Industry insider: John Fisher.

Kadlecek, Jim

Title: Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service, Arizona Diamondbacks

Education: BSBA in sport management, Robert Morris University

Career: Director, Group Sales, Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena

Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service, Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)

Account Executive, Pittsburgh Pirates

Group Sales Account Executive, Tampa Bay Lightning

This interview was conducted by Jim Kadlecek, associate professor and chair of the Department of Human Performance and Sport Business at Mount Union College and Vice President for Industry Relations of the Sport Marketing Association.

Q: Please provide an overview of your responsibilities with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Fisher: I am responsible for all ticket sales for the organization, which includes season ticket sales and service, group sales, suite sales, and service and ticket operations. We have about 60 total staff members that are each dedicated to a specific area of our ticket sales business.

Q: You came to Arizona from the Cleveland Cavs. How has selling the Diamondbacks differed from selling the Cavs?

Fisher: The basics of selling tickets remains the same regardless of the team, market or league. It's about establishing strong relationships and finding the best fit for the customer based on their needs and that's done through a proactive sales effort by a well-trained, dedicated group of sales reps that are equipped with all the necessary resources. Beyond those basics, however, there are definitely differences. In Cleveland, we had a team with a well-established history and a fan base that went back 40 years. In addition, we had a competitive team for my last few seasons there, which was highlighted by LeBron James, obviously one of the best and most popular players in the league. The ability to leverage the NBA's stars is one of the most powerful sales tools for that league's teams. In Arizona, although the Diamondbacks have had quite a bit of success on the field, we're a young franchise that has only existed since 1998 and we are in a transient market so many of the baseball fans here in Phoenix grew up watching teams like the Cubs, Cardinals, or Dodgers. It's also a long season with 81 home games and we have 49,000 seats to fill. That's twice the games and twice the capacity than what I was selling in Cleveland.

Q: You were with the Pirates before joining the Cavs. What changes do you see with the business side of Major League Baseball since your time with the Pirates?

Fisher: The business side of baseball has changed quite a bit and continues to change. Over the past few years, teams have started increasing the size of their sales and service staffs and have put more resources toward proactively selling tickets. Not too long ago a sales and service staff might consist of 12 to 15 staff members, now some teams have upward of 45 or more. We increased to about 60 staff members in sales, service, and operations prior to the 2008 season. There is also far more communication between teams and more idea sharing so we can all help each other sell tickets.

Q: What have you learned, from a sales standpoint, selling when the team is struggling (Pirates, Lightning) or the team is successful (Cavs)?

Fisher: Focusing on the overall game experience is important in ticket sales because team performance can change rapidly, from year to year or even week to week or game to game. It's also important to develop strong relationships with customers and prospects and provide them with the highest level of service possible. By focusing on what can be controlled and delivering a high level of value, the impact of team performance can be slowed during times when team performance is down and maximized when team performance is up.

Q: Phoenix has been hit extremely hard by the economy. What changes have you made at the Diamondbacks to address the challenging times?

Fisher: Like most teams, we saw a dramatic decrease in the corporate spend leading up to the start of the 2009 season and all indications led us to believe there wasn't going to be much improvement as we began our 2010 campaign. In response, we turned our sales staff almost entirely away from all businesses and focused our attention on selling to individuals. The reps still made contact with their corporate leads from time to time to maintain those relationships, but their efforts were put on calling individuals. Buyers are looking for even more personal attention and personal contact than ever before, so our phone calls were set up in a way simply to get to know the customer and then invite them to the ballpark for a special tour of the facility. During that tour, the sales rep was able to develop a strong enough relationship where a sale could eventually be made. We also rallied around this strategy as an organization and got other departments involved with aggressive data collection initiatives in order to increase leads for the staff. It's been very successful for us. More recently, we are seeing companies making purchases over the past six weeks so it's hopefully a trend that continues.

Q: You came in to help establish a strong sales culture at the Diamondbacks. What steps were taken to create the culture?

Fisher: The size of the staff was increased by about 35 people and that brought our total number of staff members to around 60. With this increase, we needed space for all of our reps so we had an entirely new office area built out, allowing us to have our entire staff on the same sales floor. That has helped increase the buzz and energy level when the reps are all on the phones. We also created dedicated sales and service teams--season ticket sales, group sales, suite sales, ticket services, and inside sales--that focus on selling particular areas of our business. All of our reps can sell full menu, but by having reps focused and dedicated we are making sure we have year-round coverage in those areas. We increased our training. Externally we use Charlie Chislaghi and Dale Carnegie, Inc. Internally we run role-plays multiple times per week and they are led by our senior level sales staff, which also provides them with an opportunity for leadership and growth. In addition, we've added sales bells, sales boards, run contests constantly and have the reps email their sales and success stories to the rest of the staff. Having the right culture in order to be a successful sales staff is a critical element.

Q: In a smaller marketplace that contains three other major league sports (Suns--NBA, Cardinals--NFL, and Coyotes--NHL), what are you doing to grow your ticket base?

Fisher: We're working hard to add as much value as possible to our ticket packages. Whether the package is a one-game family pack or it's an 81-game season ticket package, buyers are looking for more value now than ever. We've increased the list of benefits that season ticket holders receive, providing them with more behind-the-scenes access and we're including new opportunities for both season ticket holders and groups by using loaded tickets this season for the first time. It also goes back to having more personal interaction with all of our customers and prospects while providing a high level of service for all of our fans. Our fans have direct access to contact our President/CEO Derrick Hall, our dedicated service team for our season ticket holders has been received very well, and the one-on-one time our sales reps have taken with ticket prospects has generated some very good results this year. We're holding town hall meetings at a minimum of once per month and we are using that feedback to help us make better decisions and put together strategies that better line-up with what the fans want to see. That will allow us to ultimately provide a better overall fan experience at the ballpark whether the team wins or loses.

Q: What changes do you see on the horizon that will impact ticket sales?

Fisher: I think the increased integration of technology and the increased presence of the secondary ticket market will be growing factors for teams moving forward. We've already seen it recently with the creation of paperless tickets and loaded ticket value. Teams at the forefront of finding ways to inject the latest technology trends into ticket benefits and game experiences will quickly separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Although the secondary ticket market has always been in existence, it's changing quickly and growing, especially with its online presence making accessibility for fans much easier. It becomes a challenge when fans can simply cherry pick good locations for the best games and it can discourage casual fans from purchasing season ticket packages. The secondary marketing is not going anyway so teams need to find a way to embrace it and use it to create opportunities to grow fans and revenues.

Q: As you reflect on what you have done in Arizona and look to the future, what thoughts come to mind?

Fisher: Extending our sales and service timeline was an important decision for us over the past couple of years. We've adopted the NBA model and it has worked well. Traditionally teams wait until the end of the season to send renewal invoices and only after the renewal process has started will teams begin selling new locations, which is oftentimes not until January. Prior to the 2009 season, we began sending out renewal invoices and selling specific new sales seat locations in August. It's allowed us to now have an eight or nine month sales and renewal opportunity, compared to a window of only three or four months. It also allows us to fully capitalize on any postseason appearances or late season runs that get fans excited about the following season.

I think there is also a strong temptation during tough economic times like we are currently facing to decrease prices, offer significant discounts or create special buy-one, get-one season ticket packages. We have worked hard to avoid moves like this and in fact, had a price increase in our lowest priced sections this year despite coming off of a 92-loss season. Our research and analysis showed that an increase made sense and sales in those sections have not been negatively impacted. So sales have been consistent and revenue has increased. Price slashing is a slippery slope and can be difficult to recover from.

Q: What recommendations do you have for sport management faculty to prepare students for professional teams' sales needs?

Fisher: The first step is recognition by faculty of the importance of ticket sales throughout the sport industry and the number of opportunities that ticket sales provides students. Many teams now have more than 20 people in their tickets sales and service departments compared to considerably smaller numbers of staff members in other areas of the organization.

The next step is making students aware of the opportunities that are available through tickets sales, as well as making them aware of how important ticket sales is for each team. Many students are simply not aware that ticket sales is a great career path that can be both lucrative and help put them on a faster track for advancement. Many students have intentions of getting into marketing or team operations upon completion of their studies. Opportunities can be much more limited in those areas.

Finally, it is important to provide the students with proper tools so they are prepared for a career in ticket sales. While more specific training will always be provided by teams once hired, an understanding of the sales process and actual experience selling while still in school will only increase a student's opportunities in the future.

I recommend that academic programs establish working relationships with their closest located professional teams. This relationship should include guest speakers in class, tours of the team's facility and sales office, and open dialogue between students and the sales managers/reps. The relationship should also include giving the students opportunities to actually sell tickets for the team. This also helps the students create their own relationships and networks within the team and can be helpful when looking for a full-time job. Through my own experience, I have seen students who participated in these programs eventually get fulltime positions with those teams. The school should also look to incorporate selling tickets to their own sporting events as additional ways to gain actual selling experience.

Q: What type of projects/involvement have you done/are currently doing/would be interested in doing with a college sport management program?

Fisher: I have been involved in two projects that gave students hands-on experience working with a professional team. While in Cleveland we had students sell group tickets for the Cavaliers of the NBA. Students were in direct contact with one group sales rep from the Cavaliers' staff that was available to answer questions, provide sales advice, and to process the actual sales that were made by the students. The students also went through a morning of sales training by representatives of the team.

While also in Cleveland, we had students do a research project on the youth hockey market of Northeast Ohio for the organization's new minor league hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. The students were responsible for finding local league histories, hierarchies of leadership, and decision maker contact information. Next, they took the information they gathered and provided their recommendations on the best way for the team to generate tickets sales revenue from this very critical and important market segment.

Q: If a faculty member wants to do a project with a team, how should the instructor go about it?

Fisher: The instructor should be in contact with the sales managers of the teams in the school's market. The instructor's relationship with the team is critical. It will be important for the instructor to set up face-to-face meetings of their own with these individuals to help better understand the overall team's initiatives, the team's sales and service situation, and for the team to better understand the instructor's initiatives for the program.

Q: What opportunities exist with your team for fulltime sport management students?

Fisher: There are many opportunities within the Diamondbacks organization, especially through internships and seasonal work. More specifically, within sales, each year we hire a number of new graduates to a nine- to 12-month entry-level sales program we call Inside Sales. Through Inside Sales, graduates learn sports sales from the ground up and receive coaching on a daily basis. They have similar responsibilities as the senior level full-time sales staff but with lower expectations. Many professional teams now have an Inside Sales department.

This program provides graduates with a fast track to a full-time position within the organization and provides the organization with a "farm system" of young, new talent to fill holes when full-time opportunities become available and to continually push the full-time staff. If positions are not available, it is very common for the team's sales managers to help find the top performers full-time jobs with other teams.

Q: What benefits and frustrations have you experienced in working with college sport management programs?

Fisher: There are many benefits from the team's point of view. You get to meet young professionals that will be the next wave of talent coming into the industry. You get to build relationships with students that may become good candidates for internships, seasonal jobs, or Inside Sales. Through a ticket-selling project, the team is able to generate additional group ticket sales revenue. Also, it is good for professionals in the industry to be able to give back by sharing their thoughts and advice with the students.

But there are frustrations as well. Free time in the sport industry comes at a premium so finding time to speak in classes and providing advice for students can be challenging. When involved in a class project the students will often times have many questions and that can take away from a manager or rep's time to complete their own work tasks. And no matter how much emphasis is placed on experience and hard work, many students will not apply themselves and will underachieve.