Texas Rangers

The Impact of Data Visualization in Sports

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The Impact of Data Visualization in Sports
by Katie Morgan – November 2014

Teams constantly research to find new data sources to enhance business. Data is the life blood of the organization. Data provides the ability to make key decisions based on factual information rather than projections based on personal experiences.

Big Data Questions

Some of the biggest questions teams face when finding new data sources include:

  • Now that we have all of this data, where do we store it?
  • When our data is in a usable format, how do we compile the information for our decision makers?

The Texas Rangers currently use a data warehouse to store all of our various data sources including:

  • Historical and Current Ticketing Data
  • Demographic Information
  • CRM Data
  • Team Performance Data (present and historical)
  • Weather Information (present and historical)
  • Secondary Market Data

Why do you need a data warehouse?

Justin Foote
Justin Foote

Justin Foote, Interactive Database Coordinator with the Texas Rangers, highlights benefits of using a data warehouse to store data.

“The use of a data warehouse has given us the ability to store and report on data, both past and present. Access to fan’s previous purchasing habits is crucial in determining future trends amongst our fans. Without the warehouse, the reports and visualizations we are using would have taken days to create, as opposed to  a couple of hours.”

Data provides you the information to help with various initiatives such as:

  1. vetting the best leads to distribute to sales representatives,
  2. provide real time visualizations,
  3. offer information on purchasing trends,
  4. provide the ability to do comparative analysis year over year, and various other projects.

Visualization with Tableau

The Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates all chose to use a data visualization tool, Tableau, to provide dashboards on various initiatives and projects.

Jason Witzberger
Jason Witzberger

At the Pirates

Jason Witzberger, Manager of Business Analytics with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been a Tableau user for just under a year. He states:

“The Pittsburgh Pirates use Tableau to visualize sales and marketing trends in real-time.  With Tableau, we have access to the most up-to-date information represented in a dynamic visual format, all available from any location.  Tableau makes the data easy to understand so that we can make smarter and more proactive decisions.”

Jason points out several key benefits to using a data visualization tool:

  • Access to the most up-to-date information. Whether you are making a key decision with your data, or trying to show a new trend, having the most up to date information is of utmost importance. The Texas Rangers update data every fifteen minutes in order to provide the most accurate information to the individuals using the data resources.
  • The data is easy to understand. When providing data to decision makers and others working on a specific initiative, you always want to provide easy-to-understand information. A simplified visualization provides imperative information in an readily comprehended format. Remember the audience and cater visualizations to their needs.
Chris Calo
Chris Calo

At the Reds

Visualization tools, and in this case Tableau, offer several different ways to represent data. Chris Calo, Business Systems Analyst with the Cincinnati Reds, uses several different types of visualizations to highlight important information for his organization.

“Tableau has helped Reds management view data in a totally different way.  Whether it is a stadium heat map, viewing suite availability in real-time, or filtering through data reports, Tableau has made the understanding of data a much easier process with their visualization tools.”

At the Rangers

The Texas Rangers currently use Tableau to showcase the following information:

  • Real Time Ticket Sales updates
  • Actual Sales vs Budgeted Sales Comparisons
  • Sales Representatives Inbound and Outbound Calls
  • Real Time Game Day Turnstile Reporting
  • Real Time Merchandise Sales
  • Breakdown of Ticket Sales in our various box offices, concierge, and phone room
  • Cell Phone Anaylsis
  • Seasonal Employee Payroll Monitoring

Use your data visualization tool to showcase data in easy to view, eye catching, and easy to understand format. These tools provide you with a plethora of options, and it’s key that you find the visualization that enhances the data you are showing so that a quick and productive decision can be made for your organization.

An abundance of unformatted data can seem like a daunting task. However, with the appropriate plan in place any team or organization can convert the data into a usable format and begin visualizing real time information in a brand new way!

 

 Cover photo courtesy of http://www.tableausoftware.com/ 

 

3 Key Insights for Women in the Business of Sports

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3 Key Insights for Women in the Business of Sports
by Hannah Bouziden – May 2014

Successful Leaders in the Wide World of Sports Business

Women increasingly move up the corporate ladder across America, but have faced a greater challenge in the once male-dominant industry of professional sports. In a world where people like Donald Sterling have been operating, what is it like for females as they progress to the highest executive levels in the business of sports?

On April 14th, 2014, Baylor University’s Sports Sponsorship & Sales Club welcomed three leading women in the world of professional sports to speak about the challenges they have overcome in their careers. The panel included, Paige Farragut (Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service with the Texas Rangers Baseball Club), Tami Walker (Manager, U.S. Fuels Brand Management for Phillips 66, 76, and Conoco), and Amy Pratt (Vice President of Event & Tours with Legends/Dallas Cowboys). During the discussion, the women touched on three main topics they believed to have an effect on women in the business of sports and in corporate America. They shared their insights on how to deal with maternity leave, sexual harassment, and the glass ceiling.

1. Maternity Leave

Paige Farragut
Paige Farragut

Having the ability to balance a family life and working in the fast pace world of sports is a concern for many women. Farragut and Walker were able to handle the pressure and become successful women in their industry while raising children.

Walker’s advice is to make sure you build up enough good will prior to maternity, so that others recognize your value to the team and want to make sure the entire process flows smoothly for your return. She also advises to do what is right for your family and just roll with it!

Farragut decided to wait until she was in management to start a family. According to Farragut, “In sales, time away matters.”  Therefore, her advice is to make sure you are flexible and have the ability to put in the hours, even if that means having to manage work at night.

2. Sexual Harassment

Walker’s advice on how to handle sexual harassment in the workplace: First, define what harassment meant to you. Then, make sure you set boundaries and establish awareness among others in a gracious, but firm manner. Both Pratt and Walker stated that you should always be cautious of what you say and how you say it.  “You have no idea what the experiences of other people are,” stated Walker.

Each of the panelists urged young women to find mentors within the organization, others in whom they confide and seek counsel if/when such situations do arise. Different situations and people may require different approaches.

3. The Glass Ceiling

Amy Pratt
Amy Pratt

Although the panelists are aware of potential glass ceilings, each operates under the assumption that it doesn’t apply to them.

Walker’s advice for young women revolved around the idea of never allowing yourself to become your own worse enemy. Never doubt yourself, but instead ask, “why not me?”

Farragut’s advice was just simply proving yourself, because it will eventually pay off. If you are the very best in every position that you have, then you will not be overlooked. An issue Farragut sees among young women in the business of sports today is that she has never had a woman tell her that she would like to be in management some day.

All three of the women agreed that there are opportunities for women, they just have to have the desire to seek them. Pratt stated, “There are tons of opportunities for women to open new doors . . . to make themselves of value.”

Closing Advice

Tami Walker
Tami Walker

Women increasingly moving into senior positions in corporate America. These three women are an encouragement to all young people, especially young women who aspire to make their own success story in the world of sports. Walker left a great piece of closing advice for these young professionals, “If you have a drive as a woman to excel . . . then the opportunities are there, there is nothing that can hold you back.”

Women Leaders In the Business of Sports

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Women Leaders In the Business of Sports
by Hannah Bouziden – April 2014

Baylor University welcomes Paige Farragut, Tami Walker, and Amy Pratt to the Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) Club’s Women In Sports panel on April 14th. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor University in the Cashion Academic Center, Room 203. The panel will discuss the opportunities and challenges that women face in the sports industry. Each of these leaders in the business of sports serves on the Baylor S3 Advisory Board.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Go to the post-event article to read the panelists’ advice on maternity leave, sexual harassment, and breaking the glass ceiling.[/dropshadowbox]

Meet the Panel

Paige Farragut
Paige Farragut

 

Paige Farragut currently serves as Senior Vice President, Ticket Sales & Service for the  Texas Rangers Baseball Club. Previously, Farragut worked within the Rangers’ ticket and suite sales operations. Prior to working at the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, she worked for the Dallas Stars as a season ticket account executive. Farragut is a graduate of Texas State University.

 

 

 

Tami Walker
Tami Walker

 

Tami Walker currently leads US Fuels brand management for Phillips 66. Prior to this Walker served as a Global Marketing Strategist for Shell Oil Company. Walker also previously worked with Pennzoil Quaker State, SpencerHall, The Coca Cola Company, and the Kellogg Company. Walker received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and then went on to receive her MBA from the University of Texas.

 

 

 

Amy Pratt
Amy Pratt

 

Amy Pratt currently serves as Vice President, Events and Tours for the sports, entertainment, and media company, Legends. Pratt has also served as director of sales and manager of AT&T Stadium while working for Legends. Previously, she served as a sales consultant for the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to working for the Dallas Cowboys she worked in corporate and group sales for the Phoenix Coyotes. Pratt is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

 

 

 

All Welcome

The public is invited to attend the panel discussion. Later this month, a summary article in the S3 Report will highlight insights from the three panelists. If you have more questions, please follow up with program leaders Dr. Kirk Wakefield or Dr. Darryl Lehnus.

New Kid on the Sponsorship Block

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New Kid on the Sponsorship Block
George Killebrew
George Killebrew
by Clark McCormack – February 2014

As George Killebrew has taught us, you’re always learning in this business, assuming you want to stay in this business. So, after breaking into sponsorship sales with the Dallas Mavericks, I began collecting helpful tips for those of us who are the new kids on the sponsorship block.

#1. Manage Your Expectations

“Understand that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. Deals take time to develop.” -Guy Tomcheck, Director of Corporate Partnerships, Texas Rangers

Guy Tomcheck
Guy Tomcheck
  • Sellebrate: Celebrate the successes of sales regardless of the price tag.
  • Be a “grinder.” Look yourself in the mirror each day and ask yourself, am I 1% better than the day before?
  • Be an “explorer.” Don’t be afraid to explore new categories, create a new activation piece, or use fan data to engage with fans differently through your partnership.

#2. Start to Develop Your Personal Brand

Ask yourself: How am I different from those around me? Define your own brand, style, and the way you carry yourself. Dan Migala shared an insight he learned from  Ted Phillips, President and CEO of the Chicago Bears, who said, “Find the uniqueness of your own voice. Don’t try to conform to others.”

Dan Migala
Dan Migala

#3. Take a Story-Telling Approach

Tell someone a story you aspire to have happen to you.

  • Have a “reference story” for different categories of business or situation (ex: community relations initiative, quick serve restaurant activation story, in-game promotion, etc.). Show you’ve done your homework.
  • My inspiring reference story?  Someday I want to create a deal like Dan Migala did when he changed the start time of the White Sox games to 7:11 to tie in with the 7-Eleven sponsorship. I want to make a game-changing deal!

#4. Believe You Belong

Brian George
Brian George

“Don’t get caught up in others’ titles (CEO, VP Sales, etc.). Focus on building a mutually respectful relationship.” ~ Brian George, General Manager, Baylor IMG Sports Marketing.

  • Make others feel like they belong: When you are out in public, never discount someone you meet and how they may can help you in some way someday.

What do you think?

If you’re the new kid on the sponsorship block or the experienced manager or executive, what tips would you give me? I’m always willing to learn!

Cover photo courtesy of Yksisarvinen.

Is your CRM team paying enough attention to data quality?

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Is your CRM team paying enough attention to data quality?
by Katie Morgan – September 2013

With insights from the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s, and San Diego Padres

Whether you work with Microsoft Dynamics, Sales Force, or any other system, the key to maintaining a quality database system lies in the validity of data.

Teams constantly struggle with data from different sources.  For example, at the Texas Rangers, we import data with a variety of formats and quality levels including:

  • a nightly ticketing feed,
  • secondary market buyers,
  • appended demographic information for purchasers, and
  • leads generated from a variety of sources.

What does that mean on a daily basis? We must:

  • verify the accuracy of personal information,
  • find and remove duplicated records,
  • find existing records and update or add additional information, and
  • verify revenues and other sales numbers.

In case you forgot…

Without the proper measures the data quality suffers and the organization misses revenue opportunities.

Diny
Diny Hurwitz

Diny Hurwitz, Data Analyst for the Milwaukee Brewers, works with Microsoft CRM throughout the year in Major League Baseball.  Diny explains the critical issues,

“The general purpose of CRM is to get a 360 degree view of your customers. If that view is not accurate, your reps will spend time selling products that are not geared towards your customers’ needs. By having accurate data (e.g. rolling up duplicate account information into a single contact), you will be able to target correct products using whatever purchase criteria your organization chooses. Plus, you will have better match rates appending demographic data.  By maintaining a clean database, you will also see cost savings if you do any direct mail.  You will avoid sending multiple mail pieces to the same household/business and you will again be targeting the correct product to your customers.”

As Diny points out, data quality is important for several aspects of your business processes.

  1. Use the database to target specific products. The more well-rounded view of the customer allows your sales representatives the ability to create personalized sales pitches for each potential buyer they contact.
  2. Increase ROI from your database.  You save money on direct mail campaigns if the addresses for potential buyers are up to date and accurate.
  3. Increase sales volume and efficiency.  Better quality leads distributed to sales representatives equals more sales.

Building confidence

Data quality builds confidence in the system. If we want our team to use the system we need buy-in.

Mark Bashuk
Mark Bashuk

Database systems can also be used to report revenues to ownership and management when needing quick and easy reporting methods.  If your data quality is up to par you won’t have any reservations reporting these numbers out of your respective database, and can rest assured you are reporting accurate numbers.

Mark Bashuk, Database Services Manager with the Oakland A’s, speaks more to this point,

“They key benefit of a successful data quality initiative is confidence. If the ticket history and other details on each account are correct, the sales reps and other system users will trust what you are telling them and use the system as designed. They won’t waste time double-checking the ticket history or previous activities on each account. When management and other departments (especially finance) are able to use and trust CRM-based reports – it reflects positively on the entire department.”

Quality vs. Quantity

One common mistake teams make is focusing more on data quantity than quality. Without quality data it doesn’t matter how much data you have in your system. You won’t be able to build a successful environment for your data, users, or organization.  

Ben Roller
Ben Roller

Ben Roller, Director of CRM & Ticket Analytics with the San Diego Padres, touches on this,“There is virtually no difference between 100 records or 10 million records if the quality of data is lacking.  Analysis of such data only provides mediocre and sometimes false information leading to poor business decisions.  Compiling a CRM database with quality information, not only about who your customers are but their behavioral tendencies as well, will provide more accurate forecasting to better predict sales, retention, and possible customer service issues ultimately resulting in a better fan experience and increased revenue.”

The bottom line: Make or break

When beginning to work with a database or implementing a new one, keep data quality at the forefront of your mind.  Data quality can make or break the success of your implementation and usage of the system if the proper measures are not taken to ensure high levels of correct information.

 

 

Cover photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sineimago/

 

Is integrity in sports sales a problem?

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Is integrity in sports sales a problem?
by Wade Graf – February 2013

Hundreds, even thousands, apply for any ticket sales position opening, flooding LinkedIn, PBEO and Teamwork Online  with resumes and contacts trying anything to break in.

Some fly to the Baseball Winter Meetings or various sports sales combines in hopes of speaking to any hiring manager willing to listen. If fortunate enough to grab entry-level positions in inside sales, they soon realize they have a very short time period to prove worthy ticket sellers.

[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-both” width=”350px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”.5″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]

Three Takeaways:
• Form good habits and practices early in your career.
• Never compromise morals or integrity in order to get ahead.
• Promotions aren’t always awarded to the top revenue generator. Integrity, teamwork and work ethic are other key components in taking the next step in your career.[/dropshadowbox]

Entry level sales positions are often part-time or limited periods (6-12 months) before the next batch of recruits invade the cubicles. Reps compete in revenue generation to earn a full time position with the team. In this pressurized competitive situation, inexperienced reps may look for any way possible to succeed.

Habits learned early in your career not only stay with you; they grow and intensify on a daily basis. It is incredibly important new ticket salespeople understand there is more to their jobs than just generating the most revenue possible. Sure, managers want and need to fill the seats through season tickets and nightly suites, but that’s not all that matters.

Does integrity count?

Outstanding sales reps don’t compromise integrity trying to make sales or earn promotions. Being a standout sales representative is not:

  • taking a 16-digit credit card number or check, then ignoring the client over the entire course of the season.
  • achieved by holding a great seat location from your co-workers until you find just the right individual or company who will buy them from you.
  • earned by trying to sell to a company your teammate has been talking to for months or by hiding a sale in the client’s brother’s ticket account.

Just one episode of taking another representative’s sale can tarnish that representative’s image. Months or even years of great work can come crashing down over one moral compromise.

Jason Fortune, Season Ticket Manager with the Texas Rangers, explains,

Jason Fortune

“As long as you  maintain your integrity and make the right decisions, you will always have a chance to earn a promotion. Always remember that sales reps who cut corners and ‘cheat’ the system will not last long with any organization. The recipe for success is simple: Come in, work hard every day surpassing expectations, never compromise your integrity, and eventually your hard work will pay off.”

Katie Morgan, CRM and Database Manager with the Texas Rangers, notes the effects acting with integrity has on potential promotions:

Katie Morgan
Katie Morgan

“Gaining the respect of your peers is one of the most beneficial things within the sports industry and also one of the most critical. Maintaining working relationships with those around you will help with day to day tasks. But, more importantly, those who earn respect and work well with others catch a manager’s eye when looking to potentially promote.”

Are you a great teammate?

Being a great teammate and helping the person you are competing with to earn the promotion is just as important as being on top of the sales board. Giving great customer service and showing customers around for an hour in the stadium means just as much to the organization as making ten more calls in order to earn the next sale.

When looking to promote from within the organization, season ticket or suite managers don’t always pick the leader on the sales board. They want those who can sell, but also those who provide superior customer service, have great moral standards, and represent the organization well each and every day. Remember it’s a team sport, both on the field and in the office.