don’t lose sight of the task at hand. As a salesperson, your number one priority is to generate revenue. Developing leadership skills should come secondary. Don’t jump at the first opportunity. Make sure the values of who you work for align with your values. The bosses you work for and your personal and professional development should be more important than your title, compensation, and the organization. If you are a great leader the right opportunity will present itself. The money will follow. It is okay to be more than prepared for your next step.

You don’t have to have Haley Hosch to lead a tourism department, but it sure helps

kirk_wakefield Careers, Learn, Personal Development, S3, S3 Spotlight, The S3 Program April 1, 2013November 2, 2018double accounts, flexibility, hard work, invest in self, mentors, Orlando Magic, patience, positive attitude, relationships 0 Comment

by Anna Merritt – April 2013

What’s it take to be a Tourism Manager?

During the annual Baylor S3 Board Meeting in her senior year, Haley Hosch was able to meet some of the representatives from the Orlando Magic. After a follow up meeting in Florida and graduation, she flew out to the Magic and started her career as an Inside Sales rep. After two months, she heard about a position focused on tourism. Haley switched over to continue selling in the tourism department and subsequently proved herself to rise to manager of the department.

Jamie Weinstein, Ticket Sales Manager for the Orlando Magic, says, “It’s great getting to work alongside Haley every day. She has an unbelievable sense of pride in what she does with her clients and has really grown the Tourism Department this past season.”

Haley says the best qualities to have in the mix of tourism and sports industries are patience, flexibility, and great relationship skills. When working with other big industries focused in Orlando, sometimes negotiations and deals don’t go as expected. Having the patience and the flexibility to work around these hurdles is imperative. Also, Haley points out that many of the people she works with are the same year after year. If you don’t care about those relationships, the next year’s negotiations could be tough.

Getting Here

[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Haley is well-liked and highly respected by her colleagues at the Orlando Magic. She’s a passionate, collaborative leader that gets results. The Tourism Department continues to grow because she goes above and beyond for her clients. ~ Joe Andrade[/dropshadowbox]Starting a career is always a difficult task. At some point, we all need a mentor or some eye-opening advice. One of these mentors is a senior vice president who Haley says, “continually pushes me to think globally and strategically for the department and company.” His consistency as a great leader has influenced her career. Who doesn’t need someone like that? Another mentor is a leadership coach at the Magic who Haley gets to meet with to set personal and professional goals and strategically work toward achieving those goals with the support and guidance of someone with greater experience than herself.

As far as eye-opening advice, Haley says some of the best advice she’s received is to “control the controllable.” There are many uncontrollable things in life, you can’t let those things take over and get you down. You can always control your attitude and outlook. One of her favorite quotes is, “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” What is your 90% going to be like?

Learned along the way

When talking to people interested in getting into the sports industry, and most other careers, Haley offers four pieces of advice.

Double-up. Concentrate on doubling revenue on each of your accounts. In other words, focus on turning each small account into a bigger one.
Surround yourself. Think about how you want to be perceived by your peers and leaders. The people you associate with will influence you, so surround yourself with successful, positive people.
Step outside. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from tenured executives throughout your organization. In sales, it can be very easy to stay within your department bubble, but the sports industry is saturated with leaders and influencers that can help you throughout your career.
Invest in yourself. Professional and personal balance is important. Take the time and resources to invest in both.