2009 April | SportDownUnder.com.au

Archive for April, 2009

The Best Legal Advice

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

In life there are cheap and expensive versions of every product and service. You can afford to go cheap on some of these items. While others you need to buy the best money can afford.

In my experience, one service you can’t afford to go cheap with is legal services. For anyone who has found themselves in a hole because they skimped on legal costs will understand what I’m talking about.

In this day and age, you need to be on high alert when dealing with contracts. You need to seek lawyer(s) you can trust and who are niche to your area of business. Sure good specialised legal advice is expensive, but losing all your personal assets because of loose business contract is more expensive.

In sport, you are not only acting in the best interests of your company but you’re also entrusted by the athletes you represent to protect them in any commercial arrangements.

Just to repeat. This is one area you don’t skimp on the costs. Throughout your business career, you will save money in the long run by getting the best advice money can afford.

blg5978

Posted in Client Relationship, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

Manage But Don’t Forget to Teach

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Some athlete managers do everything for their clients. They pay their bills, they insure their car, they book their holidays, they fill out complex forms, they might even pick up their dry cleaning or run other errands. This type of management style is great except what you’re doing is depriving your client of important life skills.

Yes, athlete managers need to take the reins on different aspects of management but not at the expense of leaving your client without the knowledge or expertise to navigate life by themselves.

It amazes me how many athletes don’t know how to do simple tasks such as booking their own flights online. Everyday jobs are lost on some athletes simply because they have always had someone else do it for them.

You are expected to manage everything that is sponsorship or media driven but often athletes will rely on their managers for totally unrelated personal jobs. And it’s not their fault, it’s just that no one has ever taught them these skills. As a manager, it’s your duty to educate your clients. Athletes really appreciate this, in fact they take ownership and feel empowered to manage themselves better.

Ultimately your job is to build your athlete’s brand and align them with great sponsors, and this will be much easier with a client who is domlife-esticated.

Tags: athlete manager, athlete's brand
Posted in Client Relationship, Personal Development, Strategy | No Comments »

Negotiation, A Skill You Need

Friday, April 24th, 2009

As a sports manager, negotiation is a critical skill set you need to master. From a sponsorship perspective let’s go through the process.

1. It’s always easier to negotiate with someone you have a great relationship with. People think a negotiation is a one off event. The fact is negotiation is ongoing from the first time you meet a sponsor to the time you wish to renew. If you can, develop the relationship long before you have to sit down and talk turkey.

2. Get clear on what you need and what they need. Put all the pieces on the table to discover what the differences are – is it money, is territory, is it benefits? And is the gap between these differences big or small? Continually focus on the final outcome you want, don’t get caught up in petty differences.

3. Find out WHY they need what they need. Eg. A sponsor might need to stay within a certain budget. Your job is to find out why! Is it because they need to use additional funds on leveraging the relationship, is it because the athlete’s availability for appearances is limited, is it because the ROI is hard to measure and justify to their CEO? Focus on meeting these underlying needs rather than arguing about the stated need (in this case price).

4. Choose your style. What kind of people are you dealing with? How do they do business? Does your style need to be very cooperative or very competitive? People react to both styles very differently. Find this out and use flexibility in your approach.

5. Decide the best climate for your negotiation. This involves Time, Place and Mood. Can this negotiation be discussed in a café over a coffee? Or does it require boardroom chest beating at HQ? Most negotiations take place over weeks and months. There will be multiple venues, different times and moods to each discussion. You need to identify what climate you need to create to get the best result.

6. Tactics & Counter Tactics. There are a million out there on how to solve and settle your negotiation. They are all designed to aid the points above. I suggest you read the below books. In my opinion they are the best.

Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher
Getting Past No – William Ury
Getting Together – Roger Fisher & Scott Brown

Tags: Negotiation, Sponsorship
Posted in Communication, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

What Do Athletes Really Want?

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

In a perfect world for athlete managers, every professional sportsperson would have the hunger and drive to blitz the commercial world just as they have the same hunger and drive to succeed on-field.

But unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. Not every athlete wants to build their public profile and do the work that is required to earn massive money from endorsements, appearances and media deals.

The main focus of an athlete manager’s job is to make their client money. After all that’s how managers make their money. So when a manager has an athlete that doesn’t have the same commercial drive it can be incredibly frustrating.

Before you sign an athlete it’s important to ask them what they think you’re job is. If they think your job is to earn them as much money as possible and they are willing to work really hard for the endorsement dollars, then great, you are both on the same page. You can confidently chase opportunities knowing your athlete will go to work.

However if they don’t care much for the spotlight, aren’t willing to go over and beyond for sponsors, network themselves, or simply have an attitude of wanting to earn money but don’t really want to put in the work required, then you have a problem.

It’s important to ask an athlete the big questions up front. Know exactly what your role is with every client you represent. You will not only save yourself a lot of time and heartache, but you can really concentrate on rewarding those clients who have the hunger to succeed commercially.

Tags: athlete manager, Media
Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | 3 Comments »

Time Management with Big Rocks

Monday, April 20th, 2009

There are so many theories on time management, in fact I don’t have the time for them all! So I stick to one simple strategy that is well known and works for me.

Its called Big Rocks. Basically it’s about using your time to focus on the things that will yield you the biggest results. It goes something like this:

Imagine a glass cookie jar. (The jar represents your time).

Next to the jar you have some sand, some small pebbles and some big rocks. These are your ‘things to do’ (big rocks = important things, sand = trivial things).

Your job is to fit all these things in the jar.

You have two options.

1. You can steer clear of the big rocks (otherwise known as procrastinating) and first put in the sand and then the pebbles.
The problem with this strategy is after putting in the sand and pebbles you find that the big rocks don’t fit!

2. The second option is concentrate on the big rocks first. Once these are in the jar, put in the pebbles and notice how they wedge themselves in the gaps between the big rocks. Lastly put in the sand and watch it sneak its way through the jar filling up any air pockets. Tad arr you have a full jar!

Next time you’re wondering how you will fit everything in your week, make the big rocks your priority and watch everything else fall into place.

Tags: time management
Posted in Personal Development, Strategy | 2 Comments »

Balancing Act

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Success is black and white in the world of sport. It’s easy to measure with statistics, you either win or you lose. An athlete’s day job is constantly on public display and is open to debate among fans and media alike.

This scrutiny can lead many athletes to believe their job defines who they are as a person. Their life rides the emotional rollercoaster that is their sporting results. Every thought is geared towards their performance especially in their downtime away from training and competing. Their minds tick over and over because they have nothing else to focus on, sport is No.1 and nothing else matters.

This is a very dangerous mindset which can lead to burnout, poor results and early retirement.

Athletes need to learn to separate the athlete from the person. The best way to do this is to find outside interests and passions they can focus on away from their sport. This can be anything from part time study, to learning a new language. Essentially what I’m talking about is achieving life balance. It’s no surprise that athletes struggle with self identity when they retire. Suddenly their super sports hero status is no longer and they feel lost.

Having worked with elite athletes I appreciate the critical need for this life balance in their careers. Encourage your athletes to chase outside interests, not only will they grow as a person and perform better but they will walk into retirement confident having separated the athlete from the person long ago.

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Posted in Personal Development, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Surf’s Up for Sony

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Sony Australia has just announced a strategic partnership with surf company Billabong which also includes surfer Joel Parkinson as a Sony Brand ambassador.

The deal will entail sponsorship of events, product demonstrations, store appearances, content development, retail integration, co-branding opportunities and promotional campaigns.

Surfing is a million dollar industry in Australia (retail and tourism) but it lacks the media and free to air coverage afforded to other sports. This means half the people in the street wouldn’t know who Joel Parkinson is. On the surface is seems like a strange sponsorship but let me help you understand why Sony made this play.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “Surfing is more than just a sport, it’s a lifestyle”? Well it’s true and this is the sports greatest asset. The Billabong’s and Quiksilver’s of the world not only appeal to hard core surfers, but they attract other demographics because of the ‘lifestyle’ element. Just like rock stars, surfers have long been powerful influencers of everything from fashion, hairstyles, cars and accessories.

The fastest way to make a product cool is to give it to a cool group of influencers. Essentially this is what Sony is doing with this sponsorship. Not only does the ‘lifestyle’ element of surfing fit perfectly with Sony’s brand essence and its products but this sponsorship will give the brand touch feel access to an extremely passionate group of influencers.

I’m just amazed there aren’t more blue chip brands involved in surfing.

Tags: Billabong, Joel Parkinson, Quiksilver, Sony, Sponsorship
Posted in Sponsorship, Surfing | No Comments »

Mr Bic-ket

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

BIC Australia is going to create a new national campaign, featuring Australian cricketer Mike Hussey. Hussey will be seen in a range of off-field scenarios, including a book and cricket-bat signing, backyard BBQ, and preparing for a sports awards night – all featuring BIC products.

There is no doubting Mike Hussy’s popularity among cricket fans. He is a working class hero who appeals to both genders and is a great talent with the media and fans alike. He also personifies the values of everyday Australian’s which makes him easy to relate to. It also helps that he plays in a national sport on free to air television. These are all great reasons for a brand to align with Hussey but I’m guessing it was his slightly nerdy nature that gave him the nod with BIC.

Pens aren’t the most exciting product especially in this digital age so it helps to have a celebrity face to catch people’s attention. I’m sure BIC will play on Hussey’s nerdy good guy nature in their creative. In the meantime, let’s hope Hussey scores some runs, god knows (and BIC) he needs them.

Tags: BIC Australia, Cricket, Media, Mike Hussey, Sponsorship
Posted in Cricket, Sponsorship | No Comments »

Plug It

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

It makes sense that athletes should be passionate about the products / services / brands they endorse. And no, using the product isn’t the same as being passionate about it.

Brands love it when their consumers talk positively to other consumers about their products and services. So when a brand sees, reads or hears a celebrity talking about their product in the media they take extra notice.

It’s not uncommon for potential sponsors to come knocking when they know a celebrity is passionate about their brand. So the big question is, how do you communicate this passion to the marketplace? Well you don’t. This is the athlete’s job.

As a manager, you can tell a potential sponsor the passion your client has for their product (this is common in any sponsorship proposal). But it doesn’t have the same impact as the athlete plugging the product in the media.

Before you debate the merit of giving brands free plugs in the media, think about the risk verse reward. Don’t get me wrong, free plugs should be discreet and used only once but nonetheless they should be put out there. This lets the brand know they have a high profile fan and it momentarily shows the power of having a public ambassador. “Wow, that was great endorsement, how does our brand get more of that?”

When looking at individual sponsorship, brands value this ‘passion’ from ambassadors over anything else. So don’t be shy, educate your athletes on the benefits of talking about their favourite products and services in the media. What do you have to lose?

Tags: Brands, Media, sponsorship proposal
Posted in Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

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