HBSE Named “Top 50 Company to Sell For” in US

Over the last several years, the family of dynamic properties within the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment family have enjoyed a number of awards from within and outside the sports industry: “Most Innovative Company” from Fast Company magazine, “Best Business” from NJBiz.com, “Best Place to Work” from Philadelphia Business Journal – each meaningful in its own way, for its own reason.  They are proud, special moments when we see our colleagues recognized for their accomplishments and they have a moment or two in the sun, especially given the hours, commitment and dedication required in this business.

Today we add another banner to our HBSE front office trophy case - and one that honors what many might call the “beating heart” of the HBSE body: our industry-renown sales force. A salesman by trade, I am proud of the recruiting, training and development programs our team has pioneered – and inspired daily to see and hear the results and fun it produces. HBSE has been named one of the “50 Best Companies to Sell For” by the world’s preeminent sales publication, Selling Power magazine; in an impressive, national list that spans beyond the sports and entertainment sphere, and places HBSE aside corporate giants Google, Microsoft and IBM. 

Culture drives business. People drive culture. It seems like a simple model, mantra and marching order.  And it is. Invest in your people through training and development. Make learning and developing people what you do. Appreciate your people publicly and privately. Maintain a long-term approach to relationships and process, because the world is small and life is long. Celebrate wins, confront the losses, keep learning and selling. Don’t ever forget to have fun along the way. It seems to be working. 

We could attribute the honor to our culture….

We could attribute this honor to the incredible sales culture imagined and brought to life by industry leaders Jake Reynolds and Adam Davis; or the support and cover provided by Chris Heck and Hugh Weber, incredible sellers in their own right. I am exceedingly proud of the unwavering time and resources our leadership provides for employee programs that support the professional and personal development of the almost 300 sales executives in our organization. At HBSE we provide graduate-school level “classes” in sales and business to executives that demonstrate potential, drive and (what I call) “intellectual curiosity.” 

But this award is truly a nod to the sales, service, activation and operations teams – chock-full of emerging stars, genuine managers and ambitious leaders who will, I am confident, run their own teams in the very near future: Ben Cobleigh, Brian Norman, Jill Snodgrass, Greg Flaherty, Owen Morin, Chad Biggs, Adam Cross, Ned Luke, Jason Gonella, Zack Robinson, Chelsea Fenstermacher, Braden Moore, Kathryn Alario, Natash Moody and more.

HBSE leaders have created a once-in-an-industry culture that is more than a “Best Place to Work” – it’s a “root-for-each-other” place to work. Talented and gritty people with clear expectations, holding each other accountable and having fun celebrating each other’s successes. 

We could attribute the honor to the emphasis we place on strategy and analytics…

I would be remiss if I did not mention HBSE’s award-winning Analytics Team that primes our sales initiatives and strategy in harmony with our senior sales leaders, and with feedback from our “boots on the ground” Account Executives. Through our partnership with StubHub and through associations with thought-leading organizations like Kraft Analytics Group, we approach our clients with a smarter, more empathetic, eye and ear. Every decision we make is rooted in data - we continue to look for innovative ways to gain new insights, understand our client’s needs and behaviors, and provide our sales team with the knowledge and resources they need to create a world-class experience for our fans.

But we attribute the honor to our people…because in the end, it is all that really matters.

Culture drives business. People drive culture.