Many students may feel a sense of anxiety at the prospect of working in a position that incorporates sales, but the truth is there is a bit of sales in almost every job when you work in sports! You may be interacting directly or indirectly with fans, interacting with stakeholders like sponsors, or engaging with vendors and clients. This is our plea to you to not fear sales! If you have the opportunity to learn from a sales internship, we encourage you to consider it for these reasons:
- Everything is Sales – Yes, you heard us correct. If you are working in sports you are probably “selling” something whether that is a ticket, merchandise, experiences, or sponsorships, to name a few. And just because you might not be the person cold calling to sell a ticket to a game, you might be working on social media posts where the goal at the end of the day is to engage more fans to interact with the team through buying tickets to a game or purchasing merchandise. Everybody in the organization will have a hand in selling the brand.
- Communication Skills – Having the opportunity to improve your communication skills in a variety of ways will be something you take with you the rest of your life, whether you continue to work in sports or not. We bet if you look around the room right now, you’ll see a lot of people sitting on their phones, scrolling or texting. Written communication is thoroughly important, but so is face-to-face communication, as well as talking over the phone. You may be most accustomed to texting, but in the sports industry texting will not make up the majority of your interactions.
- Bravery – Even with a warm lead, trying to make a sales pitch can feel daunting. Nobody likes feeling rejected. But the more you do it, the less scary it will feel. Rejection is going to be natural – not everyone you call can afford to attend a sporting event, or perhaps they are simply too busy. You will learn to navigate a lot of different excuses with grace and kindness, and some you will learn to completely overcome. When you make those types of sales, it will feel extraordinary!
- Meet the Fans – Sports are about fandom. Without fans there are no professional sports. When you work in sales (specifically ticket sales) you get the opportunity to interact with fans on a regular basis whether that is from the office, or at a live game, or at a community event. Getting to know the people who make up the heart and soul of a sports team is the best way to understand the meaning and importance of the team itself in the community. Once you know the fans, you have an important skillset that can translate across any position in the organization.
- Upside – Sales positions are typically metric-driven roles. If you sell tickets you can count the number of tickets you’re able to sell. It is typically a very competitive environment where staff members (or interns) are essentially in competition to see who can sell the most that season. It adds to the excitement of the sales role, but also gives you a tremendous opportunity to see how you stack up against other members of staff. If you work hard and excel, you are immediately a superstar. Who wouldn’t want that opportunity?
So if you’re trying to find ways to get your foot in the door of the sports industry, don’t overlook that sales role! It might not be easy to begin with but your older self will thank you for learning these crucial sports industry skills.
