Nets CEO Brett Yormark today said the ticket sales business now is considered “just as glamorous” as sponsorship sales, and perception “has certainly changed over the years” since he entered sports business in the late ‘80s. Yormark appeared alongside CAA Sports co-Head Howard Nuchow for the opening panel of the inaugural SBJ/SBD Ticketing Symposium at the W Hoboken in New Jersey, part of this week's AT&T Sports Facilities & Franchises conference. The session, titled “From the Boiler Room to the Board Room,” featured two execs who began their careers in sports business selling tickets for the Nets. Nuchow also acknowledged that the business has changed in some ways, but pointed to enduring lessons he learned in ticket sales, such as “how to position a product.” Nuchow: “You don’t approach selling Shaun White any different than you do having a creative marketing plan for individual tickets.” Yormark said “good process defines good results” in all sales endeavors. Nuchow also mentioned that a successful sales strategy is one that is “not depending on wins & losses,” and regardless of the team’s record, “you have access to things the world wants a piece of.”
CREATIVE, FORMATIVE: As an example of creative sales strategies, Nuchow recalled how he began a pregame speakers program with the Nets in order to drive corporate sales. The series, which featured speakers such as Harvey Mackay and Lou Holtz, provided a “huge return” financially, but it also made CEOs in the market “look at the Nets like we’re innovative and smart.” Yormark recalled making a $10,000 sale on his first day as a Nets ticket salesman, and Nuchow said by the time he joined the Nets several years later, the sales staff “aspired to be Brett.” Nuchow: “He made an impression on a lot of people in the hallways.” Yormark also described a vendor program with grocery chain Pathmark he initiated in ’95, then in his second stint with the Nets, which was a season-long partnership and the “first seven-figure deal in Nets history.” Both execs spoke about what it takes to be an entry-level salesman and to make the transition from that job to being a top-level exec. Nuchow said, “You better be selfless.” He pointed to leading by example and mentioned how Jon Spoelstra, who ran the Nets when he joined, would still go on sales calls and “put that big win on the board.” Yormark’s key word was “passion,” which he said “outweighs a lot of things.” He also noted that the Nets do not make hires based on a candidate’s simple desire to work in sports. Yormark: “We don’t hire sports fans. That’s not part of our DNA.”
NO SLEEP ‘TIL BROOKLYN: Yormark returned several times to the theme of the Nets’ impending move to Brooklyn. When asked via text question about the first things on his to-do list, Yormark said, “My focus is on Brooklyn.” When the subject of the Nets’ at-times controversial strategy of marketing opponents came up, Yormark said, “We’ll never do opponent marketing in Brooklyn.” And when asked about the biggest sports business story he is following, he said the move to Brooklyn will be “one of the biggest stories in sports for the next 25 years.”
 |
Panel has some reservations with
concept of dynamic pricing |
THAT'S THE TICKET! In the second discussion this morning, The Aspire Group Chair & CEO Bernie Mullin told fellow panelists that sports franchises must develop database strategies to manage ticket sales. Joining Mullin on the “Ticketing Power Panel” were Paciolan Founder Jane Kleinberger, Legends Premium Sales President Chad Estis, NBA Exec VP/Team Marketing & Business Operations Chris Granger and Tickets.com President & CEO John Walker. “You don’t just need some kid to run your database, you need an analytics team,” Mullin said. “Most teams don’t have a [analytics] plan, they have a budget. What you need is an integrated ticket, marketing and sales plan.” The panel was hesitant to fully endorse dynamic pricing, and warned against its pitfalls. “Thirteen teams that are clients of ours use [dynamic pricing] and their yields are up,” Walker said. “If your price goes below a season ticket price, you irritate ticket holders. That’s not a good place to be.” But he added a survey found that MLB Giants season-ticket holders did not mind if single tickets dropped below season ticket prices for “a game or two.” Kleinberger said advances in technology such as paperless tickets and tickets issued to mobile devices should be viewed with cautious optimism, and that teams should use incentives along with the technology. Granger said social media has also helped, but that teams should research which social sites work with different strategies. “You should have a holistic strategy," he said.
