What does content have to do with sales?

December 12, 2019 Amie Sheridan

In today's always-on environment, everything.

If you're like the thousands of other people who sell for a living, you understand the meaning of the word grind.

Salespeople are some of the toughest people I know. I've worked beside them in many of my sports industry roles, and I have always felt a deep respect for the constant hustle. For the lack of fear. For the ability to pick up the phone and call anyone, without thinking about it first. For the ability to let the word 'no' roll right past them without a blink.

And I respect them for waking up each day to do it all over again, with smiles on their faces.

Sales takes guts. Period.

Do you feel me on that? If you're in sales, I know you feel me.

One of my favorite sales stories is about a good friend of mine interviewing for his first job in advertising sales. He tells it better than I do, but it goes something like this.

Setting: Conference room. Across the table are two guys. First question. "Pick up the phone, call this number and sell our product to the person who picks up the phone. We'll be listening on the other line."

Kinda gives you anxiety doesn't it?

Like I said, guts.

People in sales fail all the time.

In this line of work, failing is a part of the job. You get used to hearing 'no.' You get used to watching your peers fail. You watch your cube mate as he or she walks out the door with their things in a cardboard box. You're sad for them, but deep down you feel a sense of pride. You're still there. You're still in the game.

Sales people know how challenging it can be to meet their goals. And then they know that it is doubly as challenging to keep meeting their goals, month over month and year over year, especially when the quotas continue to go up.

Just ask Uncle Rico. He gets it.

In sports, sales is 'cool', but it's still a grind.

If you're selling in the sports business (for a league, media company, team, startup), you know this is true. Sure, you're selling sponsorships for your local team, and people think that's awesome, but you're still hitting the phones hard each day. Just like any other sales rep.

Maybe you're selling tickets for a team that isn't doing too hot this season. That can be a real bummer. Or maybe your sales team got cut in half last season and you're stuck training two new people. Ugh. Another coffee, please.

This is the life of a sports industry sales person. It's exhilarating when the team is winning, but it's a struggle when they're not. (Then, of course, you have your people who call for freebies... but that's for another post.)

What separates one rep from another in the sports business?

Sellers that make a name for themselves in sports crush their goals, year after year. There is no other way to put it. They crush it.

They have mastered the art of the cold call. They have mastered the art of the follow up call. They have mastered the art of being rejected. None of this affects them. It's all business. It's what they do. These sellers will stand the test of time, as long as they keep crushing their numbers.

The ones that rise to the top -- the ones that get promoted -- do something that is really hard for most people to do.

The best sellers build a loyal following.

These sellers work so hard to earn and maintain their customer relationships that their customers don't ever want to buy from anyone else. In fact, if they were to leave their post and move to another team, league or agency, their customers might just follow them along on their journey. And even if those customers aren't still buying from them, so to speak, they still want to maintain that relationship...

Why?

Because after years of buying tickets, sponsorships, Tupperware containers, and what have yous from the same person, that person has become a friend.