relationships – BaylorS3E

Best Ticket Campaign Ideas

kirk_wakefield 2017, Sell, Tickets June 17, 2017October 31, 2018Astros, creative, digital, generate, Hornets, ideas, leads, Pistons, relationships, revenue, Sales, Spurs, strategies, strategy, ticket campaigns, tickets

by Darryl Lehnus – June 2017

Kicking off the S3 StubHub Ticket Campaign Competition

Learning best practices is one of the most valuable elements of the meetings, conventions, and seminars we all attend. To that end, with partnered with StubHub to launch the annual S3 StubHub Ticket Campaign Competition at the 2017 S3 Board Meetings this past January. We’d love to have more great submissions for this year’s (January 16-17, 2018) meetings. Click here to learn more.

Finalists for the 2017 competition were Joe Schiavi, Detroit Pistons; Evans Adonis, Charlotte Hornets; Stephen Gray, Austin Spurs; and Adam Martelli and Chase Kanaly, Houston Astros.

Shoot for your Seat

Joe Schiavi, Detroit Pistons

The Shoot for your Seat campaign was an interactive initiative to generate leads through invites from sales staff and marketing communications. Held during an off-season time frame (September), prospective clients were invited to the Palace for a fun four hours of activities. The attendees went through a series of station interactions with Piston personalities, introduction to new stadium food, a photo booth, behind the scenes staff-guided tours and the ultimate opportunity to take a shot from half court to win free season tickets. Phone follow-ups to everyone occurred within three days after the event. The results were dynamic as $100,000 in new sales were generated with an ROI of the event at 8-to-1.

Holiday Pack Mini Plans

Evans Adonis, Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets shared a “Holiday Mini-Pack” campaign that offered great flexibility and a nice Christmas present. The target audience was past holiday pack buyers and potential buyers who connected with Hornets via the email sent or linked the Hornets’ website. Leads were distributed to all sales reps with a window of November 7th thru December 30th to close the 5-game mini pack. Buyers could pick any 5 games for their packages (excluding Golden State). To motivate quick closes the first 300 buyers received a Mitchell and Ness Buzz City hoodie as a gift. The hoodie was a good gift for a friend or family member for Christmas. The campaign created an increase in holiday pack buyers averaging 30 packs a week for the duration of the campaign.

The Ballpark Pass

Adam Martelli and Chase Kanaly, Houston Astros

Some of the hardest MLB tickets to sell are the Monday-Thursday games early in the season. The Ballpark Pass focused on the 10 Monday through Thursday games in May. The primary target audience was millennials seeking a social experience. The value package of $49 includes all 10 games with tickets delivered digitally to smartphones with day of game seat assignment. The rationale behind the digital approach and seat location was that millennials place less emphasis on location and more on social experience. Sending tickets digitally is a common experience for this audience. The success of this campaign was to increase the database in this merging demographic and to increase attendance at low demand games without undercutting season ticket sales efforts. The Astros created 967 passes for almost $50K in new revenue and created an overwhelmingly positive digital experience for the target audience.

College & Career Readiness Game

Stephen Gray, Austin Spurs

The Austin Spurs took a single game approach to focus on middle and high school students. The College & Career Readiness event took a low attendance weekday game and converted it into a new revenue generator. They recruited over 40 colleges and companies to have a presence (booths) on the concourse to interact with the students. The game promotions and halftime encouraged healthy study, eating and living habits. Halftime included the Spurs iconic George “Iceman” Gervin challenging students to stay in school, lead a drug-free lifestyle, and to support anti-bullying. The game sold 2480 group tickets in 2016 and doubled its numbers for 2017. A key to its success is the organizational buy-in at all levels with a complete focus on high school aged demographics and their educational careers.

2017 S3 StubHub Ticket Campaign Winner

Based on a vote of the 65 managers and executives attending the S3 Board Meeting Advisory meeting, the winner was Stephen Gray and the Austin Spurs “College & Career Readiness Game.” Congratulations to the Austin Spurs and their staff for truly creating such a successful event!

Campaigns at a Glance

Below are the overview slides of each campaign. We look forward to your entry at the 2018 January 16-17 S3 Board Meeting! Click here to register.

Why are internships so important for employers?

kirk_wakefield 2016, Lead, Learn, S3, Sales Management, The S3 Program November 17, 2016October 31, 2018break into sports, churn, hiring, human resources, intern, Internships, interviews, partners, reasons people leave jobs, relationships, sports, talent management, turnover

by Kirk Wakefield – November 2016

Meaningful Careers Begin With Meaningful Relationships

We need meaningful relationships. Young employees thrive or dive on the strength of positive relationships in the workplace. Such important relationships should start well before college students graduate.

We spend the bulk of adult life with people at work (see chart). According to research, the top three reasons people leave jobs are relationship driven:

Supervisor: People leave managers not companies.
Co-workers: Appreciation, recognition and respect from peers make or break us.
Culture: How we personally fit with the values of those we work for and with points us to open doors or out the door.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to get a head start on knowing the nature and culture of these people before launching a career?

When is turnover too high?

The most productive recruitment strategy would seek more, not less, information on candidates. Too often recruiters make decisions based on a resume, references or referrals, and a few hours in an interview. The average turnover rate in sales is 25%. Many believe if the employee churn rate is higher than 10% the problem is the manager not the employees. None of us want to be that person.

As professionals, now is the time to invest in the lives of young people while they are still in school. They need your experience, guidance and counsel to understand and discern the best fit to start careers. Your organization gets the best read on recruits by getting to know them 12-24 months in advance of hiring decisions. You–and they–will make better, more informed decisions. Internships provide the needed edge to make good decisions and the opportunity to give back like others have done for us.

Commit this to be your best year yet in relationships and recruitment.

Contact Kirk_Wakefield@baylor.edu with questions about S3 recruitment for careers and internships.

Who’s your Hottest Lead? How to Leverage Post-Sale Opportunities

kirk_wakefield 2014, Sell February 1, 2014November 1, 2018Astros, increasing referrals, Pacers, referrals, relationships, sales leads, upselling 0 Comment

by David Pierce – February 2014

Identifying highly qualified leads can be an arduous, time consuming process. As a result, it is important to maximize every opportunity with your hottest leads.

Who is your hottest lead?

Instead of looking to the CRM system or hoping for a better leads list, think of your hottest lead as the customer with whom you developed a high trust relationship that resulted in a sale.

In a recently published study of over 500 sport salespeople,¹ leveraging post-sale opportunities through upselling and referrals was identified as the most important factor driving the success of sport salespeople. This finding was ubiquitous across all leagues and types of salespeople.

Relationships = Referrals

According to Duane Haring, Director of Season Ticket Sales for the Houston Astros, relationship building is the foundation of leveraging post-sale opportunities. “You won’t get any referrals or upsell many clients if they don’t relate to and trust you. Building a strong relationship for the long haul with a client will yield many more referral and upselling opportunities over the life of that customer.”

Setting priorities to upsell

However, some salespeople fail to seize the opportunity. According to Jason Cohen, Director of Consumer Ticket Sales for the Indiana Pacers, “some salespeople don’t prioritize asking referrals and upselling and prefer to choose the path of least resistance.” Cohen noted that salespeople also fail to understand how an organization is structured, the role of the salesperson in a company, and their goals in using the tickets.

What should sales managers do?

Sales managers should assess a salesperson’s competence in leveraging post-sale opportunities by comparing the sales productivity of those who are committed to asking referral and upselling questions to those who do so less often.

Referral Strategies

Be specific. Instead of asking a generic question like “who else might be interested,” narrow the customer’s thinking to a specific area. For example, “who else do you know in your office?”
Refer back to needs analysis. Use facts gleaned in the needs analysis to identify other people in the customer’s social and business network that could use tickets to the game (youth sports coach, human resource manager at work, pastor at church, etc.).
Do your homework. Put yourself in the shoes of the client to understand how their world works.
Leverage social media. Use social media to identify who else is in a person’s business or social network.

Upselling Strategies

Identify new ways to use the product. Get customers thinking beyond the product they just purchased into new ways tickets and experiences can be used.
Remember that people consume sport in social settings. Would the experience be more entertaining with four friends instead of just two?
Bundle. Bundle game tickets with other ancillary purchases like parking, concessions, merchandise, and access to premium areas. Product features such as stored credit tickets and all-you-can-eat options can add to the total sale price.
Know your product. Be able to describe the difference in seating quality between price points. Provide benefits for improving seating quality.

¹Pierce, D., Lee, D., & Petersen, J. (2014). Sport sales personnel perceptions of factors impacting job performance: A factor analysis of sport sales activities. International Journal of Sport Management, 15(1), 71-90.

Photo courtesy of Glotzmeister.

5 Ways to Keep Partnerships Fresh

kirk_wakefield 2013, Sell, Sponsorships May 1, 2013November 2, 2018anticipate changes, communication, contract terms, long term contracts, properties, relationships, renewal, sponsors, staying fresh 0 Comment

by Dawn Turner – May 2013

Keeping it Fresh

Signing a long-term deal can be compared to getting married. In the beginning the relationship and courtship are very exciting. Executing the agreement constitutes the end of a courtship process. The first couple of years are the honeymoon phase. Then the focus switches to how to keep things fresh.

[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]

With all of our focus on measurement, impressions, ratings, and formulas, the success for our long-term partnerships are more a product of relationships with partners and consistent commitment to truly investing in our shared community in an authentic and meaningful way.[/dropshadowbox]

Keeping things fresh is a challenge all brands and properties eventually face. But, thankfully, there are five steps partners can take to ensure things run smoothly.

1. Communicate. Maintain regular intervals of communication to make sure changes in priorities, objectives, staff or branding are shared and understood by both parties.

2. Take time. Deep relationships at multiple levels inside both organizations takes time. Doing so allows both parties to build camaraderie and strength that will become important during the latter years leading to renewal or renegotiation.

3. Anticipate staff changes. The folks that negotiate and execute the long-term deals are not always going to be around to see them through. When staff changes *on either side), both parties must work to maintain consistent communication and share past history, programs, successes/failures, etc. Doing so will ensure seamless transition when these changes occur.

4. Review terms. Terms negotiated in long-term contracts need revisiting and maybe even refreshed at regular intervals. A good example is a 10-year contract that began in 2000. Who knew the internet and social media would evolve the way they did during that time? Odds are that properties took the opportunity to create additional revenue streams via these channels with other partners. However, they should consider offering alternative assets to a long-term partner to demonstrate how important they are to the organization. Parties that anticipate changes and are willing to make room for them throughout the term of the contract will find themselves in the best position for creating and maintaining long-term relationships that last.

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The key element of long-term agreements is the ability to continually re-visit the partnership throughout the term.

The worst case scenario for both sides is simply being heard from at renewal time. In order to ensure continued success, a long-term partnership should be treated as an annual renewal. While the framework of the agreement stays in place, continual evolution of the elements is critical.[/dropshadowbox]

5. Renew your vows. Just because a partner signed a long-term deal does not mean properties should say, “Thanks, here are your assets. Have a nice life.” Over time a property may come to rely on this partner revenue as “expected.” See what happens in other relationships when you take someone for granted. If you want to sustain the relationship, work closely with partners to ensure the relationships remain deep, programs relevant and results are shared on a continual basis. Properties taking this approach rarely find themselves in divorce court, barring a massive shift in strategy, finances or other extraneous reasons.

What will you do today?

During the courtship process both parties have stars in their eyes and see infinite possibilities. What do you need to do today with your partners to create and maintain the enthusiasm you had back in the beginning?

Mutual respect takes time, effort, constant open lines of communication, openness to change and making room for change. If you follow this road map to partner relations, odds are you’ll celebrate a series of milestone anniversaries for years to come.

How Will Teams Stay Personal In This Social Media Era?

kirk_wakefield 2013, Relate, Social Media May 1, 2013November 2, 2018customer service, fans, high touch, personal attention, quick response, relationships, social media, teams, twitter 0 Comment

by Bryan Apgar – May 2013

Look at these “kids” these days; all they do is tweet, text, and Facebook each other and don’t get out and do anything together. Some even sit in the same room texting each other.

Social media can help or hinder personal relationships. You might react to these “kids” like I do sometimes. Or, you might see social media as offering opportunities for new and extensive personal relationships, especially when relating to your customers.

Let’s look at a few ways social media can be used to keep or create a more personal level with your customers.

Low touch media = High touch service

Long gone are the days of dial up internet or even DSL internet (which we used to think was lightning speed).

Everything has to be faster. We need our information faster, our answers faster, everything faster. That makes social media the perfect medium.

Several months back I was having some issues with my cable/internet company (to remain nameless). While on the phone on hold, I tweeted something along the lines of “having issues, terrible service, #onhold, @companyx.”

Within seconds I had a tweet back from a company rep asking me to direct message them so I could give them my number and they could call me immediately.

I was just trying to let my frustration out (albeit it to my low number of twitter followers), but was immediately contacted and had the situation resolved because of the instantaneous nature of social media. What we might think of as impersonal and low touch, but the immediate service response times via social media communicates a higher level of personal attention: “They must really care about me.”

Get personal

Social media gives the customer a greater sense of being “a part” of something. Especially in the sports industry, fans are very passionate about their teams and players. Fans join groups, like pages, follow certain players, teams, reports, and blogs. The list can go on and on.

Through those verticals, we can open up a community that helps bring people together and increases their connections with the team. Doing contests, tweet photos, text to win, tag yourself here, etc. are a great way to get fans to directly connect with the team. And it allows the team to show a personal connection back.

Tweeting contest winner’s names makes it personal, especially for that person who won. How cool is it to have your favorite team tweet or post your name or picture? And even those that didn’t win like it because they can see it and think, “Wow that’s cool, hope I win next time” or even “Wow, I know that person.”

Increase transparency

Social media can also open up the transparency of a team. Give a behind the scenes look that people would not normally get to see. Social media allows for interaction through Google hangouts, or Twitter and Facebook Q&A’s with a player or coach that would not normally happen. Fans love just seeing pictures or comments posted by players that delve more into their personal lives.

So whether we want to brand social media as hindering or helping in personal connections, we can probably all agree that it is an effective way to bring community, stay connected, and increase personal connection with your fans.

Some of us can’t seem to put down our phones or be away from iPads, computers, or tablets. Our world might seem to be losing the in-person-to-person connection, but properly used, social media can increase our perceptions of personal connections.

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.