5 Essential Skills for a Inside Sales Sport Representative
An inside sales representatives working sports needs to have many skills to get the customer interested in the product and close the deal. The five most important skills that I believe a sales representative should possess are product knowledge, time management, active listening, adaptability and pre and post sales relationship.
Product knowledge is essential skill to have as a sales representative because if one does not have any background information about the product, it would be harder to persuade the consumer to buy the product. The sales representative should explain how the product can benefit the customers life. If a sales representative is selling a tangible product, they should be able to explain the purpose of the product, how it works, the durability and the price. Many sales representative make a mistake by selling the product based on the feature and are not able to connect the product to the consumer’s life. For example one of the primary duties as a manager working in ticket sales for the Los Angeles Clippers is to increase ticket sales by focusing on season tickets, event suites, and group tickets.(LA Clippers, 2019, Para 3) The sales representative should know where the seats will be and the price. Other than that he or she should be able to explain why going to a Clippers game with a group would be more exciting than going alone. In the article “Can teams keep fans focused on the game?” the author states “ Fans at games want to enjoy food and drink, walk around and socialize.” (Sunnucks, 2018, para .3) If they are selling suites they should explain when buying suite tickets one can have great food and more importantly can network with others.
Another skill that is important as a sales representative is time management. This is another important skill because if cold calling one has to make sure they are efficient and effective in a short amount of time. When a sales representative is doing a cold call and is sensing that the deal is not going anywhere, they should move on to the next call and waste their time or the consumers time. For example one of the important duties as an inside sales representative for the Los Angeles Dodgers is to make 80-100 outbound calls a day to create sales. (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2019, Para. 2). If a sales representative wants to accomplish 80-100 calls in a day should not waste their time on deals or clients that they know will not happen. In the book “The surprising truth about moving others" the author states “Buyers today 'aren’t "fully informed, in the idealized way that many economic models assume.”(Pink, 2012, p. 90) Many of prospects for the product are already informed about the product and know its function so the sales representative should not waste the consumers time about what the product does but explain to them how it can benefit their life.
The third skill that is essential as a sales representative is active listening. This is a skill that many sales representative forget. From past experiences, many sales representatives do most of the talking do not engage the customer into what they are selling. It almost seems like a one-way street where they do all the talking, and the consumer does the listening. It should be the other way or at least be balanced. According to the book “The surprising truth about moving others” it states “the purpose is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, bring the other person as participant.” (Pink, 2012, p.255) The sales representative should create a dialogue and get to know the person before they try selling the product. When the sales representative becomes an active listener, they can empathize with the consumer so they learn more about their business and with that information they can become more effective sellers and can offer more reasons on why a particular product is beneficial to them.
The fourth skill that any sales representative should post-sales relationship. The goal of many marketing agencies and organizations is to have high retention. Any sales representative should have excellent follow-up skills to make the consumer valuable and happy. At the end of the day, you want the person coming back for more games/seasons. In the article “Hiring for success at the buyer-seller interface" the authors state "Strong evidence exists that professional salespeople can positively affect an 'organization’s performance by utilizing a customer-oriented approach in establishing and maintaining relationships."(Marshall, Goebel, D.J., Moncrief, W.C.). However, not only should a representative follow up with the prospect that bought their product but one that did not either. A good sales representative should always appreciate an individual’s time and business whether they have bought from them or not. When a sales representative is appreciative and has a well follow up skills the prospect that purchased the product from you can refer others and speak highly of you. Overall, having a post-sale follow up can create different relationships and having different relationships can increase revenue.
The final skill that is essential for a sports sales representative is that they have to be adaptable. The sales representative should be adaptable because every call is going to be unique and have its own story. The United States Tennis Association is currently hiring for a Tennis Service Representative and one their qualifications is to "working with Tennis Professionals, volunteers, Park and Rec, 'CTA’s facilities and others to support USTA memberships-based programming.” (USTA, 2019, para 2) Everybody has a different personality, so the sales representative has to adapt and approach each person differently. Some consumers work at different levels and have different understandings of the game. For example, someone working for these positions will have to adapt to personalities of professional tennis players and volunteers. A sales representative needs to be adaptable in terms of company’s goals and technology as well. When an organization or company is not meeting their sales goal for the week or the month, they may need to change their approach to how they are selling. However, if a company or organization is making revenue then should set new goals and challenge themselves. Overall, a sales representative should demonstrate adaptability to find the best way to increase the companies or organizations revenue.
Note: This article is solely based on my viewpoints on what it takes to be successful working in as inside sales sport representative.
References
Marshall, G. W., Goebel, D. J., & Moncrief, W. C. (2003). Hiring for success at the buyer-seller interface.Journal of Business Research (4), 247.
Pink, D. H. (2012). To sell is human: The surprising truth about moving others. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Teamwork Online. (2019). Los Angeles Clippers Manager, Ticket Sales.
Teamwork Online. (2019). Los Angeles Dodgers, Inside Sales Representative
Teamwork Online. (2019). United States Tennis Association, Memberships Representative Orange County.