Tao of Sports Podcast

Over the last three decades, Keith Rosen has delivered his customized sales training programs & sales management training & coaching programs to hundreds of thousands of salespeople & managers, helping business leaders in practically every industry; on five continents & in over 50 countries. Rosen chats about some of the ways in which sales trainers can help grow their departments. He frowns upon...

For over 15 years, Bryan Bedford has been transforming the way sports content is delivered to fans, teams, coaches and leagues around the world. Throughout his career in the digital sports and entertainment industry, Bedford has launched game-changing technologies in high growth businesses’ including broadcast replay solutions, stadium technology integration, digital networks and of course all thi...

Bob D'Amelio has been helping grow Western Michigan University for over 22 years, operating under several athletic directors, and growing out the WMU brand. D'Amelio chats about his successes, especially within the community and media realm, as well as some of the challenges that lie ahead for WMU. As D'Amelio states, while several people want to be athletic directors, it is a job title cut from a...

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the innovative teams attempting to engage with the fan membership model. VP of Sales & Service Corey Breton explains that the team has made a full investment in building the entire fan engagement platform out. Breton discusses how the season ticket has been altered, to the point of conversion to the fan membership model, and where the fan now sits with inv...

Jesse Zumbro has been a longtime listener to the podcast, so its about time that he came on as a guest. Zumbro has worked for two different minor league baseball teams, both independent and affilated, as well as with the Seattle Supersonics in their last year of existence in the Emerald City in 2008. This includes corporate sales, marketing and ticket sales. Zumbro shares his experiences working f...

Vic Gregovits has helped initiate some of the largest revenue streams in MLB, NFL and college athletics. Gregovits talks about his stints with the Indians, Pirates and Robert Morris, driving revenue to organizations through new initiatives and sound training tactics. This goes beyond mere ticket sales acumen, and into the world of marketing, concessions and all other ancillaries as Gregovits share...

For 12 years, Jim Abbott has been leading Oklahoma City University's athletic department at the NAIA level. But he will be the first remind you that the letters NAIA or NCAA don't matter when it comes to whether Oklahoma City University is providing the best student-athlete experience in the country. Abbott's philosophy also extends to how he hires staff, including coaches, and he shares his visio...

Sports business education across The Pond has a variance to its application, but that's not to suggest that it's not as worthy as its American or International colleagues within the field. University of Northampton Senior Lecture of Sports Marketing Alan Seymour discusses the breakdown of stereotypes about the UK sports business education system, as well as some of the features that it possess whi...

For basketball athletes who sign contracts overseas, the process can be tough, especially when the foreign team decides to stop paying a legally-binding contract. Charles Bennett is CEO of the PlayersAssociation.org, which represents basketball professionals in the overseas arbitration system in order to receive restitution. This is a long, winding road of informative legal action through email, c...

Al Guido is helping oversee one of the newest trends in stadium venues: the online data core principle of capturing as much customer information as possible, while still creating a fan experience unlike any other. Guido talks about the 49ers decision to leave Candlestick for Santa Clara, as well as some of the numerous reported customer features such as detection of bathroom and concessions lines,...

Kerry Vick represents one of the premier sides of minor league baseball, both as ticket manager as well as in charge of premium seating. Vick talks about the various tasks of attempting to get folks out to the ballpark, some of the challenges of competing in a NFL/NBA city with a minor league product, and how to keep retaining long-term customers.

Ryan Ivey represents some of the new ways that a modern college athletic director can reach out to the public, as well as grow their networking capabilities through social media. Ivey hosts his own Twitter chat #scachat on Sunday nights, bringing together small college administrator issues and people together to discuss the pending challenges in the small college field today. Ivey shares his thoug...

Nicole Bucholtz introduces a fresh new marketing term to the podcast: "Duquesne-able." It resides under the notion of what will and will not work within Duquesne University's campus community standards for marketing and promotions at athletic events. Beyond that, Bucholtz shares her vision for making an energetic, fun atmosphere at Duquesne events, and how to engage the student population into att...

The East College Athletic Conference supports 303 member institutions at 3 levels of the NCAA. That means dealing with various budgets as well as department staffs. Drew Brown discusses his role within an external relations capacity for the ECAC, as well as how to fairly faciliate both operations and marketing from a conference level.

Chris Quinn has the task of filling up the premium seating experience against several new stadium renovations within the Detroit landscape. That includes a new NFL, MLB and NHL stadium coming online as well as the challenges of the Detroit economic situation. Quinn takes on some of the issues with premium seating, and whether there is something to be said about the luxury experience for Detroit Pi...

Derek Van Der Merwe represents one of the truest forms of the NCAA spirit. A former walk-on at Central Michigan who became a scholarship athlete, Van Der Merwe stayed at CMU in various roles over 17 years, eventually rising to Deputy Director, before deciding to challenge himself with the Athletic Director position at Austin Peay. Van Der Merwe shares his insights on what long-term stability in on...

Ryan Robbins has worked in sports for over 14 years, working for the New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Fire, Oakland Raiders and now the Cleveland Indians. Robbins discusses why the premium sales market is so precious to the bottom-line of any franchise, and some of the ways to improve customer service retention by building trust and loyalty with fans. Robbins also talks about some of...

Dan Lefton represents a new trend with the sports sales; he left the primary ticket market side as a Vice President at the Brooklyn Nets in order to start his own secondary ticket solution company, Dynasty Sports. Lefton discusses the transition of starting to understand the secondary marketplace a lot more, and some of the challenges that franchises face as they move tickets in the modern era. Tw...

Brad Wurthman represents the new thinking model of sports marketing; strategic communications. It is about a global understanding of how each message is created, translated, and conveyed to the buying public. Wurthman talks about his time at the University of Cincinnati, where he has built his career from the ground up, as well as what he has learned along the way. Wurthman (a proud Canadian - as...

Brandy Mills has worked within the sports marketing space for some time, trying to activate sponsorship for an Ice Arena, International Raceway, and now, Boxman Studios. Mills shares her insights into building bigger brand activations through sponsorships, as well as her thoughts on what doesn't work within the space. In a time when corporate sponsorship is at a crossroads as to what to do to acti...

Tom Veit is one of the largest turn-around artists in sports business. He's worked in MLS, XFL, college athletics, WWE and motor sports, creating revenue generation solutions for operations that were failing to deliver. Veit shares his experiences working in different environments, including some of the misnomers about scheduling/booking for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as what hurt the...

"Mr. Premium" Jason Gonella talks about one of the highest revenue portions of sports sales; luxury suites and seats, as well as how to build a clientele for that space long term. Gonella returns to the podcast to share his wisdom on what actually makes a luxury space viable, as well as the issue of whether there may be too much premium inventory going on sale at once, and whether that can burst t...

Chloe Jeffers has worked in the international media for several years, and brings her knowledge to the podcast. Jeffers has worked primarily in Australian radio, with stints overseas in the United States and Caribbean. Jeffers talks about some of the differences of communication, as well as how it relates to building up a connection with the audience. A die-hard Australian Rules Football fan of th...

Brett Zalaski has a wealth of sports sales knowledge that extends beyond just one team or one league, and crosses the threshold into creating a new selling acumen. Zalaski explains his methods on building a great sales team, whether it is at the NBA, MLS, or MLL. Zalaski talks about starting the MLS Sales Center in New York, and the pride he takes in seeing its current growth, along with what the...

Daniel Pinne has worked in Australian sports for over a decade, helping build communication and social platforms for teams as well as organizations. Pinne shares his knowledge of the Australian sports scene, what they react to, as well as some of the best ways to interact with fans via social media. Twitter: @DanPinne