I’ve been reading more on Sports Mgmt as a degree and wanted to share 2 things
- an excellent article on LinkedIn about the major–the net is that kids need to know how to sell and be prepared for realities of this field.
- The response to it by Ohio University’s head of Sports Center (Scroll down)
Jim Kahler
Executive Director Center for Sports Administration at Ohio University
Michael, I read your post and believe that the plentitude of universities and colleges offering degrees in sports need to be held more accountable for job placements and training with young men and women looking to break into the world of sports business. At Ohio University we place a major emphasis on job placements with both our graduate and undergraduate programs and have staffed our department accordingly. While schools need to do a better job on sales training I would also suggest that teams like yours need to offer opportunities for students to get over the hurdle of understanding that sales is a skill set that can be acquired if someone has the aptitude and desire. The late Mark McCormack once said that “The number one attribute of a successful salesperson is that they have to have a passion and belief in the product they represent “. I use this statement in my sales course at Ohio University as a starting point to let some students realize that they can be successful at both ticket and sponsorship sales and that selling is not something that is not necessarily synonymous with used cars. JIm