Chapter 14
Sports Sales
Introduction
• Sales function accounts for the
vast majority of revenues for any
sport organization
• Regardless of your position in
the sport industry, it will entail
some level of sales
• There has been a shift in
emphasis from product-oriented
to consumer-oriented sales
Sales: Key Questions
How do sport
organizations use the
sales process to attract
and retain consumers?
What do sport
organizations have to
sell?
Which methodologies do
they use to sell it?
What does it take to be a
successful salesperson in
sport?
Sales has developed into a dynamic discipline
History
Certain myopias initially slowed the growth of the sports
marketing profession
One-size-fits-all packages, lack of foresight in
marketing
Evolution of marketing occurred through increased
competition for the entertainment dollar and through
professionally trained sport marketers
A sales staff needs to be trained and prepared
to sell either a winning or a losing team
“Truisms” of
the Sales
Function
The major emphasis should be on identifying
and satisfying consumers’ wants and needs
instead of focusing simply on selling
A priority needs to be placed on the collection
and effective use of customer data
Simply handing out free tickets to a sporting
event sends a distinct message to fans about
the perceived quality of the product: If it’s free,
it can’t be worth all that much
Sales: Revenue-producing element of
marketing
Four ingredients to selling
Sales in Sport
Setting
• Identifying the customer
• Getting through to the customer
• Increasing awareness/interest
• Persuading customers to act on their interest
Four factors that cause consumers to
purchase: Quality, quantity, time, cost
Selling point: The emotional presence and
element of excitement that exists within sport
Table 9.4: Fan cost index versus inflation in the United States, 1991 to 2019
• Between 1991 & 2019 ticket prices to major men’s spectator sports increased
nearly three times more than the rate of inflation.
• The table presents the fan cost index versus
inflation in the United States between 1991 and
2019. Column 1 lists sports organizations.
Column 2 lists the fan cost index. It is divided
into the years 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2019.
Column 3 lists the percentage increase between
1991 and 2019.
•
Source: Adapted from data in Team Marketing Report,
www.teammarketing.com
Sales Strategies and
Methods
•
Organizations have recognized the need to
expand and enrich their relationships with
current and potential customers
•
Critical determinants of success of a sales
department
1.
The ability to accurately identify and
understand the needs of potential
and current customers
2.
The ability to maximize the
generation of sales leads
Sales Strategies and Methods:
CRM- Customer Relations Model (1 of 2)
•
A system that enables sport organizations to build and utilize a database of demographic and
psychographic information, as well as past purchase behaviors, for existing and potential
customers
•
Demographics (e.g., age, gender, education level, occupation, ethnicity)
•
Psychographics (e.g., motivations, interests, and opinions)
•
Sales analytics are readily retrievable through CRM systems and software, dramatically
changing the sales landscape
•
Most sport organizations use Microsoft Dynamics or SalesForce to manage their databases
•
Archtics, Veritix, and Prospector are systems also used to aid throughout the data/sales process
Sales
Strategies and
Methods:
CRM3 Methods
(2 of 2)
Direct (e)mail: Mail (today largely email)
campaigns that reach only those people the
organization wants to reach
Inside sales: Increasingly replaced the old
concept of telemarketing; most pro sport
organizations engage in this 9–12 month sales
training program, which involves young
professionals becoming trained to sell, trained
to follow a script, become an effective listener,
and meet the needs of the customer
Personal sales: Face-to-face, in-person selling
that typically involves the use of the
organization’s CRM system
Sales
Strategies and
Methods:
Benefit Selling
Promotion and creation of new benefits to offset existing
perceptions of the sport product or service
Understand which objections customers have to your
product or service, and why
Once benefits have been identified, they must be
publicized and judged by the consumer to have worth or
value
• Flex books and open houses
Another benefit that teams have implemented are online
ticket exchange programs to ensure that tickets are not
wasted when a fan can’t make a particular game within his
or her season ticket package
“Escalator concept”
Sales
Strategies and
Methods:
Up-Selling
• Sport organizations strive to move customers up the
escalator from purchasing single-game tickets to
mini-ticket plans to season ticket packages
Sponsorship sales
• Increase company’s involvement with your sport
organization
Never be satisfied with simply renewing a
customer at his or her current level of
involvement
Sales
Strategies and
Methods:
Eduselling
Evolutionary form of selling that
combines needs assessment,
relationship building, customer
education, and aftermarketing
Monitoring consumer utilization
and satisfaction through regular
communication
Proactively assisting customers in
developing ways to better utilize
and leverage their investment with
the organization
Process of retaining customers (retention marketing)
Sales Strategies
and Methods:
Aftermarketing
Providing continued satisfaction and reinforcement to
individuals or organizations who are past or current
customers
Encourages organizations to view season ticket holder
not as a one-time $3,000 customer but, based on a
potential span of 10 years, a $30,000 client
It has become critical for sport organizations to have
an aggressive plan for retaining their market share of
fans
Most organizations now have 5–12 representatives
charged with retaining and growing relationships with
existing accounts
Elements of
Successful
Customer
Service
Program
Personal calls,
emails, and
personal notes
Direct-dial phone
numbers and email
addresses given to
each season ticket
holder for contacting
his or her personal
service
representative
In-seat visits by
sales account reps
in the arena
Maintenance of a
customer sales and
service booth in
arena
Elements of Successful Customer
Service Program
Invitations to attend
“Fan Forums” with the
team’s general
manager and team
president
A handbook or manual
sent to season ticket
holders describing the
goals and values of the
team’s on-ice product
Ticket Sales
and Social
Media
Sport organizations
use social media
(both team and
personal accounts)
to connect and
engage with fans by
sharing news,
posting videos, and
hosting contests
They also are using
social media
platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter,
and LinkedIn to
drive ticket sales
Increasing reliance
on social media in
the sales process
has also created
many new entrylevel sales positions
Laugh: A salesperson needs a sense of humor
Make sure sale makes sense for prospective customer
What Makes a
Good
Salesperson
Don’t take rejection personally
Know as much as you can about the sales prospect
Sales is about volume—make a lot of calls and see a lot of people
Knock on old doors
Consult, don’t sell
Develop the art of listening
Believe in what you’re selling and believe in yourself
Close the sale: Ask customers what they want
Sales Inventory: Ticket Inventory
Type of Ticket
Season Ticket
% of Total Inventory
65%
Advanced Ticket Sales
15–25%
Group Sales
10–25%
Day of/Walk U Sales
5%
Additionally, there are club seats, luxury seats complete with catered food service,
private seat licenses (PSLs), and VIP parking, among others
Includes both electronic and print inventory
Sales
Inventory:
Advertising
Inventory
Electronic advertising inventory includes television,
radio, and team websites
Some teams have brought their television and/or
radio rights in-house
Team bears the production costs of its broadcasts
but has the opportunity to retain all of the
advertising sales
Print inventory: In-game programs, media guides
and newsletters, ticket backs, ticket envelopes,
scorecards/roster sheets, and team faxes
Sales Inventory:
Signage Inventory
• Traditional revenue streams include dasher
boards, scoreboards, outfield signs, and
concourses
• New revenue streams include the playing surface
itself, turnstiles, marquees outside the venue, and
most recently, players jerseys, among other
locations
Sales
Inventory:
Naming
Rights
Opportunity to sell entitlement of arena or stadium,
practice facility, or the team itself
The corporate naming of stadiums and arenas has
resulted in a significant new revenue stream for
sport organizations
Take for example, in 2016, the Golden State
Warriors signed a 20-year naming rights deal with
financial services giant, JPMorgan Chase; the deal
has been valued by industry experts at $10 million
per year, the largest naming rights deal ever
Sales Inventory: Digital and Social
Media Inventory
Team and league websites
provide attractive platforms
for sponsors
Banner ads, blogs, instant
messaging applications,
pop-up ads
Often online inventory (e.g.,
banner ads, company links)
is included as an important
value add in a larger
sponsorship deal
Social media platforms have
also spawned new inventory
for salespeople in the forms
of assets like “takeovers”
Promotions: Giveaway items, on/off field or floor
experiences, scoreboard promotions, etc.
Sales
Inventory:
Additional
Options
Community: School assemblies, camps, clinics, etc.
Miscellaneous: Fantasy camps, off-season cruises
with players, venue tours, fan fests, road trips, and
most recently, the emergence of player jersey
sponsorships (ex. NBA)
Creative development of new inventory, thus
generating new revenue streams by selling companies
the opportunity to associate with their sanctioned
events
Why do you believe the targeted
company would be a good fit for your
organization?
Sales
Inventory:
Sponsorships
The sponsorship sales process requires
a great deal of upfront research,
creativity, sales acumen, and patience
Sponsorships often entail a much larger
emotional and financial commitment on
the part of the potential customer
Process of selling sponsorship
packages must allow the company
sufficient lead time
Schedule a meeting with the sponsorship decision maker
At the first meeting, listen 80% of the time and sell only
when you have to; you are there to observe and learn
Selling
Sponsorship
Packages
Arrange a follow-up meeting for the presentation of your
proposal before leaving this initial meeting
Create a marketing partnership proposal
Present the proposal as a “draft” that you will gladly
modify to meet the company’s needs
Negotiate the final deal and get a signed agreement
Summary
• Sales are the lifeblood of any sport organization
• A steady increase in competition for customers, both individuals and
corporations, has sparked an evolution in sales methodologies within the sport
industry
• Students with strong analytical skills are needed to manage and mine the
organization’s customer relationship management system (CRM) to satisfy
consumers’ wants and needs