5 ways you can use your games to help you sell

I’m currently headed to North Carolina to run some sales training for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. I was excited to hear that after the first day of training they’ll have a home game that night. I’m excited to see their game experience and talk to their staff about how they can maximize the opportunity in an effort to generate more sales.

We sell sports and entertainment and unlike selling other products and services it’s live, it’s different every night, it can be emotional and it’s exciting. It’s our job to help people experience that and when they’re having a great time, leverage that excitement to create demand which we can ultimately use to help us sell. So how do we do that? Here are some ways you can use the games to help you grow your business:

1. Prospect tickets – By definition, this is using game tickets to invite prospective buyers to the game. If you’re struggling getting people to respond you can use a game invite to try and re-engage them. If it’s someone you’ve already pitched, you can invite them to a game to sample the seats before they buy. A key here though is don’t be taken advantage of. Some people will string you along to get the freebies. Don’t fall into that trap, set the expectations up front. When possible, try and have them arrive early, meet them out front and escort them in. Walk them through your hospitality spaces, get them involved in an in-game experience and then sit them in available seats. Use the excitement of the game to help you, visit them at a break in the game, and ask for the sale. Or set the follow up for a meeting out at their offices to dive a little deeper into their business. Regardless of the prospect, make sure you set clear expectations that they will sample the experience and then you’ll discuss ways they can become a client.

2. Customer rewards – Identify your top accounts and extend the opportunity for them and a guest to come back and enjoy a game on you. Make sure you’re there to make the connection, sit and enjoy some of the game with them or meet them at halftime to ensure they’re having a great time and then be sure to follow up after. Those servicing touchpoints go a long way. Also, if you can customize it to their favorite childhood team or their favorite player and surprise them you can build greater loyalty which will increase your chances of renewing them in the future, upselling them more product, or generating more referrals.

3. Purchase incentives – If you have the excess inventory, another creative way to use the seats is by offering a purchase incentive. This is rewarding a prospect with some bonus tickets if they commit to a purchase. If you go this route, I’d recommend being strategic based on the size of the purchase and be sure not to not mass promote this. Don’t offer someone courtside seats for committing to a $500 partial plan. But by offering a similar location or a bonus game for their commitment you can create more value for them. To make this effective, put a start and end date on the offer. For example, turn it on for an event so they get it if they commit that night. Turn it on for a game, so if they buy that night they get a bonus pair of seats, or they get upgraded for the rest of the game. Use it not just as a way to create value but to create urgency as well. The additional ammunition will help your sellers close more deals, and close them quicker.

4. Sales tables – If you’re a salesperson and you don’t have any prospects or customers attending the game, try and be active at the sales tables. These tables are where prospective customers can go and gain information about purchasing tickets. You have thousands of fans that have attended the game and there is something that enticed them to make the trip. In my opinion ALL of them are great targets. If you’re working a sales table, get out in front of the table. Don’t wait for people to come to you. Be professional and outgoing, smile, engage and initiate dialogue. Once you start a conversation, be sure to get their information so you can be sure to follow up. Don’t just give them your card and wait for them to call, unfortunately, they won’t. If you have a special offer going that night, educate them on it. If the conversation turns really warm, visit them at their seats and be proactive. Use the offer to create urgency. I’ve also seen people walk up to the table and buy seats on the spot. You never know what you’ll get, so be prepared with seat locations and your product knowledge. It’ll be what you make it, get out and front and have fun with it!

5. Visit your customers – Whether you’ve sold single game tickets, group tickets, a suite, or season tickets chances are you’ll have someone that already bought from you at the game. Try and visit these people too, and say thank you. Especially if it’s their only game which is most common with groups and suites. Visit with them for a while, talk to the group members, socialize in the suite. It’s a great servicing touchpoint to make sure your customer enjoys the game but it could also be fruitful in helping you get referrals. This is also really valuable for the season ticket service people as well. Identify accounts that you don’t know as well, or may be “at risk” accounts and make a point to visit them at their seats throughout the season. Offer to bring by a gift if necessary. Getting face time is key, and the games are a great place to do that.

As sellers in sports, we live for the games and have to do whatever we can to maximize them. We have a captive audience of fans and/or people that have invested their time to come to see our product, so it’s on us to not only make sure they have a great experience but ensure we build stronger relationships with these fans which can help us sell. I’d recommend making a plan of attack before every game and setting some goals for yourself. Go in with a purpose and be strategic, if we don’t, we’re missing a huge opportunity. Don’t let that happen to you! Good luck at your games this season.

-BH

Bob Hamer is the President and Founder of Sports Business Solutions. The company provides sales training, consulting and recruiting services to sports teams and properties. Prior to that he was the Vice President of Ticket Sales for the Phoenix Suns. The company mission is to help people succeed in sports business. To learn more about Sports Business Solutions visit www.sportsbusiness.solutions and follow along on social media @SportsBizBob and @SportsBizSol.