The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

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Bill Guertin: The Sports Sales Trainer the Pro’s Use – Work in Sports Podcast E133 Nov 14, 2018

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Want to Work in Sports? Of course you do! Bottom line: If you have sales skills, you'll go far. Bill Guertin is the guy who trains the sales staffs of pro teams around the nation, he knows what teams need and want on staff, and he joins us on this weeks podcast!Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.As many of you know, we hosted a Sports Career Accelerator event a few months back in Atlanta. 2 days of intensive learning and exposure to top flight sports teams and orgs in the Atlanta region.But let me give you a little behind the scenes. Trust me, it relates to this week’s episode, this isn’t just a trip down memory lane.Day 1. Our first event like this, and to be honest, not exactly my comfort zone – I’m not always a small talk guy.But I was pretty relaxed because we had a guy on the ground in Atlanta doing all of our logistics and would be essentially shepherding all the guest speakers in place, navigating where we go at what time, Sign ins, swag bags… he had things covered.So I wake up morning of the event, get a good breakfast at my hotel, get changed up and walk to the event. It’s about 7:30am…things don’t start til 8:30. I’m relaxed and calm because the pressure is not on me.Then I get a text message. Our guy is not just sick… he’s out. Down and out. Like heading to a clinic because he hasn’t stopped vomiting for a few hours.I’ve been in a few pressure situations over my career, so I don’t exactly panic…but I also don’t feel I have everything I need to succeed which means I’m not exactly comfortable. And then an attendee shows up… early, very early.Hello Sean Grassi if you are listening.I’m now scrambling to get people checked in, hand out swag, give out badges… and it’s not the best start in the world.People are filing in, they are in the room we rented, but it’s deathly quiet in there. I’ scrambling in the front of the lobby….and the vibe is…shall I say, poor.Then I see Bill Guertin come around the corner, one of our guest speakers. He takes one look at me and says…here, I got this, and he walks into the room with our guests.Next thing I know I hear chatter, and laughing, and cavorting and cajoling. Bill came in and just started to own the room.I had a mentor once who said – leaders change the temperature of the room when they enter. Think about that for a second – the idea is, everyone can feel a leader when they enter. It’s a changing presence, an attention grabber.Bill has that, and more. Right then I thought, OK, this guy is good, he can control a room with ease…which isn’t easy. Then I started to listen in, then I started to check his resume, then I started to admire.Bill has worked with over 100 professional sports teams to help train their sales staff… from the Boston Celtics, to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Football teams, basketball, baseball, NASCAR, hockey – if you have a sports event and a sales staff, Bill is the guy to train them.And, lucky us, he’s our guest this week as we dig deeper into the role that comprises a huge percentage of sports employees.Here’s Bill Guertin – and stay tuned at the end of the show for a special offer from Bill’s company ISBIQuestions for Sales Trainer Bill Guertin:Listen to the episode for the answers!1: You’ve been in the sales game since 1992 – specifically in sports sales since 2004 – you are truly the expert in the field having worked with over 100 professional sports teams. I’ll make the first questions really simple…or complex in it’s simplicity, you decide… why sales? Why has sales been your calling?2: What I think I’m most impressed with about you, and there are many things, but I know how difficult it can be to get in with pro teams as an outside resource. How did you go from being a sales manager of a local radio station in Kankakee, Illinois to the trusted sales trainer of pro sports?3: Go back to the beginning – what was the first team you worked with, and what was that experience like?

How to Start Building Your Personal Brand – Work in Sports Podcast e132 Nov 12, 2018

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There are opportunities out there to build your personal brand, and I'm sorry to say, most of you aren't taking advantage of them. Time to get to work. Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.There is no fan question today. Instead, there is a bit of a rant from me. Buckle up.No, I’m kidding, it’ll be a friendly rant. Let me set the scene for you – I don’t do much for our social channels on Instagram…but I should, and I realize that.I do a lot on LinkedIn – makes sense, that’s where people go when they want to look for jobs, network and have business related conversations. That’s our market, so it makes sense that I become an expert in this realm.I spend time on Twitter – heck it’s fun, and I share a good amount of content and keep up with all of our guests on the podcast.And of course I spend a lot of time in our private facebook group for this podcast which is now over 1,000 strong and amazes me every day with the level of engagement and advice that is shared. So thank you for that.But Instagram… I hadn’t really been there much because our business isn’t always visual, and frankly I hate seeing pictures of people at conferences. It’s like they are just showing off… look where I am! And that doesn’t provide any value.I always try to focus on value – what can I add to the discussion, how can I help someone learn, how can I change their approach even just a little, that’ll make a difference for them.I hadn’t been convinced that Instagram or Snapchat was the avenue for that… so I avoided it. BUT, I like to push myself, so I want to grow in these areas.As I’ve advised many of you countless times, one of the best areas to learn new skills is via Youtube. You can differentiate yourself by learning skills like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Pro Tools… all skills you can literally master on Youtube. Just last week I was trying to learn how to burn captions into a video… boom youtube video – three minutes later I’m doing it.So, I go to Youtube… I type in Instagram for businesses, thinking I’ll get some ideas that could spark some creativity.Now, I’m not trying to be ageist, I’m not trying to be judgmental. Heck I just did an entire podcast intro on not being judgmental. But there is a huge problem when I search youtube for Instagram techniques and videos and all of the advice is coming from 40-50 somethings.I’m 43 years old, mentioned this many times, not afraid of talking about it one bit… but if I want to learn something in social, I want to hear from the young people who grew up with it, use it communicate with it, have expectations for it, know what they like, what they don’t know what their friends share and the tone and the tenor of what they speak.Why aren’t any of you taking charge?I mean this as seriously as possible. And it’s not just about Instagram… it’s about building your brand, building your expertise, building your stature in the marketplace.I see people who are considered “influencers” by the way, hate that word, and while I think their content usually sucks, they have an audience and they leverage it. They have a brand, they have an audience.How powerful do you think it would be to create videos on mastering Instagram…you could create hundreds of tutorials from they eyes and mind of a millennial, and develop a huge brand for yourself.How do you think that would play out when you go to apply for a digital marketing job with Atlanta united?Hi Katie Gillen, I’m here to apply for the Digital marketing coordinator job – I have this YouTube channel with over 30 videos on tips tricks and hacks for Instagram. I knew it would be important to build my brand and share my voice, so I began creating these a year ago and now I have over 1,000 subscribers…but what I’d really like to do is take that knowledge and share it with the world through the lens of Atlanta United. I guarantee you Katie’s jaw would drop (mentally not literally) she’s play i...

Nicole Lynn: The Path to Becoming a Top Flight Sports Agent Nov 07, 2018

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Sports agent Nicole Lynn goes through her daily adventure of representing NFL players on this weeks episode of the Work in Sports podcast. From recruiting and signing athletes, to setting up their future and being discounted as a woman in a predominantly male field, she shares it all. Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Today’s guest graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s in business management. They then went on to earn their Doctor of Law with honors. They then went on to work on Wall Street as a Financial Analyst and obtained both their Series 7 and Series 63 certifications through FINRA.Sounds like a boss, right? Literally and figuratively, like this person could be your boss…and they are a boss. But there is something that happens to most people between their brain and their eyes. There is often a disconnect. You brain observes this person based on qualifications. Data. Details. It tells you this person is smart, motivated, qualified…But sadly, most, if not all people, make decisions with their eyes. They judge what they see -- based on external appearances, based on pre-conceived notions, based on superfluous data points.This happens to everyone, not just today’s guest. People judge you, every one of you, day in and day out, without knowing a thing about you. They assume, they guess, they predict.You’re too young.You’re a woman.You have blond hair.You wear braces.You’re short.You’re dressed different.You have darker skin.You have different eyes.You have different beliefs.We are all guilty of judgement. I can’t change that today, there is no way I can impact that on a scale that will make any difference, there is no way any of us can. It is our sad reality.Don’t blame it on social media, don’t blame it on video games, or helicopter parents or millennials – because this has been around forever.When I was a kid I remember there was a girl that came to our school, I’d guess it was around 6th or 7th grade and she was always dirty coming to school. Her clothes were a mess, her hair was in knots, she had an odor about her.We all assumed she was gross.What we didn’t know, was all of things she was going through on a daily basis in her life that would have rocked our safe, little suburban bubbles. She was smart, athletic and scared to death every day… yet all we saw was a dirty girl and we judged her. We made her days even worse.This is the sad reality of our world and it doesn’t stop in middle school, or after high school, or after college. There are cliques, there are groups, there are bands of people who will find comfort in their community of judgement. And at some point, it will likely be aimed at you.So what do you do?I wish I knew… I wish I had some great advice, some bumpersticker, meme, shareable quote logic. But I don’t really think that way. I draw inspiration and perspective from the people I talk to each week on this podcast. I learn about myself through every conversation, and I’m self-aware enough to realize I’m still a work in progress too.Today’s guest, the one with the incredible resume, is Nicole Lynn a young black woman, who faces this judgement every day as an up and coming sports agent…in, let’s speak frankly, a white man’s world.68 % of the athletes in the NFL are African American and that number jumps to 75% in the NBA and yet, of the top 50 sports agents in the world for 2018 published by Forbes, there were only 5 African-Americans….and zero women.When Nicole Lynn walks into a workout, or a pro day or a negotiation, the other people in the room figure she’s one of the players girlfriends. This bad ass negotiator, who has earned every bit of knowledge and power she has, is unfairly judged every day…because a smart, talented, attractive, well dressed confident woman can only be a girlfriend to the stars right?Shameful. Shame on us.But here’s the thing…I mentioned earlier that I don’t have any great advice h...

The Five Types of Mentors You Need in your Sports Career Nov 05, 2018

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You don't need just one mentor in your life, you need multiple mentors that fill various roles in your work and life. Check out this podcast to learn more about the different types of mentors you should seek out.Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.A few months ago I answered a fan question on networking, essentially they asked what type of people they needed in their network, and I went into great detail explaining the 5 different types of personalities and people everyone should have in their network.It’s a really good episode ---episode #65 if you want to go back and listen. I thought of that episode this morning when I received this question from Mark in San Francisco –Hi Brian - Love the podcast – I’m a junior in college majoring in Sports Administration, all of my courses talk about the nuts and bolts of this career path, but you are the only person out there helping all of us with ideas in internships and networking and strategies for our resumes and cover letters. Plus introducing us to all of these experts in the field… I mean come on it’s awesome.(Thanks mark)My question today for you is about mentoring… I know you’ve talked about the importance of finding a mentor before on the show… but I still feel lost in this area. How do you get one? What should they be like? How do I know if they really want to be a mentor? I really need some guidance here.Mark – I’m happy to provide guidance here! It’s a great question and per usual I have a lot of thoughts on it.Finding a mentor is important, as we’ve all stated, but it isn’t a just add water exercise. Meaning it isn’t just something on your to do list you decide to complete today.It has to happen more organically than that. Which sounds so squishy… but it’s true, it’s not something you can force.You know how you buy a new shirt and you really think it’s cool and unique…then you go out on the street or around campus and it seems like everyone has the same shirt, or something close to it? It’s not that there is a change, you are just more aware of the shirt now, your awareness is heightened, so you notice it everywhere around you.When my wife first got pregnant, it was like everywhere I looked was pregnant ladies… the number of pregnant ladies likely wasn’t any different, but because I was so hyper aware to it now, I just noticed it more.The same thing goes for the mentor conversation… we talk about it, so that you have awareness, and when a relationship starts to form that makes sense… you identify and value it’s importance.You aren’t actively going out and saying – you want me be my mentor? I think you’d be great!It has to happen more naturally than that…but you also have ot put yourself in position for it to happen…which means getting out there. Talking to leaders during your internship, trying to form relationships with professors, going to conferences and speaking up…get yourself out there and put yourself in a position to notice the opportunity.Now, here’s why I references my earlier podcast episode about the types of people you need in your network. I’ve gone back and thought about this in my own career…and I realized something. I don’t have just one mentor. I have multiple mentors.So when people say “How do I find A mentor” what they should be asking is “what type of people are good mentors to have?”Let’s answer that question too! BONUS BABY!I went back and thought about my career and the guidance I’ve had and I’d say I’ve had at least 5 different mentors who all served different purposes and they all played a vital role in helping frame my perspective on work and life.Let’s break them down a bit – with the caveat - there is no time limit on this. You don’t have to find 5 mentors by the end of the semester, this takes time and will occur over time, be open to it, be aware of it, and it will happen.Listen in to the podcast episode to learn the 5 types of mentors you need in your sports career

Dan Rossetti: Standing out for Sports Jobs – Work in Sports Podcast Episode 129 Oct 31, 2018

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Dan Rossetti is the President of Prodigy Sports Recruiting, and an expert in what it takes to get hired in the sports industry. Check out this episode and learn what it takes to stand out to employers for sports jobs.Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.When I was younger I had this idea about being discovered.You read these clickbait stories of famous people being discovered just walking around town. Ashton Kutcher was ambling through the mall in Iowa when a talent scout discovered him.Jennifer Lawrence was walking with her family in Union square while vacationing in New York and a talent scout discovered her.When I was young I thought of these moments a lot… like my time was coming, I’d be discovered soon.Truth is I was kind of chubby, kind of short and had a lot of freckles and braces.I mean, back then I was… now I’m tall and strapping…back then I was chubby.The point is, I was consumed by this idea of something great happening TO me, just by being somewhere.The lottery ticket of life was going to be bestowed upon me as I walked through Chess King at the Leominster Mall, picking out some horrendous outfit, or at least looking significantly intrigued as if I was playing a role to some camera that didn’t exist.You day dream and think someone may be watching… right now… time for Blue Steel!You laugh, because you did, or still do the same thing. We all do.People do this with their careers too. I’ll be discovered after college, by someone great doing something I deserve to do and they’ll pay me, LOTS!In the early months of this podcast I had on sports recruiter Dan Rosetti, Dan is incredible, he is the President of Prodigy Sports Recruiting and one of the true greats in this industry along with his co-workers Mark Gress and Scott Carmichael.But here’s what happened when I released that episode – I was flooded, and I imagine Dan was too – with requests of people who wanted Dan to find them a job. It didn’t matter what the job was, or what their skills were…they just wanted Dan to discover them.Sorry people, that’s not how the world works.You need a plan. You need a skill set. You need to build your brand. You need experience. Then someone like Dan can take you to another level.He can’t make you desirable to employers, that’s on you…only you can do that.Here’s the other thing that happened during that interview – Dan dropped some incredible knowledge and insight about what makes people successful in their sports careers and he would know better than anyone.So let’s go back in time and listen to Dan Rossetti, president of Prodigy sports and one of the most insightful people in the industry.

Katie Gillen, Atlanta United FC: The Competitive World of Sports Social Media Oct 29, 2018

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Careers in sports social media require skills outside of content creation, it takes strategic thinking, research, planning and more. Katie Gillen, Atlanta United FC's Manager of Social Media and Analytics joins us on the podcast to explain. Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.There tends to be very blurry lines in the sports industry.In some industries jobs are like silo’s – you work in a very specific function doing a very specific thing… do not venture over here, that is not your world. Stay in your lane, enjoy your silo. You push the paper from point A to point B…don’t even make eye contact with point C.Of course I’m being a little dramatic but, I know people who have this existence…it usually requires a cubicle, just to remind you that you have to stay in your space, and not play elsewhere.In sports, the lines are a little blurrier.Sports sales is a whole lot of marketing. Marketing involves a lot of social media. Social Media involves a lot of content creation. Content creation includes a lot of graphic design.We can play this game all day long.One of my early career bosses, Sandy Malcolm, used to tell me all the time, you have to be versatile. You can’t just be a good writer, you have to know how to run a camera, edit video, ask good questions and more and more and more.This formula is constantly changing.To be a scout, well now you have to know analytics… that wasn’t the case 10 years ago.To be a storyteller you have to know Instagram, also not the case a decade ago.As they say, the goal posts keep moving.Careers in sports are blended….and often require both right and left brain.Take sports social media for example. You think it’s a right brain career choice, all creative and abstract, spontaneous and artistic. Sure, that’s part of it. But not all of it.A huge component of successful social media is in the left brain activities… like setting strategy, planning, data mining, analytics and projections.This weeks guest, Katie Gillen from Atlanta United FC – she’s the manager of social media AND analytics…which to many of you may sound like an impossible combination of left and right brain, but for her, is the perfect mix of both.And Katie's daily reality points out a truth you should write on your wall or inscribe in your notebook – don’t pigeonhole yourself.You can’t be just one thing, you can’t be just a creative type…you have to be tactical and able to get things done. You can’t be just a data person, you have to be able to translate that into action and into a format your audience, whether that’s a fan base or a sponsor or a group sales target…is ready and excited to consume.This interview ahead isn’t just a “let’s talk about how fun it is to work in social media!” Sure that’s part of it, but there are challenges ahead, challenges that you need to face if you want to work with a major professional sports team in any role.In social media you must be able to complete the cycle -- from over-arching strategy, to concept, to planning, to execution, to evaluation, to adjustments, to data collection, to learning and applying, to next challenge.Any part of this cycle that you avoid, or can’t complete, means you have a weakness that can be or must be filled by someone else. Wouldn’t you rather be able to contribute to the whole process?Today’s guest Katie Gillen sure can. As the Manager of Social Media and Analytics for Atlanta United FC, the University of Florida grad has been up to the challenge of the whole cycle, and that’s one of the many reasons she’s a rock star…listen in, and you’ll find out the rest of the reasons real soon.Sports Social Media Questions for Katie Gillen, Atlanta United FC Manager of Social Media and Analytics1: Going through your background, before you became the social media maven with Atlanta FC, your previous roles were all connected to content and storytelling in sports… when did it become clear to you that your career...

Sports Marketing is Bigger in Las Vegas! Vegas Golden Knights CMO Brian Killingsworth Oct 24, 2018

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Brian Killingsworth CMO of the Vegas Golden Knights joins the Work in Sports podcast to discuss the success and overall brand approach of the young NHL organizationHi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Vegas Baby! I’ve said these words many many times prior to boarding a flight for the oasis in the desert.Visiting with friends, visiting family, heck I even got married there. No not a drive through elvis chapel, the real deal top floor of the Mandalay Bay looking down the strip.I love Vegas.But I never, ever, thought any sport outside of boxing and MMA would thrive there. Those are events people go to to be seen, and that is Vegas in a nutshell.Mike Tyson fight – heck yeah bring it to Vegas and roll out the red carpets…or as Iron Mike would do, cut a hole through the middle of a hotel towel and drape it over himself.Seriously, for all of you who only think of Mike Tyson as the guy from the Hangover… come on, he was the baddest man on the planet for real.Ok, I’m getting off track.My point is this – I never believed Vegas could support a day in day out team. An 82 games in a season, practice daily, win some lose some team. I just didn’t see it.There are communities in Vegas, full of families and schools and kids and water parks… but they tend to avoid the strip.When the Vegas Golden Knights announced their existence, my first thought was… this is going to be awful. Hockey in the desert hasn’t done well, the locals don’t go to the strip and there just isn’t enough interest from tourists to go see a hockey game…when they can go do other things.Think about it, if you are a tourist from Minnesota going to Vegas in the Winter to get some sun… are you going to go see a hockey game? No I don’t think so, you’re going to be poolside at the Hard Rock for a few days getting your pasty white arse a little sun.To me the equation of season ticket holders + local interest just wasn’t adding up.But so far, I have been miserably wrong. Now before you say “success changes everything, wait until they lose” you need to remember that before they even dropped a puck, they had sold 13,000 season tickets for an arena that holds 17,500. That’s 74% capacity for the season, guaranteed and before they even made any calls for group sales, individual game sales, premium seating…They were netting a hat trick before the ice got cold.Why? A fan base that was starved for a team and an aggressive marketing strategy that former guest on the show Leigh Steinberg called “a miracle on and off the ice.”Who better to learn about this successful strategy from, than Vegas Golden Knights Chief Marketing Officer, Brian Killlingsworth, who after 10 years with the Tampa Bay Rays, and then multiple years in the NFL with the Rams and Buccaneers… took his talents to Vegas!Questions for Brian Killingsworth, CMO Vegas Golden Knights1: You’ve worked in various marketing roles in Major League Baseball, the NFL and now in the NHL. How much does the approach to marketing change in different sports with different target audiences?2: Not only are we talking different sports, we’re also talking about a first of its kind location. You spent many years in Tampa Bay with the Rays and the Buccaneers… how much have you been blown away by the Vegas experience?Does it allow you some freedom from a marketing perspective to say ‘this is Las Vegas, we can do anything!’3: In a way, having an expansion team is like working for a start-up… I’d imagine there are so many granular details you have to focus on to structure a good foundation so you can grow. How challenging was it to really build a marketing strategy, approach and team from scratch?4: Talk about head spinning, I don’t think anyone predicted the Golden Knights would be in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, no less the finals. Your marketing team and overall fan experience took things to a different level all season… did it energize you to know in the finals your ef...

Tips to Make Sure You Don’t Mess Up Your Next Phone Interview Oct 22, 2018

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Phone interviews are the pre-screening of choice for most sports employers, so we will all have to face them at some point. How do you nail the phone interview so you can get the face-to-face one? That's the subject of this weeks Q&A!Hi everybody I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Last week on our private facebook group I asked everyone to post a GIF that exemplifies the status of their sports job search.43 people responded… and they were pretty darn hilarious, but at the same time kind of depressing. 81% of the respondents had negative themes to their current job search.The cat running up a slide and getting nowhere… kid crying during a TV interview… a justin timberlake or two…I mean I laughed a lot…but it was sad, man.I want better things for all of you, that’s why I do this damn show. I’m not here for the sponsors… psst, there aren’t any.Unemployment is low thanks to Obama, and we have over 10,000 sports jobs available on our site right now, so what is going wrong? Where is the disconnect between your skills and their openings?Before we get into today’s question, which is related to this subject, you’ll see…I want you to go through a little checklist:As yourself:Am I being too specific? – Sometimes you need to broaden your search and change what you are willing to accept as an entry level position to get things started.Am I being too rigid on where? I’ve said it many times before, you often need to relocate for sports careers – go where the opportunities are, take some chances, sports isn’t a passive industry, you can’t wait for something to come to your door. Also, make this clear in your cover letter. Finish off by saying something like – “While I am not currently local to the Pittsburgh area, I am willing and anxious to relocate for an opportunity like yours.” Phrase it better, but let it be known relocating is not an issue.Are you lacking primary skills? You need the tangibles! What do you have that they need – if you can’t answer that question, you have work to do.Have you done a personal audit? Check yourself and your skill set against job descriptions. Where are the gaps?Are you networking? If you aren’t connecting with all of the gueests on this show – if you are active on LinkedIn sharing, commenting and liking, if you aren’t going to your career center and finding out about alumni in your area of expertise – you are not working hard enough at getting a job. It’s work – put in the time.Alright let’s get on to today’s question – this one comes from Morgan in South Bend – I have known Morgans who are men, and Morgan’s who are women, so I will not specify gender and I will not judge. Morgan asks –I’ve been binge listening to your podcast and I have to say I love it, I can’t believe how much advice you give that motivates and inspires me to take action.[thanks morgan]You’ve talked a lot about interview techniques including video interviews… but I have a phone interview next week that I am very nervous about. Do you have any tips?YES! I’ll tell you this, I hate phone interviews. They always feel off-rhythm to me. I know for me personally I feed off of body language and reading the room… without that I feel like I’m trying to play basketball with both my hands tied behind my back.Which means I dribble with my face. Which is awkward.That said, phone interviews are a reality of our world and the most common pre-screening used before bringing someone in for an in person interview… so we all must deal.Here are a few tips to help smooth out this phone conversation:Let’s start with a couple easy logistical issues that are pre-interview – remember someone has to call you first to set up the interview:1: Check your voicemail outgoing message. I did mine about 5 years ago and never thought of it again, I called myself one day to find my phone and heard my message… it was awful. I sounded depressed or like I had a really bad headache.

Christopher Flynn: Inside the CORE of the Oakland A’s – Work in Sports Podcast e125 Oct 17, 2018

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Most professional sports teams have sales academies where they train their entry level sales staff. The Oakland A's have gone way beyond the traditional sales training, creating a Sports Business Development Academy they call The CORE.Christopher Flynn, sales manager for the CORE, joins the podcast to share more about this unique program Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.It’s kind of rare that you come across a completely unique process in the sports industry. Sure there are advancements in the business of sports, things like dynamic ticket pricing, analytics, even social media is an advancement on the method of communication and marketing.But truly unique doesn’t come around all that often, when it does, you take note.Want to work with a pro team? What’s the advice you hear all the time – look into sales. Right? I mean I’ve never worked in sales myself, but I’ve done enough of these interviews to see a pattern when it becomes obvious.Sales is the lifeblood of every sports organization because without sales there is no event. I remember going to a Major indoor Soccer League game as a kid – it was the Dallas Sidekicks vs. the Cleveland Crunch… now I lived in Boston, but it was a touring exhibition to try and get more fans nationally.The game featured Tatu, who was one of the greatest indoor soccer players in the world… and no one was there. I mean no one.It was pretty clear this league and this team wasn’t going to last… no tickets sold, no revenue, no operation.It makes sense why teams focus so much of their energy on sales and sales training.More than half of the entry level jobs in sports are in sales, and all teams both high and low, have sales academies for their entry level inside sales crew. This is where they get the hardcore training in how to become an elite salesperson in sports… or they find out it isn’t for them and they bail.But what about everyone else? What about someone who wants to work in a different department? Where do they get the training necessary to thrive in the industry?Teams have more than just sales people on staff, so what are they doing to train those people, and keep that talent in house?Well, the Oakland A’s identified this problem. They changed the typical pro team sales academy, deciding to take a holistic approach to training.The focus of their elite training program, called the CORE, wouldn’t be just on sales…it would be Communications, Corporate Partnerships, Marketing, Strategy, or Community Engagement. Why? Because they wanted to create an incredible staff, and keep them with the A’s. The best way to do that is by finding their perfect spot, not just spoon feeding sales.The CORE stands for Culture, Opportunity, Results and Education – and it is led by the Eddie Eixenberger and Christopher Flynn. Chris joins us on the podcast this week, to explain more about this incredible program:Questions for Christopher Flynn, Oakland A's Sales Manager, The CORE1: I’m a big fan of branding - giving product or group a name, purpose and tag line… at the Oakland A’s you’ve really done that, branding your sports business development academy “The CORE”… can you explain a little more about the program and how it was created?2: Almost every team has a sales academy where they train their inside sales staff to sell tickets…but you guys are going one step further than just sales, you’re also training these new academy members in Communications, Corporate Partnerships, Marketing, Strategy, and Community Engagement – why was it so important to have a more holistic and complete version of training outside of just sales?3: CORE stands for Culture, Opportunity, Results, and Education –All great terms, but I love in particular the two middle terms: Opportunity and Results – can you explain why these two in particular are such an important part of the A’s sports business development?4: I’ve watched your LinkedIn feed and one of the things...

Should I Focus on Just One Sport for My Career? Work in Sports Podcast e124 Oct 15, 2018

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Does it make sense to focus on one sport and become an "expert" or to branch out and work in any sport? That is today's question that we're tackling on the Work in Sports podcastHi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.It’s Monday, it’s grey and rainy here in Pennsylvania… and I am super pumped for this week. I know, I’m not the type to say things like super pumped, because it sounds forced and inauthentic… but I am so I will.Here’s why. I love booking great guests for our show. I love it. There is this sense of validation that comes from someone saying yes. And better yet, as our show grows and more and more people become connected to it, there is a huge ego boost that comes from someone saying, I love your podcast of course I will come on.You aren’t supposed to admit things like ego boosts, you are supposed to have more chill than that… but come on, I’m human like all of you, I get excited and geeked up when important people in the industry know and respect what we are doing here!You get excited right? Me too. I’m no different than you are.So, why am I excited… Let me count the ways.1: I just had an awesome, and I mean awesome interview with Christopher Flynn Oakland A’s Sales manager for the CORE. The CORE is their Sports Business Development Academy and it is cutting edge and super cool. I love it when an interview flows and is very natural… we crushed it.2: This week I’m interviewing –Katie Gillen, Atlanta FC’s Manager of Social Media and Analytics – Atlanta FC is crushing it in fan engagement and social, but there is so much more to social than just tweeting behind the scenes photos -we’re going to get into that with Katie.Kristina Wedseltoft – Indiana Pacers Community Relations coordinator – so many of you have expressed interest in community relations, so pumped to have Kristina on right as the NBA season is getting underway.Bill Guertin from Inspiration Sports Business Institute – Bill is the guy who teams hire to train their sales staff. He’s worked with over 40 professional teams, he knows the skills you need, what teams want and how to break in to sports.And finally – Brian Killingsworth the Chief Marketing Officer of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights are crushing it in Vegas, and Brian is behind so many of their great ideas. So excited for that interview.So yeah, I’m pumped up. If you have any question you want me to ask any of those guests, post them in our private facebook group! Go to the Work in Sports podcast on facebook, join the group and post your question as a new thread. I will pick the best questions, incorporate them in the interview and give you a shout out for asking it.Pretty cool right?Justin Collier:Just wanted to connect and say thank you for the work you do. I just recently found your podcast and when I did I was wondering if I needed to relocate to succeed in the sports industry. I randomly scrolled down through the episodes, and amazingly the one I stopped on was “Do I really need to relocate for a sports career?” This was a sign to me that the podcast was what I needed in my sports career. (Thanks Justin!)I am currently a seasonal Account Executive with the Tennessee Titans and as my time with the Titans comes to an end, my job search is kicking back into gear. So the one main question I have: Is it a good idea to stay in one sport so that you can master that specific industry, or is it a good idea to branch out and try multiple sports so that you can be well versed in every industry? Thanks again Brian! Justin it’s a good question and I’m going to be very very assertive with my answer.Branch out.With one exception that I’ll get to later.Why branch out? First lets just work through some examples. You know how I mentioned I’m interviewing Brian Killingsworth CMO of the Vegas Golden Knights later this week?Check his resume:10 years with the Tampa Bay Rays – that’s baseball.3 years with the LA (then St.

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