While much of my time is spent on the external side of the department developing relationships with donors and generating revenue for Utah Athletics through ticket sales and donations, many times the most rewarding part of my job is being a sport administrator for our soccer and track and field programs. I was inspired to write this post after spending the past weekend traveling with our soccer team for two games in California. I try and travel with each of the sports I oversee at least once a year and without fail I come back from these trips inspired by our student-athletes and with a stronger commitment to the value of college athletics.
I’m not sure many people outside of the industry know what a sport administrator does. There isn’t a simple job description. It’s similar to a General Manager of a professional sports team but without the same type of involvement in player personnel decisions. You wear many different hats: judge, cheerleader, mediator, evaluator, and confidant. The sport supervisor is the ultimate caretaker of the program.
If you ever have the opportunity to be a sport supervisor, I offer a few suggestions:
1. Go on an away game trip with you team- Traveling with the team allows you to interact with the coaches and student-athletes off the field. There is no greater way to get to know someone than by spending a few days with them on the road. You get a feel for the team dynamic, you see first hand how the student-athletes have to balance school responsibilities and on the field competition, and don’t underestimate the value in the team getting to know you on a personal level and seeing your engagement in the program.
2. Develop a good relationship with the support staff- Get to know the trainers, strength coaches, and academic advisors assigned to your sport. These individuals can give you invaluable insight into the innerworkings of the team as they have as much interaction with the student-athletes as the coaching staff. The perspectives you gain from these relationships are invaluable when making important decisions about the program.
3. Build an honest, candid relationship with your head coach. In many ways, I see my job as making sure the head coach and I mutually agree on a set of realistic expectations for the program in all areas. I also believe I need to give my coaches the tools and resources they need to be successful in reaching those expectations. The pressure on college coaches is at an all time high and I don't see that trend ending anytime soon. Coaches experience the highest of highs after a win or the signing of a key recruit and lowest of lows after a loss, key injury or an off the field issue. You need to be a steadying influence and support your coach during those low times. You and coach need to have the type of relationship where you can have a two-way conversation about any aspect of the program in a safe and confidential manner. There will be times where you are going to have to deliver a tough message and the relationship you have with the coach will play a significant role in the outcome of those difficult conversations.
4. Find the gaps in the program and close them. No matter how successful the team is performing there are always areas that need improvement. The more you are around the program, the more you can identify where improvements can be made. You have the influence to affect change but you need to be informed, engaged and willing to use your influence to make the improvements necessary to move the program forward.
It’s not common in college athletics to have responsibilities on the external and internal side of the department but it’s extremely valuable. It’s absolutely made me better at what I do. To my many friends on the external side of the business, find a way to get more interaction with student-athletes. I know it will inspire you to continue to promote and generate revenue for your athletic department.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sellouts are not diamonds
Shortly after Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh signed as free agents with the Miami Heat, the organization made a significant but much less covered "decision" that caught my eye. They decided to fire their ticket sales staff. Click here to read the article. From my vantage point, many NBA organizations are the leaders in proactive ticket sales models, staff development and training, innovation and strategies planning. Our ticketing department at
Here’s why:
Our ticket sales guys are revenue generating specialists
In football you can’t have enough speed on your team and in athletic departments there’s no such thing as having too many good revenue producers. If you are selling out, there is significant interest in your product. If you have a staff of professional sellers that have existing relationships with your season ticket holders, you are perfectly equipped to upsell your fans to other items of interest surrounding that sport. Here’s one specific example. We are constantly striving to grow the tailgating culture surrounding
We value relationships
Never take a sold out situation for granted and more importantly never take your season ticket holders for granted. One of the most important things our sales staff does is service their accounts after they make the initial sale. We want our fans to have a relationship with their account representative. When they have a question or a concern about
Sellouts are not diamonds- they don’t last forever.
In college athletics, to achieve long term success, championship teams never take the status quo for granted and stop recruiting. I think the same holds true in ticket sales. As soon as you begin to think you can just show up (send out season ticket renewals) and win (sellouts will follow), its just a matter of time before you get a rude awakening.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Athletic Directors and Twitter
A growing number of athletic directors are embracing social media and starting a twitter account. My last informal count is 25. To follow all 25 here’s a twitter list I created. If I’m missing someone, please let me know. What can an athletic director (AD) accomplish in 140 characters? In most cases, an AD wants coaches and student athletes to be the face of the program while the administration works behind the scenes to give the performers the tools and resources they need to be successful on and off the field. Tweeting seems like the farthest thing from the natural tendency of an athletic administrator.
I’m not advocating that athletic director seek the limelight but I do believe that there is great opportunity in social media and in particular on twitter. The beauty of twitter is that it’s quick, easy to use and the reach is limitless. With all new media it’s important to know why and how you plan on using it instead of doing it because everyone else is. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but I think it gives four tangible reasons for athletic directors to start a twitter account or use it more strategically.
1. Introduce yourself to a new community. A new athletic director spends a great deal of his/her first year gathering information, meeting with internal and external constituencies and getting a lay of the land before implementing strategic directives to improve the department. Not only is the AD getting to know his new community, his new community is shaping their beliefs on their new leader. A new AD will accept as many speaking engagements as possible to begin to engage and seek support for his vision . Consider twitter as a daily speaking engagement with an opportunity to reach hundreds or potentially thousands of fans who are actively looking to hear what the AD has to say. The more information and personality an AD gives them, the more substance they have when forming an opinion on what type of leader the AD is and how much they want to support the program.
Current examples: Greg Byrne- Arizona , Ross Bjork- Western Kentucky, Mark Massari- UC Santa Barbara
2. To share the vision of the athletic department. All ADs have a vision and want to share it. Many athletic directors write a consistent column, answer constituent questions, or even host a video chat. This content is emailed to constituents and/or posted on the official athletic department website. Twitter is a great distribution platform for this content. Because of the high profile nature of the position and because people want to follow people of influence, a well-maintained engaging athletic director twitter account is the most likely administrative account to build the highest number of followers and the greatest amount of influence. Wider distribution of the department vision can result in potential connections for future engagement and support.
Current examples: Thorr Bjorn- Rhode Island
3. Personalization. While never the primary reason for an AD to start a twitter account, it’s a great opportunity to show everyone that you are a real person. Due to the public nature of the position, ADs have to be careful about what they say and how they say it but allowing others a glimpse into your thoughts and actions can have a significant impact. Many times transparency leads to approachability. The more approachable you are internally and externally the more relationships building opportunities are created. Relationships play a major role in the effectiveness of an AD and social media is a great platform to make initial connections.
Current examples: Mark Hollis- Michigan St , Mike Hamilton- Tennessee , Scott Stricklin- Mississippi St.
4. Recognizing the accomplishments of former and current student-athletes, teams and coaches. Everyone knows about the on the field success of the football and men’s basketball programs as they are covered in detail on the Internet, TV, radio, and just about everywhere these days. These sports deserve the recognition they receive and they absolutely should be celebrated by ADs on twitter. But what about recognizing the on and off field accomplishments by student-athletes, teams and coaches that aren’t covered by the mainstream media. What about connecting with your former student-athletes and showing how you value their accomplishments? How much more recognition would these individuals receive if the leader of the department was personally promoting their success? More importantly, what better way to show your appreciation for their accomplishments than by thanking them publicly.
Current examples: Sandy Barbour- Cal , Mitch Barnhart- Kentucky, Steve Cottingham- Marquette
I'd love to hear your thoughts about athletic directors and twitter. Maybe you have another great strategic reason for ADs to tweet or you follow an AD on twiter that does a great job in one of these areas that I failed to mention.
I’m not advocating that athletic director seek the limelight but I do believe that there is great opportunity in social media and in particular on twitter. The beauty of twitter is that it’s quick, easy to use and the reach is limitless. With all new media it’s important to know why and how you plan on using it instead of doing it because everyone else is. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but I think it gives four tangible reasons for athletic directors to start a twitter account or use it more strategically.
1. Introduce yourself to a new community. A new athletic director spends a great deal of his/her first year gathering information, meeting with internal and external constituencies and getting a lay of the land before implementing strategic directives to improve the department. Not only is the AD getting to know his new community, his new community is shaping their beliefs on their new leader. A new AD will accept as many speaking engagements as possible to begin to engage and seek support for his vision . Consider twitter as a daily speaking engagement with an opportunity to reach hundreds or potentially thousands of fans who are actively looking to hear what the AD has to say. The more information and personality an AD gives them, the more substance they have when forming an opinion on what type of leader the AD is and how much they want to support the program.
Current examples: Greg Byrne- Arizona , Ross Bjork- Western Kentucky, Mark Massari- UC Santa Barbara
2. To share the vision of the athletic department. All ADs have a vision and want to share it. Many athletic directors write a consistent column, answer constituent questions, or even host a video chat. This content is emailed to constituents and/or posted on the official athletic department website. Twitter is a great distribution platform for this content. Because of the high profile nature of the position and because people want to follow people of influence, a well-maintained engaging athletic director twitter account is the most likely administrative account to build the highest number of followers and the greatest amount of influence. Wider distribution of the department vision can result in potential connections for future engagement and support.
Current examples: Thorr Bjorn- Rhode Island
3. Personalization. While never the primary reason for an AD to start a twitter account, it’s a great opportunity to show everyone that you are a real person. Due to the public nature of the position, ADs have to be careful about what they say and how they say it but allowing others a glimpse into your thoughts and actions can have a significant impact. Many times transparency leads to approachability. The more approachable you are internally and externally the more relationships building opportunities are created. Relationships play a major role in the effectiveness of an AD and social media is a great platform to make initial connections.
Current examples: Mark Hollis- Michigan St , Mike Hamilton- Tennessee , Scott Stricklin- Mississippi St.
4. Recognizing the accomplishments of former and current student-athletes, teams and coaches. Everyone knows about the on the field success of the football and men’s basketball programs as they are covered in detail on the Internet, TV, radio, and just about everywhere these days. These sports deserve the recognition they receive and they absolutely should be celebrated by ADs on twitter. But what about recognizing the on and off field accomplishments by student-athletes, teams and coaches that aren’t covered by the mainstream media. What about connecting with your former student-athletes and showing how you value their accomplishments? How much more recognition would these individuals receive if the leader of the department was personally promoting their success? More importantly, what better way to show your appreciation for their accomplishments than by thanking them publicly.
Current examples: Sandy Barbour- Cal , Mitch Barnhart- Kentucky, Steve Cottingham- Marquette
I'd love to hear your thoughts about athletic directors and twitter. Maybe you have another great strategic reason for ADs to tweet or you follow an AD on twiter that does a great job in one of these areas that I failed to mention.
Friday, July 2, 2010
2010 NACDA Convention Takeaways
Highlights from my 3rd NACDA convention held last week in Anaheim
- Whenever you get a chance to listen to Dutch Baughman, do it. He is the Executive Director of the Division 1A Athletic Director's Association. He has a great perspective on the landscape of college athletics because of the number of years he has been in the business, the amount of research his organization compiles and his interaction with ADs around the country. My favorite quote and of the themes of his presentation was "talk about what you know, not what you think." Given the high profile and speculative nature of college athletics, you have to be very careful about what you say and how you say it. He also turned me onto a great resource to find newspaper articles around the country in an efficient manner- http://www.ussportspages.com/
- At the risk of being repetitive, whenever you get a chance to listen to Sandy Barbour, do it. Sandy is currently the Athletics Director at Cal and you can follow her on twitter. Her presentations are always articulate, well organized and she speaks candidly about the tough issues that we face as athletics administrators. She spoke on justifying the importance of intercollegiate athletics to a skeptical campus community. She talked about not getting sucked into the firefights, the importance of "attacking the persuadable middle," using donors to deliver your message on campus, and the vital role athletics can play on "regionally challenged" alumni.
- I'm getting less and less intimidated by these large conventions and as a result I've found ways to get more and more out of each NACDA convention I attend. Click here for my NACDA convention philosophy. I sat in on a few sessions with (CABMA) business managers, (NAACC) compliance directors, (NAADD) fundraising professionals and (NACMA) marketing gurus. It really helps me gain a better perspective on the challenges each of these groups face in their positions. I picked up a few tricks, caught up with old friends and met some new ones. The college athletics administration community is a great group of people that share an amazing, unique work environment. Long hours, below average compensation, high scrutiny, heavy competition and very little recognition- it may not be glamorous, it's definitely a lifestyle and I believe it's one of the best professions in the world. I absolutely love what I do and I can't imagine doing anything else.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Social Media and College Athletics: The Protector, the Entertainer, and the Interactor
I imagine many athletic departments are discussing the very important question of “Should social media be under the direction of marketing or sports information?” I’m not taking sides on the debate but in most companies the public relations department has become the popular landing destination. Every school needs to decide who is leading the internal discussion and direction of an athletic department’s social media strategy but I would encourage each school to spend as much time thinking about who they are involving in its ongoing social media strategy and execution.
I wonder how many ticket offices are part of the social media planning and decision making process within an athletic department? If your ticketing operation focuses on having conversations with your customers, building relationships and expanding your customer base, I would strongly encourage you to include them in the discussion. Ticketing professionals interact with customers everyday. With their expertise in customer service, ticket managers can play an important role in the department social media strategy sessions.
It’s one of the most important ventures I’ve engaged in during the last twelve months. Our ticket operation jumps at any chance to interact with our customers and develop better relationships. The interaction opportunities that exist in social media are a blessing to better serve our customer needs and have given us an opportunity to expand our customer base. We’ve utilized facebook and twitter for ticket sales, promotions, customer service, and to have an ongoing dialogue with our season ticket holders. We didn’t need to reinvent our operation because our social media presence and philosophy is just an extension of what we are doing when customers come to the box office, call us on the phone or email us.
What does a ticket office involvement in social media look like? At Utah, we have a standing weekly meeting for all the members of our new media committee. In my role as Director of Ticket Operations, I attend these meetings along with our Sports Information Director, Director of Marketing, Director of Compliance, Director of Video Operations along with our new media staff. We talk social media for an hour- anything from content priorities, distribution, brand management, emerging trends, customer engagement, etc.
We’ve been meeting weekly for almost six months now and I’ve observed that the three primary participants gravitate toward natural roles.
Sports Information as “The Protector”
Expertise: Policing content, policy creation and enforcement, reputation management, crisis management, media communication
Marketing as “The Entertainer”
Expertise: Creative content creation, growing distribution
Ticketing as “The Interactor”
Expertise: Customer relationships and interaction, distribution of content
I value the collaborative nature of our approach. Each of us are cognizant of the importance of protecting, entertaining, and interacting in social media but we have a particular expertise in one area. Our sports information staff is charged with the reputation management of our department and getting our message out to the media. There is no better group at emphasizing the importance of the protector role in social media. Our marketing department houses our creative geniuses who are constantly creating content to drive excitement for Utah Athletics. They naturally gravitate toward the entertainer point of view during our discussions. Our ticket department builds relationships and serves our customer’s needs everyday. It’s no surprise that we emphasize the importance of interaction and dialogue with our fans during our meetings.
We recognize the strengths and weaknesses that we bring to the meetings but within that group we have our best Protector, Entertainer and Interactor in the department. We don’t have everything figured out (Who does?) but I think we have the right people at the table.
I’d love to hear how other athletic departments are tackling this issue. In the rare instance that you work in college athletics and you read to the end of this post, please share what your department is doing!
I wonder how many ticket offices are part of the social media planning and decision making process within an athletic department? If your ticketing operation focuses on having conversations with your customers, building relationships and expanding your customer base, I would strongly encourage you to include them in the discussion. Ticketing professionals interact with customers everyday. With their expertise in customer service, ticket managers can play an important role in the department social media strategy sessions.
It’s one of the most important ventures I’ve engaged in during the last twelve months. Our ticket operation jumps at any chance to interact with our customers and develop better relationships. The interaction opportunities that exist in social media are a blessing to better serve our customer needs and have given us an opportunity to expand our customer base. We’ve utilized facebook and twitter for ticket sales, promotions, customer service, and to have an ongoing dialogue with our season ticket holders. We didn’t need to reinvent our operation because our social media presence and philosophy is just an extension of what we are doing when customers come to the box office, call us on the phone or email us.
What does a ticket office involvement in social media look like? At Utah, we have a standing weekly meeting for all the members of our new media committee. In my role as Director of Ticket Operations, I attend these meetings along with our Sports Information Director, Director of Marketing, Director of Compliance, Director of Video Operations along with our new media staff. We talk social media for an hour- anything from content priorities, distribution, brand management, emerging trends, customer engagement, etc.
We’ve been meeting weekly for almost six months now and I’ve observed that the three primary participants gravitate toward natural roles.
Sports Information as “The Protector”
Expertise: Policing content, policy creation and enforcement, reputation management, crisis management, media communication
Marketing as “The Entertainer”
Expertise: Creative content creation, growing distribution
Ticketing as “The Interactor”
Expertise: Customer relationships and interaction, distribution of content
I value the collaborative nature of our approach. Each of us are cognizant of the importance of protecting, entertaining, and interacting in social media but we have a particular expertise in one area. Our sports information staff is charged with the reputation management of our department and getting our message out to the media. There is no better group at emphasizing the importance of the protector role in social media. Our marketing department houses our creative geniuses who are constantly creating content to drive excitement for Utah Athletics. They naturally gravitate toward the entertainer point of view during our discussions. Our ticket department builds relationships and serves our customer’s needs everyday. It’s no surprise that we emphasize the importance of interaction and dialogue with our fans during our meetings.
We recognize the strengths and weaknesses that we bring to the meetings but within that group we have our best Protector, Entertainer and Interactor in the department. We don’t have everything figured out (Who does?) but I think we have the right people at the table.
I’d love to hear how other athletic departments are tackling this issue. In the rare instance that you work in college athletics and you read to the end of this post, please share what your department is doing!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Power of TED
One of my favorite things about social media is how easy it is to share and receive great information. Not a day goes by that I don’t get at least one message from a friend, colleague or complete stranger on twitter that either educates me on a topic of interest or inspires me in some way.
A year ago, a friend of mine tweeted the link to a John Wooden speech at the 2001 TED conference on the difference between winning and success. The speech was simple and powerful (as all John Wooden speeches and quotes are) and after watching I discovered the website that was storing the speech- ted.com. I’ve visited ted.com hundreds of times since then and have enjoyed watching inspirational video after inspirational video.
TED’s mission statement captures its essence:
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”
I use TED.com for personal inspiration and growth but I also utilize it frequently in my job. I love to show a thought-provoking ted talk during staff meetings. It gives us a chance to get out of “day-to-day” mode and do some personal reflection. It allows to staff to hear from someone much smarter than myself and it usually leads to some great discussions. I place a strong emphasis in the personal growth of my staff and ted.com has been one of my most valuable tools.
In the spirit of TEDs vision to share knowledge, here are ten of my favorite TED talks.
Dan Pink- Science of motivation. Intrinsic motivation- autonomy, mastery, purpose
Steve Jobs- Commencement speech on how to live before you die
Elizabeth Gilbert- Nurturing creativity
Seth Godin- Standing out
Randy Pausch- The Last Lecture
Malcolm Gladwell- Choice and happiness through spaghetti sauce
Barry Schwartz- Our loss of wisdom. Be an ordinary hero
JK Rowling- The fringe benefits of failure
Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
So if you find something that inspires you, share it with others or, at least, share it with me.
A year ago, a friend of mine tweeted the link to a John Wooden speech at the 2001 TED conference on the difference between winning and success. The speech was simple and powerful (as all John Wooden speeches and quotes are) and after watching I discovered the website that was storing the speech- ted.com. I’ve visited ted.com hundreds of times since then and have enjoyed watching inspirational video after inspirational video.
TED’s mission statement captures its essence:
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”
I use TED.com for personal inspiration and growth but I also utilize it frequently in my job. I love to show a thought-provoking ted talk during staff meetings. It gives us a chance to get out of “day-to-day” mode and do some personal reflection. It allows to staff to hear from someone much smarter than myself and it usually leads to some great discussions. I place a strong emphasis in the personal growth of my staff and ted.com has been one of my most valuable tools.
In the spirit of TEDs vision to share knowledge, here are ten of my favorite TED talks.
Dan Pink- Science of motivation. Intrinsic motivation- autonomy, mastery, purpose
Steve Jobs- Commencement speech on how to live before you die
Elizabeth Gilbert- Nurturing creativity
Seth Godin- Standing out
Randy Pausch- The Last Lecture
Malcolm Gladwell- Choice and happiness through spaghetti sauce
Barry Schwartz- Our loss of wisdom. Be an ordinary hero
JK Rowling- The fringe benefits of failure
Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
So if you find something that inspires you, share it with others or, at least, share it with me.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
One introvert’s guide to attending conventions
I’m an introvert. I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality type test over and over and no matter how hard I try, I always come out an introvert.
The off season in college athletics is fast approaching with many professionals around the country making plans to attend conventions and seminars. Over and over again, you will hear the most important thing about conventions and career advancement overall is networking. The old cliché “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” will be uttered over and over again. While it may not be true all the time, the relationships you create with your colleagues can make the difference in getting your next position.
I have something to admit. One of my kryptonite's is small talk. I struggle with meeting someone for the first time and conventions used to scare me to death. My colleagues would talk about the importance of networking and meeting as many people as possible. I’d watch my extrovert friends work their magic. I was nervous, overwhelmed and always felt inferior due to my inability to have as many casual conversations as my colleagues.
Recently, I stopped trying to emulate my extroverted friends and no longer try to work the room. It was uncomfortable for me and I wasn’t very good at it. I decided to embrace my inner introvert and began networking and attending conferences in a new way.
Here are three things I do:
1. Network through social media: I’m convinced that social media allows an introvert to explore his/her extrovertness. I’ve been amazed at how many meaningful relationships I have developed with my colleagues in college athletic administration through twitter and blogging. I’ve picked up the phone on more than one occasion and called a colleague who I follow on twitter. We joke about how we’ve never talked but we feel as though we know each other and we end up having great conversations. I now see these people at conventions and it’s very easy for me to say hello and we introduce one another to other co-workers and colleagues.
2. Enjoy the sessions. When the agenda for the NACDA/NACMA/NAADD/CABMA/CEFMA/NAAC convention is posted I begin to plan my week. I understand the importance of networking at conventions but I also attend to learn about trends in the industry and learn how some schools are innovating and attacking the challenges of the college sports. Every year, I try to leave with 3-5 takeaways that I can bring back to Utah to try and make us better. I pick the sessions that I will attend much like how I used to pick my classes in college- speaker over topic. I enjoy listening to the innovators in our industry and it gives me a chance to potentially develop a future relationship with them. After I return from the convention, I will email the speaker of each session I enjoyed thanking them for sharing their insight and ask any further questions I didn’t get a chance to ask during the session. More than a few times this approach has led to further discussions about other topics and a meaningful relationship with a colleague.
3. Get involved. Volunteer to help at the convention and/ or speak on a topic you are passionate about. This may be a stretch for some introverts but when you are working with someone on a project or talking about a topic you know inside out, it’s much easier to interact with people you are meeting for the first time. Make sure to collect the business cards of people you work with or attend your session and send them a thank you note after the convention.
I used to think that being an introvert would hinder my networking and potentially my career. I no longer feel that way. Now, I wear it as a badge of honor. I’d love to hear from other introverts (and extroverts) on the topic. Message me on twitter at @zacklassiter, email me at zlassiter@huntsman.utah.edu or post below.
The off season in college athletics is fast approaching with many professionals around the country making plans to attend conventions and seminars. Over and over again, you will hear the most important thing about conventions and career advancement overall is networking. The old cliché “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” will be uttered over and over again. While it may not be true all the time, the relationships you create with your colleagues can make the difference in getting your next position.
I have something to admit. One of my kryptonite's is small talk. I struggle with meeting someone for the first time and conventions used to scare me to death. My colleagues would talk about the importance of networking and meeting as many people as possible. I’d watch my extrovert friends work their magic. I was nervous, overwhelmed and always felt inferior due to my inability to have as many casual conversations as my colleagues.
Recently, I stopped trying to emulate my extroverted friends and no longer try to work the room. It was uncomfortable for me and I wasn’t very good at it. I decided to embrace my inner introvert and began networking and attending conferences in a new way.
Here are three things I do:
1. Network through social media: I’m convinced that social media allows an introvert to explore his/her extrovertness. I’ve been amazed at how many meaningful relationships I have developed with my colleagues in college athletic administration through twitter and blogging. I’ve picked up the phone on more than one occasion and called a colleague who I follow on twitter. We joke about how we’ve never talked but we feel as though we know each other and we end up having great conversations. I now see these people at conventions and it’s very easy for me to say hello and we introduce one another to other co-workers and colleagues.
2. Enjoy the sessions. When the agenda for the NACDA/NACMA/NAADD/CABMA/CEFMA/NAAC convention is posted I begin to plan my week. I understand the importance of networking at conventions but I also attend to learn about trends in the industry and learn how some schools are innovating and attacking the challenges of the college sports. Every year, I try to leave with 3-5 takeaways that I can bring back to Utah to try and make us better. I pick the sessions that I will attend much like how I used to pick my classes in college- speaker over topic. I enjoy listening to the innovators in our industry and it gives me a chance to potentially develop a future relationship with them. After I return from the convention, I will email the speaker of each session I enjoyed thanking them for sharing their insight and ask any further questions I didn’t get a chance to ask during the session. More than a few times this approach has led to further discussions about other topics and a meaningful relationship with a colleague.
3. Get involved. Volunteer to help at the convention and/ or speak on a topic you are passionate about. This may be a stretch for some introverts but when you are working with someone on a project or talking about a topic you know inside out, it’s much easier to interact with people you are meeting for the first time. Make sure to collect the business cards of people you work with or attend your session and send them a thank you note after the convention.
I used to think that being an introvert would hinder my networking and potentially my career. I no longer feel that way. Now, I wear it as a badge of honor. I’d love to hear from other introverts (and extroverts) on the topic. Message me on twitter at @zacklassiter, email me at zlassiter@huntsman.utah.edu or post below.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Calling my ticket guy at Utah
It's been a few weeks since my last post- spending 12 days in Africa slowed down my production dramatically. I wanted to talk a little bit more about our ticket sales staff at Utah- I hope you find something in this worthwhile.
When we started our ticket sales staff at Utah a little over two years ago, the attraction of larger crowds and generating additional revenue for the department was the driving force behind the decision. Two years later, while we have attained all our revenue goals, if you were to ask our customers and my bosses, the biggest success story from the creation of our sales staff the answer will have nothing to do with revenue. The biggest benefit is the additional personal relationships we have formed with our customers.
If you work in college athletics you know how often development directors and athletic directors talk about the importance of relationships. When is the last time you heard a college ticket manger talk about the importance of customer relationships? Before we started our sales staff at Utah, we didn’t spend nearly enough time and effort talking about relationships but I can tell you we talk about it all the time now. By no means is our emphasis at Utah on customer relationships new to the ticketing world- spend some time with the Director of Ticketing of a NBA team as I did with the Utah Jazz and you will hear about it over and over. While few college athletic programs can replicate the resources and staffing of the NBA ticketing model, it’s easy to look at the structure of your operation and find ways to develop better relationships with your customers.
We call our setup at Utah relationship-oriented ticket sales. We combined the roles of an NBA outbound ticket sales staffer and the account executive that services the account once the customer makes his initial season ticket purchase with the team. We morphed these two units into one. In our model, when our customers need to purchase tickets, renew their season tickets or just have a ticketing question they can pick up the phone and call the main ticket office number and be serviced by our call center or they can call “their guy” at the ticket office directly. Not surprisingly, our customers are overwhelmingly choosing and praising the personal option. Relationships are being formed between customers and their “ticket guy” during the initial sale and continue to grow over time during season ticket renewals period and postseason ticket orders. Our “ticket guys” will have at least four to six interactions with their clients every year. Our sales staff still spends the majority of their time “expanding their net” and making outbound sales calls looking for new clients but they make sure to continue to cultivate their existing relationships with their clients and are finding more and more leads through customer referrals.
For our model to thrive we continue to focus on two things:
#1. Recruit a relationship-thinking sales staff. We want account executives that have a customer service focus. We don’t look for the individual who sold the most at his/her last job; we want to find the person who developed great relationships with their customers. A short story to drive home my point… When I was doing research about one of the account execs we ended up hiring I asked his old boss to describe him. He said that this guy wasn’t his top salesman in terms of numbers but he was the best “person” in his organization. Everybody loved him, he was a guy everyone enjoyed being around. This feeling carried over to his clients and they valued his sincerity, willingness to listen and they felt he really cared about their needs. I didn’t need to hear another thing- I hired him the next day.
#2. Place a high emphasis on sales staff retention- As our ticket inventory began to shrink, our reps were beginning to work themselves out of a job. We faced a tough decision on what to do. We can’t develop great relationships with our customers if they have to talk to a new rep every year. We decided to reward our reps for the relationships they had developed with their customers by giving them commission on season ticket renewals. The commission rate is significantly less for renewals than it is for new sales but the message was clear- we appreciate and value the relationships they are forming with their clients and we want to keep our sales staff around as long as possible.
Don’t get me wrong, the additional revenue and return on investment is reason enough to start an outbound ticket sales department but don’t undervalue or undersell the importance on developing better relationships with your customers.
When we started our ticket sales staff at Utah a little over two years ago, the attraction of larger crowds and generating additional revenue for the department was the driving force behind the decision. Two years later, while we have attained all our revenue goals, if you were to ask our customers and my bosses, the biggest success story from the creation of our sales staff the answer will have nothing to do with revenue. The biggest benefit is the additional personal relationships we have formed with our customers.
If you work in college athletics you know how often development directors and athletic directors talk about the importance of relationships. When is the last time you heard a college ticket manger talk about the importance of customer relationships? Before we started our sales staff at Utah, we didn’t spend nearly enough time and effort talking about relationships but I can tell you we talk about it all the time now. By no means is our emphasis at Utah on customer relationships new to the ticketing world- spend some time with the Director of Ticketing of a NBA team as I did with the Utah Jazz and you will hear about it over and over. While few college athletic programs can replicate the resources and staffing of the NBA ticketing model, it’s easy to look at the structure of your operation and find ways to develop better relationships with your customers.
We call our setup at Utah relationship-oriented ticket sales. We combined the roles of an NBA outbound ticket sales staffer and the account executive that services the account once the customer makes his initial season ticket purchase with the team. We morphed these two units into one. In our model, when our customers need to purchase tickets, renew their season tickets or just have a ticketing question they can pick up the phone and call the main ticket office number and be serviced by our call center or they can call “their guy” at the ticket office directly. Not surprisingly, our customers are overwhelmingly choosing and praising the personal option. Relationships are being formed between customers and their “ticket guy” during the initial sale and continue to grow over time during season ticket renewals period and postseason ticket orders. Our “ticket guys” will have at least four to six interactions with their clients every year. Our sales staff still spends the majority of their time “expanding their net” and making outbound sales calls looking for new clients but they make sure to continue to cultivate their existing relationships with their clients and are finding more and more leads through customer referrals.
For our model to thrive we continue to focus on two things:
#1. Recruit a relationship-thinking sales staff. We want account executives that have a customer service focus. We don’t look for the individual who sold the most at his/her last job; we want to find the person who developed great relationships with their customers. A short story to drive home my point… When I was doing research about one of the account execs we ended up hiring I asked his old boss to describe him. He said that this guy wasn’t his top salesman in terms of numbers but he was the best “person” in his organization. Everybody loved him, he was a guy everyone enjoyed being around. This feeling carried over to his clients and they valued his sincerity, willingness to listen and they felt he really cared about their needs. I didn’t need to hear another thing- I hired him the next day.
#2. Place a high emphasis on sales staff retention- As our ticket inventory began to shrink, our reps were beginning to work themselves out of a job. We faced a tough decision on what to do. We can’t develop great relationships with our customers if they have to talk to a new rep every year. We decided to reward our reps for the relationships they had developed with their customers by giving them commission on season ticket renewals. The commission rate is significantly less for renewals than it is for new sales but the message was clear- we appreciate and value the relationships they are forming with their clients and we want to keep our sales staff around as long as possible.
Don’t get me wrong, the additional revenue and return on investment is reason enough to start an outbound ticket sales department but don’t undervalue or undersell the importance on developing better relationships with your customers.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Starting a Ticket Sales Staff in College Athletics
I’m really excited about an upcoming opportunity to present at the NACMA convention this June in Anaheim on starting an outbound ticket sales staff in college athletics. It’s a topic I’m very familiar with and passionate about after seeing first-hand how it revolutionized how we approach ticketing at the University of Utah. We’ve moved from a transactional, call center model to a sales oriented, customer-centered relationship model. We’re generating more ticketing revenue than ever before and more importantly we have a more personal relationship with our fans and have improved the customer purchasing experience. We still have room for improvement but I’ve received a significant amount of unsolicited feedback from our fans about how much they enjoy having their own personal account representative that can service all of their ticketing needs.
Right now I’ve named the session- How to start a ticket sales staff: From selling it to your Athletic Director to hiring the right people to fit you needs. I’m not in love with the title- any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Here’s a basic outline of what I intend to cover:
How to sell the Ticket Sales Staff concept to your AD/boss
Emphasize the additional potential revenue generated and return on investment (ROI)
Wrap all your startup and ongoing costs into your ROI model
Don’t underestimate the improvement in relationships and customer service
Need to be the passionate champion of the concept- get as much internal buy-in up front as possible
Provide success stories/case studies from around the country
Provide an exit strategy in the rare instance that program isn’t matching your goals
Implementation Decisions
Types of Ticket Sales Staffs in college athletics (Full time, part time, seasonal sales academies)
What are your needs and goals? Matching your staffing to fit your needs
Hiring the right type of people
Compensation structures and strategies
Integration within your current Athletic Department structure- Marketing, Ticketing, Fundraising
Best Practices, Tips and Advice from current ticket sales managers in college athletics
Thanks for reading. I'm really hoping for some suggestions on how to improve or clarify some of my thoughts. Please post your comments below, email me at zlassiter@huntsman.utah.edu, and contact me on twitter
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Professional Development Dilemma for College Athletics Ticketing Professionals
Everyone has different priorities when it comes to attending a professional development conference: Getting better at what you do currently, getting exposure to new and different viewpoints or making connections in an effort to move up within the industry. The reasons are endless. I don’t pretend to speak for everyone but from my viewpoint I’ve always felt that college ticketing professionals don’t have the same opportunities as their marketing and fundraising counterparts. Don’t get me wrong- ticketing professionals have professional development options, but they don’t have a one-stop shopping model that has been created through the formation of organizations like NACMA (Marketing) and NAADD (Development). These organizations create a triple threat for individuals within their area of specialization. They put on an annual conference that focus on becoming a better marketing or development professional, sharing best practices, and discussing new trends within the industry. Similar organizations exist for the other major areas within college athletics departments- compliance (NAAC), business managers (CABMA), academic advisors (N4A), sports information (COSIDA) and most recently event managers and facilities (CEFMA). Most of these organizations have decided to schedule their annual conferences in conjunction with NACDA, either running concurrently or just before NACDA. This format allows attendees to gain exposure and knowledge in other areas of college sports administration and an opportunity to network within their area of specialization, with professionals in other areas, and sometimes, most importantly, with the primary decision makers in athletics departments.
From my viewpoint college athletics ticketing professionals currently have three good but not great choices:
Option 1: Attend your Software Company Run Conference
Pros: Sharing of best practices, Maximizing the use of your ticketing system
Cons: Networking opportunities outside of ticketing
Software conferences are by far the most popular destination of ticketing professionals currently. Long before I started in the field, Paciolan made the brilliant decision to create an annual users conference for ticket professionals near their headquarters in Southern California (who wouldn’t want to go LA in February?). The conference allowed ticketing professional to share best practices with one another and discover ways to maximize the use of their ticketing system.. It was also a great opportunity for Paciolan to share new products and features of their ticketing system. Other software companies that have entered the college athletics market have set up similar users conferences.
Early in my career, I attended multiple PacNet conferences and found them informative. When I used Paciolan software, these conferences were helpful in learning how to use the software and I got a chance to network with other ticketing professional around the country. For some these conferences served as a support group for ticketing folks who felt isolated and underappreciated within their department. As I began to have aspirations to potentially broaden my horizons beyond ticketing, these conferences lost a little of their luster because of the lack of opportunity to expose myself to other ideas and individuals outside of the ticketing specialization.
Option #2 Attend INTIX
Pros: Discover the new trends in ticketing, Valuable when looking at changing ticket systems
Cons: Low participation by college ticketing professionals, Lack of exposure to college marketing and fundraising professionals
I’ve attended two INTIX conferences during my career and quite honestly it has not been a great fit for what I’m looking for in a professional development conference. When I attended INTIX, the attendees and program was dominated by the arts and to a lesser degree professional sports. I don’t have anything against either group (I love musicals and the San Francisco Giants) but there wasn’t much discussion about college athletics. There’s a small group of passionate smart college ticket professionals who attend INTIX and who recently have set up breakout sessions where everyone shares best practices. The main benefit I gained from the conference was the exposure to what is going on in the ticketing industry outside of college athletics. Given the fact that professional sports organizations are usually out in front of us in the collegiate world, I gained some valuable insight and tools that may emerge in college athletics in the near or distant future.
Option #3 Attend NACDA, NACMA, NAADD and float from group to group
Pros: Exposure to marketing and fundraising trends, Networking opportunities outside of ticketing
Cons: Low participation by college ticketing professionals, No ticketing specific agenda
I tried this option two years ago and found it very rewarding. The more I work in college athletics administration the more I believe that the integration of ticketing, marketing and fundraising staffs within an athletic department is essential. Each plays an important role in generating revenue and exposure for their department and the dividing lines between ticketing, marketing and fundraising continues to blur. For me to best integrate my ticketing operation with marketing and fundraising, it’s important to understand the strategies and challenges of these areas. An added benefit from attending a mixture of marketing and fundraising session has been the takaways come back an utilized many these tools in our ticketing operation at Utah.
Or, a new idea…
Option #4 Create NACTA (National Association of Collegiate Ticketing Administrators)
Pros: One stop shopping for college ticketing professionals- best ticketing practices, networking opportunities within and outside area of specialization, exposure to all areas of college athletics administration
Cons: It doesn’t exist
A pipe dream perhaps, but potentially the best option given the ongoing changes in the college athletics ticketing profession. As college ticket offices continue to grow beyond in-bound call centers and begin to integrate outbound ticket sales departments, a new professional development strategy should be considered. A ticketing organization with a ticket sales and ticket operations track whose annual conference takes place at the same site as NACDA, NACMA and NAADD would present a new and rewarding professional development option. As the lines continue to blur between marketing, ticketing and fundraising, the integration of the three grows more essential for success. The more interaction between the professionals in these areas, whether in weekly meetings or in professional development, the better.
From my viewpoint college athletics ticketing professionals currently have three good but not great choices:
Option 1: Attend your Software Company Run Conference
Pros: Sharing of best practices, Maximizing the use of your ticketing system
Cons: Networking opportunities outside of ticketing
Software conferences are by far the most popular destination of ticketing professionals currently. Long before I started in the field, Paciolan made the brilliant decision to create an annual users conference for ticket professionals near their headquarters in Southern California (who wouldn’t want to go LA in February?). The conference allowed ticketing professional to share best practices with one another and discover ways to maximize the use of their ticketing system.. It was also a great opportunity for Paciolan to share new products and features of their ticketing system. Other software companies that have entered the college athletics market have set up similar users conferences.
Early in my career, I attended multiple PacNet conferences and found them informative. When I used Paciolan software, these conferences were helpful in learning how to use the software and I got a chance to network with other ticketing professional around the country. For some these conferences served as a support group for ticketing folks who felt isolated and underappreciated within their department. As I began to have aspirations to potentially broaden my horizons beyond ticketing, these conferences lost a little of their luster because of the lack of opportunity to expose myself to other ideas and individuals outside of the ticketing specialization.
Option #2 Attend INTIX
Pros: Discover the new trends in ticketing, Valuable when looking at changing ticket systems
Cons: Low participation by college ticketing professionals, Lack of exposure to college marketing and fundraising professionals
I’ve attended two INTIX conferences during my career and quite honestly it has not been a great fit for what I’m looking for in a professional development conference. When I attended INTIX, the attendees and program was dominated by the arts and to a lesser degree professional sports. I don’t have anything against either group (I love musicals and the San Francisco Giants) but there wasn’t much discussion about college athletics. There’s a small group of passionate smart college ticket professionals who attend INTIX and who recently have set up breakout sessions where everyone shares best practices. The main benefit I gained from the conference was the exposure to what is going on in the ticketing industry outside of college athletics. Given the fact that professional sports organizations are usually out in front of us in the collegiate world, I gained some valuable insight and tools that may emerge in college athletics in the near or distant future.
Option #3 Attend NACDA, NACMA, NAADD and float from group to group
Pros: Exposure to marketing and fundraising trends, Networking opportunities outside of ticketing
Cons: Low participation by college ticketing professionals, No ticketing specific agenda
I tried this option two years ago and found it very rewarding. The more I work in college athletics administration the more I believe that the integration of ticketing, marketing and fundraising staffs within an athletic department is essential. Each plays an important role in generating revenue and exposure for their department and the dividing lines between ticketing, marketing and fundraising continues to blur. For me to best integrate my ticketing operation with marketing and fundraising, it’s important to understand the strategies and challenges of these areas. An added benefit from attending a mixture of marketing and fundraising session has been the takaways come back an utilized many these tools in our ticketing operation at Utah.
Or, a new idea…
Option #4 Create NACTA (National Association of Collegiate Ticketing Administrators)
Pros: One stop shopping for college ticketing professionals- best ticketing practices, networking opportunities within and outside area of specialization, exposure to all areas of college athletics administration
Cons: It doesn’t exist
A pipe dream perhaps, but potentially the best option given the ongoing changes in the college athletics ticketing profession. As college ticket offices continue to grow beyond in-bound call centers and begin to integrate outbound ticket sales departments, a new professional development strategy should be considered. A ticketing organization with a ticket sales and ticket operations track whose annual conference takes place at the same site as NACDA, NACMA and NAADD would present a new and rewarding professional development option. As the lines continue to blur between marketing, ticketing and fundraising, the integration of the three grows more essential for success. The more interaction between the professionals in these areas, whether in weekly meetings or in professional development, the better.
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