SELLING WITH SMARTS TO BOOST YOUR BOTTOM LINE

During the months ahead as I plow myself deeper into the minor league baseball franchise that my partners just recently purchased, most of my next batch of postings are going to be centered around my findings and experiences.

Know that I apologize deeply for my silence of late. Combining the baseball beat with the ongoing hockey season right now has my attention locked up. In some ways, if you are just developing your career or entering a start-up position with a sports franchise, hopefully the words and feedback that I am to share in the near future will be most helpful.

Since walking into the baseball office, most of my time has been spent delving into the active sponsorship contracts left behind from our previous regime and developing a business plan to recruit new partners. One of the mistakes some team's make is to sell a NUMBER versus defining what is NET or GROSS to the client. We write up our hockey packages as a "Net" billing.

Here's an example of a contract that I recently uncovered. The package states that the prospective client is to receive an outfield fence sign, a giveway item provided by the club (that says TBD versus item stated), a pair of season tickets, a company group outing as well as 200 tickets that are to be donated to a charity cause on behalf of the client.

First HUGE mistake. The contract was not identified as "Gross" or "Net". Sadly, the signee of the contract was an Advertising Agency. My heart sunk. I knew in a split second that this would be a GROSS buy in their eyes. Since the club rep didn't specify that his asking price was NET and built the agency commission (usually 15%) up above the team's price, this was going to be a 15% reduction off the signature line. When I made the call to the agency to review this contract, sure enough, my fear came to fruition. It is to be a "Gross Billing" by the club to the client. The previous sales rep just cost his club a chunk of profit. A reckless mistake.

What makes this package even more dangeous on top of the billing issue is the inclusion of a TBD game night promotional item! What if the client now says they want a Baseball Bat or an expensive Ball Cap? A Fleece Blanket? In this agreement there was no language that says it's the "club's call for what item will be ordered?" The package should have stated what the promotional item will be but more so the club rep needs to know exactly what the cost is plus tax, freight and art charges so that you are covering all expenses to the club plus profit mark-up.

When breaking down a sponsorship package, look at each category as it's own "department". You should establish revenue projections for signage, print, radio broadcast, promotion, etc. and then make sure you are made aware of your costs. Example: you just sold a seasonal pocket schedule that costs the club $8,000; yet, your team effort generated just $7K in ad sales. This particular "department" needs to operate as a "profit center" not as a loss leader.

Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES TO START YOUR NEW YEAR!

Some special inspiration that I wanted to share with my readers as we begin a brand new year. Enjoy my friends!

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Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending - Carl Bard

Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic - Anonymous

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision - Ayn Rand

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee - Marian Wright Edelman

Remember, all the answers you need are inside of you; you only have to become quiet enough to hear them - Debbie Ford

Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to
begin where he was - Richard L. Evans

SALES TIP: If people like you they'll listen to you, but if they trust you they'll do business with you - Zig Ziglar

Happiness resides not in posessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul - Democritus

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions - Albert Einstein

In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends - John Churton Collins

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings - Ralph Blum

Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and lend a hand - E. E. Hale

What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first steps to something better - Proverb

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong - Peter T. McIntyre

SALES TIP: Confidence is contagious and so is lack of confidence, and a customer will recognize both - Vincent Lombardi

Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along - Napoleon Hill

Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com