Archive for the ‘Client Relationship’ Category

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DAY IN THE LIFE

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Working in sports management, people often ask me – “What is a typical day for you”?

Well, no one day is the same. It really depends on the time of year, what events the athletes are competing in, what’s making news, what sponsors have planned, or maybe there is something that needs urgent attention and takes up all my energy for a week at a time.

So with that in mind, I’ll try and give you a broad summary without going into specifics.

I usually begin the day by watching and reading the news. I scan TV, newspapers and online. I’m focusing on a mixture of sports and business news. The athletes under management cover a wide range of sports so I need to be across a lot of information. I find this also helps me to establish rapport in meetings I have that day.

Using the big rocks principle, I always write down the major things I want to accomplish that day. The things that will yield the biggest results. If I get those done then everything else falls into place. I try and use the mornings to reply to emails and phone calls and leave the afternoons for other projects I’m working on. In saying that, I’m on call day and night and need to respond quickly to clients and the media who work on deadline.

Some days I’m out of the office with clients for sponsorship and media obligations. I’m there to facilitate the appearance, make the sure the athlete is comfortable and enforce their sponsor commitments (branding, key messaging). I’m also there to network. Develop relationships with everyone including TV producers, sponsorship managers, journalists, photographers you name it. Some interstate travel is involved which makes for long days.

The evenings are sometimes scattered with invites to parties, product launches, dinner invitations and other events that involve the athletes or their sponsors. Again, networking is a big part of the job.

That’s a good example of what I do…….but then next week might be totally different. In fact, next week I’m away consulting for a major sports event and then conducting some media with a client for a few days. I might find it hard to blog during this period so don’t be disappointed, I’ll be back. You can keep up to date on twitter twitter.com/SportDownUnder

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Sitting On The Sidelines

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

d4788972951affe38515d027ed9f4f872In this month’s GQ Magazine, AFL footballer Ben Cousins talks about his time away from football and how that ‘time away’ only exaggerated his personal problems.

It’s not hard to understand why. Sportspeople live a regimented life. It’s not all glamour. Most of their time is extremely structured. Train, eat, sleep and repeat.

Take that structure away and the athlete feels like their life has been turned upside down. This can lead to emotional breakdown and other issues. Before you tell me athletes are overpaid and live a privileged life and should “harden the f#*ck up” let me put it this way. Anyone who ‘lives to work’ instead of ‘works to live’ can relate to this feeling.

Let’s say you work Mon-Fri. You love your job. You do valuable work. You enjoy the people you work with. And you like the structure that work brings to your life. But what happens when the weekend rolls around and you’re not doing valuable work, and you’re not around your work mates and the structure you enjoy is put on hold? Do you feel kinda lost? Well imagine having that feeling for weeks or even months, and you begin to understand what its like for an athlete suffering a season ending injury or suspension.

The lesson here for athlete managers is to be on guard when your athlete suffers a lay-off. Make sure they have other pursuits or areas of interest to work on. In a football club, this might be working with the coach more closely or working in the head office. Anything that gives the athlete a challenge or something to work towards is great. In Ben Cousins case, it was the challenge of completing a marathon that filled the void of not playing footy.

Better yet, every athlete should have life balance waaaay before they suffer a stint on the sidelines.

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Robots with Personalities

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Boxing, more so than other sports, relies on the personality of its athletes. It’s the lifeblood of the fight game. Ask any promoter.

Two guys beating each other in the ring is entertaining, but if they both have great personalities, it’s so much more interesting.

I think the same principle can be applied to other sports. And I think it’s important we preserve that trait. Let’s not forget, sport is entertainment.

I remember watching, jeering and cheering the likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Conners, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic. Not only were they very talented tennis players but they had personalities that brought fans through the turnstiles. Cricket had (among others) Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Doug Walters and more recently Shane Warne. Rugby League prides itself on the characters in its game and promotes them to the tilt (a big reason why rugby league enjoys free to air coverage over Super 14 rugby).

In this day and age of professionalism it’s common for sporting academies, clubs and athlete managers to suck the personality right out of an athlete. With strict behaviour guidelines, the pressure of being a role model and big sponsors to protect, it’s easy to produce robots.

But what people don’t understand is robots can be personalities too. You don’t have to break the rules, swear and be disrespectful to have a personality that attracts fanfare.

NRL player Wendell Sailor is a good example of what I’m talking about. He is a great role model but he is also a big personality. Just shows it’s possible to be both. That’s what sponsors want to see more of, robots with personalities.

wall-e

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Advice For Athletes

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

“There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.”
Coach Finstock, Teen Wolf Movie 1985.

Coaches love to give advice. It’s what they’re paid to do. Sometimes its great advice. Other times its poor advice.

In my experience, the best coaches are the ones that concentrate on giving advice that is related to their athlete’s performance. This also includes life advice that brings out the best in the athlete.

Where some coaches cross the line is business, marketing or sponsorship advice. This is not their area of expertise.

I’m going to put family and partners in the same basket.

It’s ok for athletes to use these people as a sounding board but they shouldn’t dictate or influence commercial decisions.

It’s easy to criticise a sports manager when you have no experience in the field of sponsorship, are not out there selling, do not understand corporate budgets, marketing plans or advertising and PR strategies.

Put it this way. I don’t tell athletes how to kick a ball, throw a pass or swim fast. That’s not my area of expertise. So why on earth would an athlete listen to a coach or family member about sports marketing and sponsorship?

Athletes, trust your family and coach for performance and life advice. But when it comes to business, trust your manager.

Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.

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Different Strokes

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

I noticed Mitchell Johnson’s mum is in the news again today, this time defending her recent outburst having any link to Johnson’s poor Ashes form. I’ve watched this story unfold with interest.

First of all, having a private family matter debated in the media like this is awful and I really feel sorry for Mitchell (anyone who says this hasn’t had some impact on his below par Ashes performance has never worked with elite athletes).

This story has raised a good issue though. And that is, family members, partners, friends or even long lost relatives of celebrities have the opportunity to go to the media at anytime. So what drives people to seek out the media? It comes down to one or a combination of these things:

  • Money
  • Jealousy
  • Fame

So we know what drives it, the hard thing is stopping it. When manager’s sign athletes they’ll often ask about skeleton’s in the closet. This refers to anything the manager should be aware of that could warrant media attention or impact on sponsorship down the track. Maybe it’s time managers also discussed over-zealous family, friends and relatives? I’m not saying this will prevent any outbursts but if a manager knows about it they can at least think of strategy before it happens.

Back to the Johnson case, and what a recipe for the tabloids! Here we have Australia’s newest and brightest cricketing star, throw in his attractive partner, a mum crying for his attention, the rising popularity of the WAG’s and a tense Ashes battle and you have newspaper editors rubbing their hands with glee.

So what should athletes and managers do in this situation? Firstly, don’t shoot back. Its good see Mitchell and his partner have not resorted to a Jana Pittman verse Tamsyn Lewis debate in the media. Second of all, you need to silence the speaker. This can be achieved peacefully or by legal action in extreme cases.

That’s it. What seems complex is really not. The media will continue to dig this up until either its resolved or the offending party stops talking. Choose a path, stick to it and watch the issue go away.

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Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Six Skills for Athlete Managers

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

What skills do athlete managers need to be successful? I’m not going to burden you with a long list. In my experience, the six skills below are crucial.

Communication / Sales

I’ve grouped these two together because sales IS communication. Managing athletes is all about relationships. The better your communication, the better your relationships. This includes strong reading and writing skills and brilliant face to face contact.

Negotiation

A skill you need.

Time management

If you can’t manage your own time, how do you expect to manage someone else? A simple strategy I use is Big Rocks. Use this when managing your own time and the athletes you are responsible for.

Legal Eye

You don’t have to be a Supreme Court Justice but you do need to able to read and understand a contract. You should get the best legal advice but at the same you should be able to cross their T’s and dot their I’s?

Leadership

Leaders ask great questions, have a yearn to learn, are ethical, decisive, calm under pressure, and lead by their actions.

Candid

I’ve dedicated a blog to this. This is a trait that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people. So if you have it, you’ll stand out from the rest and find that people respect you lot more. Famous CEO of General Electric Jack Welch built his company on this attribute so trust it.

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The Green Eyed Monster

Monday, July 13th, 2009

If you’re a manager with multiple clients, chances are you have a few green eyed monsters in your closet.

Athletes are naturally competitive. And believe me, they keep an eye on the other athletes you manage. For example, they know when someone else you manage signs an endorsement.

The thing is athletes rarely confront you about it. They prefer to internally rationalise the reasons why they missed out on a particular deal but deep down they question whether you’re playing favourites.

Sport managers don’t play favourites, for the simple reason that sponsors don’t give us a chance to play favourites. Sponsors are very picky and choosy. If they come to us, they come with one athlete in mind for very specific reasons.

Likewise, we carefully select athletes when pitching for sponsorship. A lot of research goes into presenting to a brand. It’s not a hit and hope strategy. We don’t compromise our chances of doing business with a sponsor by recommending an athlete with no synergy or fit for that brand.

Whilst I can’t speak for every manager, this is how I operate and athletes need to understand this.

I would urge green eyed monsters to talk to their managers about their concerns. “Why did I miss out on that deal?” “Was my hat in the ring?” If not, why?

Athletes will soon understand the complexities of how sponsors make their decisions and they’ll begin to realise it’s never personal. It’s business. And business is tough.

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BOB THE BUILDER

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Managing a young athlete’s career from start to finish is a bit like building a house.

First thing you need is a blue print. An end vision of what you want to achieve with the athlete.

The sad thing is, most managers don’t have a blue print. They make things up as they go along.

The next you thing you need is a solid foundation that will protect the house from all kinds of weather.

I’m talking about good morals / personal values. Not always easy to teach but important if you want to build a great house.

The next stage is to build the house in steps. E.g. you don’t build the roof without first building the walls.

The ‘walls’ can be sporting results or growing the media profile of the athlete. This comes before the big endorsements.

Next thing you need to do is surround yourself with specialised handyman. A painter is not a tiler. A landscaper can’t do the plumbing.

You need to align your athlete with specialist people such as a sports lawyer, a financial planner etc. If I’m an athlete, I’d much rather have 3-4 specialists around me then one manager wearing multiple hats. This allows my manager to solely concentrate on one thing – bringing in the money.

Lastly, you need to communicate effectively with everyone to get the house built on time and within budget.

This is much easier if you have a blue print. Show the athlete this. Explain your strategy. Keep them updated at every step along the way.

At the end you will have a magnificent house that is worth a lot of money.

bobthebuilder

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Servicing Sponsorship is 2-Way

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

1) Athlete manager pitches for sponsorship.

2) Sponsor signs a contract with exclusive benefits and rights.

3) Athlete manager sits back and waits for sponsor to leverage the relationship.

4) Sponsor lacks ideas and becomes frustrated with the availability / restrictions around the sponsorship.

5) The athlete manager continues a re-active communication style with the sponsor. No to this request. Yes to this.

6) The only time the athlete manager initiates contact with the sponsor is when the athlete needs product or a payment is due.

7) Contract expires. Sponsor walks away. Athlete is dumbfounded. “But I did everything they asked of me”?

The problem with the above scenario is the lack of communication between the athlete manager and the sponsor. Or more specifically the lack of initiative by the athlete manager.

Traditionally, it’s not the job of athlete managers to come up with leveraging ideas. But that’s not an excuse to sit on your hands.

Athlete managers should be calling sponsors and giving them updates on the athlete’s diary, availability and event scheduling. They should be telling them about current promotions with other sponsors. They should notify the sponsor of any public appearances or media the athlete is doing etc.

This type of communication engages the sponsor and leaves them no excuse not to activate the sponsorship.

It will also differentiate you from the other athlete managers that sponsor deals with.

You’ve given them plenty of opportunity to find ROI.  And at the end of the contract, the sponsor has little excuse to walk away.

After all, we all know that it’s much cheaper to retain sponsor’s than find new ones.

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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

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