Tao of Sports Podcast

Two years ago, Russell Scibetti was on the podcast (Ep. 347), and returns now to talk about helping foster the big data revolution to sports business. Scibetti talks about some of the ways which is the conversation has changed from two years past, his involvement with the SEAT Conference, the National Sports Forum, and the 2015 Sports Sales Boot Camp in San Francisco. Scibetti discusses his though...

The Harlem Globetrotters initiate a break-neck pace with all of their games on the road, doing multiple shows on multiple days throughout the week. Jasper Joyce oversees ticket sales for the Globetrotters, which can mean various on-sale dates, along with pricing structures, in widely different venues and towns throughout the country at the same time. Joyce talks about the group sales efforts that...

The ability to go online, look at a job listing, submit a resume, and potentially work in sports didn't start with Teamwork Online, but they have gotten a pretty good marketshare of the folks interested in applying for jobs in the sports industry. Chief Operating Officer Matt Kittle says that there are over 3.5 million users in the industry, and that the website has helped motivate a ton of applic...

From ticket sales to development, Michael Espada charts his course for how he sells both the immediate buy and the long term ask in college athletics. Espada shares his insight into the development process, including the length process of major gift fundraising. But that doesn't mean that Espada has forgotten his roots, going back to helping form one of the first in-house ticket models for college...

Finally, Peter Stringer is back on the podcast, previously on Ep. 298, and to have an updated take on some of the digital tools available to sports marketers. Stringer discusses the new Facebook vs. Twitter platform debate, as well as whether Snapchat is actually a social media platform, or a messaging service. Stringer also shares his view of the digital landscape in general, and then talks about...

Sitting down during the 2016 National Sports Forum in Portland, Oregon, Joe Isse discusses his role as the Director of Inside Sales for the NBA's Trailblazers. Isse talks about how he forms a team, as well as instills fairness and a sense of quality control will his staff members. Isse discusses ways to connect with the prospective customer, not just through phone calls, but also through other mea...

Handling a legacy brand, while pushing its marketing into the future is a task that Drew Cloud has done more than few times in his career. As Executive Vice President of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cloud oversees sales and marketing for a team founded in 1882. Cloud talks about his experience handling legacy brands, especially in Madison Square Garden with the New York Knicks, and as Vice President of...

Across The Pond, the sports digital revolution is underway, in the form of Seven League's Richard Ayers, who has worked on both the team side with Manchester City and is now one of the leading consultants for sports franchises, such as UEFA, FIFA, UFC, O2, Valencia CF, Juventus, Premier League, Green Bay Packers, Rugby Football Union, Major League Soccer and the England and Wales Cricket Board. Ay...

Few people have taken as deep of a dive into the licensing side of sports. Jim Neish talks about his passions, especially on the differential between good branding and actually knowing what you're talking about. Neish talks about how merchandise and logo variations can help or hinder a franchise's revenue success, down to the utter complexity of what colors are used. Neish discusses some of the pr...

There are an abundance of one-day sales academies host by teams, however the majority are focused primarily on the end result of a group ticket sale. The Milwaukee Bucks' Wes Warne has re-defined the model, instead of focusing on a free sales academy to invited college juniors and seniors, creating a pipeline of already trained, evaluated talent for his sales staff. Warne talks about the implement...

The revenue streams for ultra endurance racing and event management comes down to the participants themselves, who Steve Fleck believes are some of the sport's biggest fans. Fleck talks about the way in which endurance racing, including marathons and Iron Man competitions, have grown and potentially plateaued over the last few decades. Coupled with that is the technological aspects that have both...

With over 20 years of international venue ticketing experience in various marketplaces, Tim Chambers breaks down some of the largest issues happening across The Pond. One of them being ticket touting, the secondary market in the United Kingdom, where artists and venue promoters had decried the practice while demanding a cap, as well as the bankruptcy of SFX and whether that will hinder deferred ar...

Brett Zalaski returns to the podcast, after last being on 2 1/2 years ago, when he talked about sales growth and training on Ep. 368. Zalaski now speaks about his adventurous 2015 training campaign, as well as an extensive talking about the 2015 Sports Sales Boot Camp that he hosted in San Francisco in front of 300+ young sports professionals working in the field today. Zalaski discusses how getti...

This is probably one of the deepest conversations had on the podcast about LinkedIn Sales Navigator, as told by brand evangelist Mario M. Martinez, Jr., who doesn't work for the company but swears by the product. Martinez, Jr. offers up various ways in which the Sales Navigator tool can retrofit any sales floor trying to utilize both SSI and engagement on social media, as well as slays some of the...

The relationship between an athletic department and student athlete success is at its best in the small college atmosphere. Sierra College's athletic director, Lucas Moosman, has served at the Pac-12 and Mountain West level with three different Division-I institutions, but shares his experience coming to a 2-year community college of 17,000 students. Moosman talks about the financial realities of...

John Katz returns the podcast after two years (Ep. 183) where he was heading up the challenging situation for baseball in Savannah, with the Sand Gnats. Katz has now moved the Sand Gnats to Columbia, South Carolina, where they are two hours North of Savannah, and rebranded them as the Fireflies. Katz discusses the move and the transition to a new $40 million baseball facility, where technology pla...

As Super Bowl 50 nears, so does the main event for SAP in terms of fan engagement. Ward Bullard is SAP's Vice President of Sports & Entertainment, overseeing from concept to rollout of the Fan Energy Zone, which is expected to be a highlight of the entire SB50 week. The Fan Dome, in the heart of San Francisco's Super Bowl City, will hold a 40-foot tall Fan Dome, allowing fans to become players as...

The Vermont Lake Monsters may be one of the few professional teams in The Green Mountain State, but they also play in one of the oldest ballparks in all of Minor League Baseball. General Manager Joe Doud discusses some of the challenges with keeping up on fan expectations of ballpark experience, along with how the Lake Monsters have been able to drive attendance the last few years. Doud talks abou...

Mark Fidelman is one of the key commentators on social media activation and "growth hacking." Fidelman talks about his interest in the social media and digital space, as well as some of the more under-utilized ways that teams could be creating activation points with their athletes and brands. Fidelman discusses some of his passions around the sports business segmentation, especially when it comes...

In the modern sports era, even college coaches need the benefits of representation. Garry Rosenfield of Coaches, Inc., shares his wisdom on how coaching has created its own subculture of career development and planning through contracts and agent agreements. Rosenfield discusses the Rooney Rule, as well as how diversity in coaching staffs can increase, as well as the gender bias issues in women's...

She managed to cross the "chasm" between college athletics and professional sports, serving in a high level for both, and lived to tell about it. Heather Martin shares her insight into what became her passion, which is sports community relations, and how she helped define the Detroit Pistons brand with the locals over the past five years. Martin talks about why the NBA transitioned to a big commun...

There are few people who understand the complexities of college sports business as well as Kristi Dosh, who has written extensively about it in Saturday's Millionaires. Dosh comes on the podcast to talk about the various ways in which some of the Power 5 conferences will start to leave the rest in that category behind. Dosh also speaks on the topic of pay for student athletes as well as the differ...

The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby clubs in Australasia. General Manager Dave Harris manages 39 staff across both the Marketing, Content & Digital and Club & State Services divisions out of Sydney, Australia. Harris talks about the growth of club memberships across league from 252k in 2014 to 294k in 2015, and the deep impact that Origin has on the NRL brand, e...

Minor League Baseball has had luxury suites in its stadiums for years, but few team personnel have been solely dedicated to creating the high-end premium experience for their fans. Evelyn White just finished her first season with the Arkansas Travelers, as the Director of Luxury Suites, and explains some of the ways that she enhances the overall experience for those fans committing to 3-to-5-to-10...

Eric Mastalir has witnessed the digital buying convergence of the public through both the lens of sports and general commerce. Mastalir, who formerly was the Chief Commercial Officer of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC, also served as Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at the San Jose Sharks and Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Sacramento Kings. Mastalir shares some of his th...