Jared Zwerling of Sportz Undercover recently interviewed Burton Chawla, Sales Account Executive for Excel Sports Management. For those interested in getting involved in the marketing end of the athlete representation business, the interview is a very informative read. Additionally, Jared notes that this is only part one of a two-part series. Here are two Q&As that stuck out to me:
Q: When you pitch one of your clients to an advertiser in hopes of getting him a sponsorship deal, what is your strategy? How do you try to “up-sell” your client’s services?
A: The strategy varies from client to client and from potential endorser to endorser. I always try to hear the goals of the potential endorser or advertiser first, and then try to fit the right player in based on the player’s personality, team, interest, etc.
Q: The endorsement game is big business and ultra competitive now. Where do you think are some of the future business opportunities (ex: products, branding) for players to stand out in the corporate clutter?
A: The obvious answer is the Internet. Players have their own websites. Webisodes are getting huge. Digital media is what everyone is plugged into these days.
