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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Sports Business Savvy

You are inevitably going to work with some people during your career who don't have ANY sports business savvy. Some of them don't even have common sense. There are some people who are only in the position they're in because they like that sport and thought they'd get a job in that sport. They obviously had good interviewing skills, and someone went ahead and hired them. Admittedly, I've seen it more in the non-profit area than the for-profit area. Regardless, it will drive you crazy. It can also throw a monkey wrench into your day. You could have to drop everything and fix what someone else broke. It is probably one of my single biggest frustrations. The worst part is, I don't have any advice on the solution, but I want to make sure you understand that it will happen.

Here are some real-life examples that I've seen:

- UPS was a high level sponsor of an event and it was a renewal year. An administrative person completed edits to the contract for the event's sponsor rep, several versions of edits over a few weeks. Obviously the UPS name was in multiple places in the contract, including the mailing address. When she sent out the completed contract to UPS for signature, she sent it to them in a FedEx envelope. The UPS rep took the FedEx envelope, folded it in half, put it in a UPS envelope and sent it back. It took a lot to repair that relationship and save a six figure sponsorship.

- We created a new revenue stream for an organization. When the first monthly check came in from the vendor, the manager sent the check to the finance department. The controller for the company called to ask what it was. The manager explained that it was revenue from this new area. The controller said she would just put it in the department's budget. The manager tried to explain that it didn't go in a departmental operating budget, but the controller didn't get it. After hanging up the phone, the manager immediately told her own VP. The VP called the CFO (the controller's boss) and told the CFO that although he (the VP) would love to have the extra money in his department, it shouldn't be there. The CFO said he would correct it, then said that the controller didn't understand the difference between revenues and expenses.

- An event had both a water company and Gatorade as major sponsors. The medical director for that event was quoted (correctly, he admitted) in the New York Times saying that Gatorade is no better for participants than water. Gatorade's response: Then why the hell am I sponsoring your event? This organization also had to repair a major relationship. This was a situation that became a drop-everything-else-you're-doing- for-two-complete-days-to-repair-it situation for three of the highest level people in the organization. And it's not like their schedules weren't already jam packed. All this caused by a loose cannon who just a few months later did a complete 180 and supported what his medical colleagues around the world were saying, that isotonic drinks are actually better than water for that type of event.

- From the company lawyer: "Well the last person in your job used to just not tell me about it and then just hire a (third party marketing) company. Why do you need me to write a contract for these people? If you just don't tell me, then I don't know about it and I don't have to write a contract. But since you've told me I guess I have to write one." Well, maybe I would like you to write one for things like 1) making sure they know they must have "x" in insurance coverage and list us additional insured, or 2) making sure we have a non-performance clause in their contract in case they really botch part of their work, or any number of endless legal necessities in a very litigious society.

Hopefully it won't be something that you encounter very often, but be prepared for it and don't be surprised by anything. To quote Albert Einstein, "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Job Search Techniques

I've gotten a couple of email messages from students recently asking about how to get started working in the industry and how to find jobs if they haven't yet developed their network of people who can refer them to others for jobs and/or if they want to get some work experience before going to graduate school.

One fo the easiest ways to find entry level positions that are open is to use one of the online services. One of the free ones is www.teamworkonline.com. It's a pretty good site as far as entry level job postings, but I HATE the part, or I should say parts, of their site where a person actually posts for a job. It's absurd! Another organization that is a sports executive search firm is Turnkey Sports and Entertainment out of New Jersey. Most of the positions they fill are well above entry level, but it's a site to look and and pay attention to for your future, and who's to say they won't start filling entry level positions in the future. One of my favorite sites overall is www.workinsports.com. This one is a subscription service, but one I like if you're willing to pay.

If you have trouble breaking into an entry level job and can financially swing an internship, that's always a possibility, too. It's not a fun option to think about, but it's an option if that's what you have to do to reach your goal. One of my classmates from grad school worked three lengthy internship before he found a permanent job. I think his internships totaled almost two years. He knew he wanted to work for an NFL team in a specific area and that's what he had to do to reach his goal. He's now the Assistant GM of the New York Giants.

When I speak to people, this next one seems to be the most overlooked search technique. For sports leagues/sports organizations/teams and for companies that sponsor sports (e.g., Visa, Sprint, HomeDepot, etc.), you can go to the job section of their websites. If you look at the bottom of the page, it usually has a link something similar to "Careers" or "Jobs" or it may be in the "About Us" section. In the keyword search, type in words like "sports" or "events" or "sponsorship" or "sports marketing" and you may get some hits in their sports and/or events departments. Also, on those specific league sites, they will often have the same jobs, and sometimes more, posted as www.teamworkonline.com does. Sometimes the link for posting will take you to the posting system for www.teamworkonline.com and other times it is the league/team/company's own job posting site.

Again, these are recommendations for entry level positions if you don't yet have your network developed. The best option is always your network. Often, job opportunities aren't presented by someone directly in your network, but from someone who knows someone in your network and is then referred to you. Think six degrees of separation, which seems like it's reduced to about three degrees of separation in the sports industry.