Transcript Principles & Practice of Sport Management

Chapter 14
Sport 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 productoriented to consumer-oriented sales.
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History
• Certain myopias 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.
Sales in Sport Setting
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Sales: Revenue-producing element of marketing
Four ingredients to selling:
Finding the customer
Getting through to the customer
Increasing awareness/interest
Persuading customers to act on their interest
Four factors to purchase:
Quality Quantity
Time
Cost
Selling point: The emotional presence and element
of excitement that exists within sport
Sales Strategies and Methods:
Database Marketing
• Creation and management of database that
includes consumer demographics
• Ability to access, understand, and utilize
information valuable to the maximization of sales
efforts
• Utilize database to generate sales through direct
mail, telemarketing, and personal sales
• Personal selling incorporates database into faceto-face, in person selling
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 must be judged by the consumer to
have worth or value
• Ex. flex books
Sales Strategies and Methods:
Aftermarketing
• Process of retaining
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
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Sales Strategies and Methods: UpSelling
• “Escalator concept”
– 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
What Makes a Good Salesperson
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Laugh: A salesperson needs a sense of humor.
Make sure sale makes sense for prospective customer.
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
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Season ticket equivalencies
50%
Advance ticket sales
25%
Group sales
20%
Day-of-game/Walk-up sales
5%
Club seats, luxury seats complete with catered
food service, private seat licenses (PSLs), and VIP
parking, among others
Sales Inventory: Advertising Inventory
• Electronic advertising inventory includes
television, radio, and team Web sites
• 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: Naming Rights
• Opportunity to sell entitlement of arena or
stadium, practice facility, or the team itself
• New phenomenon resulting in a significant new
revenue stream for sport organizations
• Includes clauses designed to ensure that sport
organizations get back for free their ability to sell
their facility’s name if the purchasing company
becomes insolvent
Sales Inventory: Online Inventory
• Team and league websites provide attractive
platforms for sponsors
• Banner ads, blogs, instant messaging applications,
pop-up ads
Sales Inventory: Miscellaneous Rights
• Promotions – giveaway items, on/off field or floor
experiences
• Community – school assemblies, camps, clinics, etc.
• Includes fantasy camps, off-season cruises with
players, and road trips
• Have become increasingly creative in developing
new inventory, thus generating new revenue streams
by selling companies the opportunity to associate
with their sanctioned events
Sales Inventory: Sponsorships
• The sponsorship sales process requires a great deal
of up-front 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.