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EPISODE 060: Washington Nats Sales Leader Ryan Bringger Strives to Engage Clients Year Round with Membership Programs that Offer Experiences, Rewards and Access

RYAN’S FINAL TIP TO EMERGING SALES LEADERS: “Find your strengths and be proud of those strengths. That’s what people want you for once you’re able to know exactly what those are.”

Ryan Bringger is the Vice President for Ticket Sales and Membership for the 2019 World-Champion Washington Nationals baseball team.

His well-rounded background includes experiences in ticket sales and service, premium seating and suite sales and service. He has significant experience in the sports industry and has managed and hired one of the largest sales teams in all of professional sports.

He’s also been heavily involved in the sales and servicing of multiple, all-inclusive premium seating clubs, branded areas, ticket programs, loyalty programs and luxury suites.

Find Ryan on LinkedIN!

Fred Diamond: Ryan, let’s talk about your career. Let’s go through your evolution and then we’ll get to some tips. What do you sell today and tell us what excites you about that.

Ryan Bringger: We have a lot of different items to sell but the biggest thing is our NATS PLUS memberships and that’s really our benefits platform that turns into our season plan, so no longer the days of having that hard ticket for 82 baseball games, we want to turn that relationship to a 365 day relationship with our clients into that membership field where they’re involved in experiences, rewards and access. Really big push right now on our membership platform and driving season plans to fill up this ball park.

Fred Diamond: Talk about the word “membership”, that’s kind of a term that people out there who don’t know your industry may not be familiar with, thinking of your customer as a member. What exactly does that mean and why do you say that?

Ryan Bringger: Membership’s really key right now, a lot of teams are starting to use that. Why it’s so important is that people want something different. They don’t want to just come to that baseball game, they want that relationship and we’re able to provide VIP experiences, events here that no one else has access to in the park or outside the park. Rewards or discounts in saving that are second to none that our NATS PLUS members receive and that our single game buyers do not. Then also our access, we’ve got a team that’s won the National League East four out of the last six years and then also you look at the All Star Game coming here in July. Access is so key and our NATS PLUS members get that VIP access.

Fred Diamond: Who do you sell to today? I’m guessing you’re selling to corporations, associations, I guess. Tell us who your customer is today and how does that differ from what we might think your customer would be looking for?

Ryan Bringger: We do sell B to B, then also B to C as well. That’s the nice thing about being in sports, you have such a large audience and demo to be able to reach out to. But I think that the buyer’s much more savvy today than it was in the past, I feel that overall they want that experience, they want that relationship with their service membership executive. That’s why we have one of the larger sales and service teams in the company because we want to make sure that each and every one of our members are being serviced with any questions or concerns that they have.

Fred Diamond: One thing that we hear frequently on the Sales Game Changers podcast is that the selling professional needs to bring more value to the customer. Help us clarify a couple of things about what you sell specifically. Are you selling sports? What exactly are you selling, what is it that motivates the customer to what to purchase a big ticket item like this?

Ryan Bringger: We’re selling the experience, we feel that from the minute you leave work or you leave your house until the minute that you get home, we want your experience to be world-class. We want it from the parking attendants who takes your parking ticket to the usher that lets you into the gates and down to your section to our service in sales representatives that are stopping by to drop a little gift off and say hello and shake your hand. The full game experience is so key for us.

Secondary, really, is how that team performs on the field, because you never can obviously dictate how that’s going to turn out year in and year out.

Fred Diamond: From the customer perspective, though, what is the customer looking for? Are they looking to treat their employees? Are they looking for something to bring customers to or their prospects to get a little more of quality time? What are they looking for with this acquisition?

Ryan Bringger: Most of our buyers on the business side are going to be looking to entertain their employees so we do a lot of group sales here on the baseball side, groups start at 13 tickets or more so they can go up as high as 1000 person theme nights that we have as well. But then also, yes, they’re also entertaining in some of our most prestigious clubs here in the ball park, they’re entertaining their top clients and people that are in town to make sure that they have that great experience as well.

Fred Diamond: Just curiously, before we start talking about your career, who do you compete with? Do you compete with other entertainment venues or do you compete with other marketing strategies that they might employ?

Ryan Bringger: There’s a lot of competition, obviously. Anywhere that somebody can spend their dollar out there in the market could potentially take away from our experience but we feel that our experience, if we can make it second to none, then people are going to want to be here over maybe a different sport or be out potentially boating during the summer here. We’ve got to make sure that our experience is top notch and therefore earning their business.

Fred Diamond: Very good. Tell us about yourself, how did you first get into sales as a career?

Ryan Bringger: I had the fortune to – when I went to John Carroll University and played football up there one of my really good friends that I met is Ben Milsom who’s the chief revenue officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now and Ben and I, great friends, stayed in touch. He got his first start with the Tampa Bay Lightning and him and I kept in touch and he said, “Listen, you’ve got to get down here to Tampa for an interview, I think you’d make a great fit on the sales team.” Next thing you know, I’m packing up my stuff from Cleveland and heading down to Tampa. Back into the home state but didn’t expect to be there.

Fred Diamond: Yeah, the other side of the state from where you grew up, I guess.

Ryan Bringger: That’s right.

Fred Diamond: So you’re the VP of ticket sales and memberships for the Nats. You’ve been in sports sales, sports ticket sales and membership sales your whole career. What are some of the things that you learned from some of those first few jobs you had over in Tampa that have taken you through today?

Ryan Bringger: I think #1, and it seems so easy, is just outwork the person right next to you. Try to outwork everybody in your department and get to know everybody in the company. You never know what person’s help or support you’re going to need so there’s no reason to ever burn any bridges, be that person that everybody wants to go to. Be a high energy individual that can really represent not only themselves but the company on a high level.

Then I also think, be a sponge. Never think that you know everything. Try to learn something new each and every day no matter if you’ve been in the business for one month or you’ve been in the business for 15 years. You’ve got to try to learn new things each and every day.

Fred Diamond: Speaking about that, I have a quick question for you about selling sports. Is it easier to sell when the team is doing well or is it easier to sell when the team’s struggling and there’s more things to sell?

Ryan Bringger: It’s definitely easier to sell when the team is doing well. Obviously it depends on inventory. If you’re in a place where there’s very little inventory, there’s not much left and then there’s some scarcity there which again makes it easier.

But I think when the team is not performing well and you’re working for a team that has a lot of inventory that really strengthens your skills and puts you on the right path for success.

Fred Diamond: Very good. Tell us a little more about yourself specifically. What exactly are you an expert in? Tell us a little more, Ryan Bringger, about your specific area of brilliance.

Ryan Bringger: I always wanted to be a football coach, so coming through even college I thought how could I be a coach and I’ve absolutely always loved sports but once I got into the sales and the sports field I realized that my strength was always going to be on the leadership side.

I always wanted to lead people, always wanted to be a manager of people and really creating and developing that world class culture that a lot of companies talk about what does culture mean. It’s really not an easy thing to put your finger on and I believe that it’s all about the people. You hire the right people, you treat them correctly and next thing you know, the culture really takes off and soars.

Fred Diamond: How would you describe the culture here? What type of culture are you trying to put into play with your sales team?

Ryan Bringger: I want a culture here that everybody’s excited to come in every day. There’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs, there’s going to be some months that are going to be tough on sales but I want everybody to realize that everybody in the company and within the sales and service department has each other’s back.

They’re all valued, that we’re all working to get better, that we always train each and every day or week to get better and having people that see the bigger picture. Career growth, a lot of times once somebody knows what their next step is and more importantly when that manager knows what their employee’s next step is, that open dialogue is there and therefore the overall culture increases from there.

Fred Diamond: There’s a lot of people, Ryan, that are listening to today’s podcast that are early in their sales career and they’re competitive, they’re aggressive, they’ve thought about going into ticket sales for sports. Tell us a little bit about selling what you sell and what makes someone good at being successful in selling tickets and memberships.

Ryan Bringger: It’s definitely not easy. Everybody wants to be in sports, we get thousands of resumes every time we post a job. By no means do I think it’s rocket science either. I think it comes down to having the right mentality of seeing the big picture, understanding that you’re going to come in on an entry level position, the money is not going to be anything that’s going to be exciting to you at the start.

Things will be difficult in the beginning but it’s also realizing that there’s going to be ups and downs and having that competitive nature, usually those are the people we see that are going to be very successful as they hate to lose. It’s one of those kind of mentalities to make sure that you’re successful.

Fred Diamond: Let’s go back to your career. Who was an impactful sales career mentor for you and how did they impact your career?

Ryan Bringger: That one’s really easy for me even though I’ve had some great leaders in my career and I’ve been lucky enough to work for some amazing people. Chad Johnson who’s currently running all sales and service for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chad is definitely my mentor. I got to start off with him in Tampa right out of college, he hired me as an inside sales representative, that’s how I got my start and I was fortunate enough to work with him for close to 10 years.

Brought me to the Florida Panthers with him, started off my management career and just taught me so much about how to break into the industry, what it took to be successful and really to just never give up and always continue to strive to be better.

Fred Diamond: Back to the question about selling ticket sales. Do you need to love sports to be successful in your industry?

Ryan Bringger: You don’t. I started off in hockey, and out of all the sports, being from Florida I knew very little about hockey, was not my favorite sport. So no, you don’t have to love the sport that you work for or even sports in general but again, wanting to be that sponge when you come in, definitely you want to learn the product knowledge and you want to learn as much as you can about it because in a short period of time you’ll realize that most of the members, they want to talk about that specific sport.

Fred Diamond: What are two of the biggest sales challenges you face today as a sales leader?

Ryan Bringger: I think just as long as I’ve been in the business is coming up with new ideas really each and every week, each and every day. Something sales people have maybe seen already in their career but it’s trying to keep things fresh. For example, we just rolled out on Monday a Super Bowl Squares contest, trying to leverage that time of the year, “Hey, Super Bowl’s coming up Sunday, let’s make sure we do a contest where every sale that comes in they’re filling out their squares and they’re going to have some great prizes that we’re going to be able to announce on Monday.”

Even with the Olympics coming up, we’re prepared to launch an Olympic competition starting on February 8th for our sales staff. Really just trying to come up with those fresh ideas to keep that culture striving.

Fred Diamond: When you’re selling to corporations, who is it that you’re selling to? Is it a marketing sale? Is it HR? Is it someone CEO, do you have to get there?

Ryan Bringger: It’s always different. Really it depends on what item you’re selling. If you’re going to sell arguably the big luxury item, maybe a suite or a premium seat, you’re usually either working with a vice president within the company or a C level executive. A lot of times when you’re trying to put a bit group night together potentially for employees, a lot of times you’re heading towards the vice president of HR, human resources, to be able to book those because that’s what their #1 job is, is how do they keep their employees happy. Usually a group night to National’s Park is a good way to do it.

Fred Diamond:  Looking out here, we’re doing today’s podcast with Ryan Bringger. Ryan’s the VP of ticket sales and membership for the Washington Nationals. We’re doing today’s podcast live at Nationals Stadium. It really is a beautiful stadium, even in the middle of winter. It’s beautiful, it’s colorful, it’s just a great place and a great energy if you’re a sports fan. Do you get energized coming here every day?

Ryan Bringger: Absolutely, that’s what I love about this industry. I tell all of our sales representatives, we get to wake up every day and get to drive into Nat’s Park here and even having lunch today, we have a cafeteria here that overlooks the ball park and I’m sitting there having lunch today just looking out over the field, it’s tremendous.

Fred Diamond: So you get to talk to like Scherzer as he’s filing some papers and you know, Bryce Harper kind of walking around making copies. Has that ever happened or not really?

Ryan Bringger: No, that doesn’t really happen but we do have some great events that we put on, that the players have been amazing to help out with.

Fred Diamond: What’s the #1 specific sale success or win from your career that you’re most proud of? Take us back to that moment.

Ryan Bringger: I think it’s probably not an exact moment, it’s more of the change that was made with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I started in Tampa on my second stint in 2009 under an older ownership group and there were struggles. Just like a lot of teams, we had half the building empty every night and within the next three years we were now on a pace of selling out close to 110 games consecutively.

Obviously, a lot of things went into there, a new owner that came in that was tremendous brought an all new front office. Really proud to turn that franchise around and when you look at hockey in Florida and a lot of people say that it just can’t happen, it did happen there. Obviously, they just had the All Star Game here last week and put on a great show. That was really one of those moments in my career when you got to look back and say, “Wow”. To sell that place out night in and night out was pretty special.

Fred Diamond: I’ve got a question for you. Speaking of the Tampa Bay Lightnings, this may be a little bit esoteric for some of the people listening around the globe. Where you there when the NHL went on strike?

Ryan Bringger: No, I was in South Florida. I was with the Florida Panthers, though, when the NHL went on strike for that full year.

Fred Diamond: How was that? You’re a sales guy and you’re trying to sell tickets for a sport that’s on strike. I hate to bring up some bad memories here, but what was that like? That’s what you’re trying to do, you don’t have a product.

Ryan Bringger: That’s interesting. I’m glad you brought that up because Florida Panthers, we actually received that year the NHL business award for all 30 teams because of what we did. Instead of sitting back and saying, “Wow, we’re going to have the whole year of down time and letting people off potentially out of the company” we decided what can we come up with, what new products could we sell.

We actually put together a personal seat license campaign that we were selling for all of our concerts and shows and we also then built out a Frank Sinatra Theater that we sold close to about 15 theater acts on a membership basis. It was interesting definitely selling different items than I ever have before but we did not sit back and wait for hockey at that time.

Fred Diamond: Ryan, you’ve had a great career in sales. Did you ever question being in sales? Was there ever a moment where you thought to yourself, “It’s too hard. It’s just not for me”?

Ryan Bringger: I think the only moment was before I got that first job. When I was interviewing for the sales job I remember thinking to myself, “You wonder if you can do this. Is this what you were meant to do?” And my father was in sales and I always said I could talk to anybody on the street but until you’re actually in it, you’re not sure. I always say, “Dive right in” and once I was in it I never looked back. It’s always been something that I’ve absolutely loved.

Fred Diamond: Ryan, what’s the most important thing you want to get across to junior selling professionals to help them improve their career?

Ryan Bringger: I think the biggest thing is listen to the prospect, especially when you first start off in sales and I was at fault on this as well, you usually want to talk about everything that you have, all of the products that your company provides. The problem is that you’re not listening to what it is that they want so #1 that we work on with all of our entry level staff is open ended questions.

You have to make sure that you’re asking those open ended questions so it will strengthen the dialogue and get the prospect talking a lot longer which is usually the great sign so you can give that recommendation at the end.

Fred Diamond: Very good. There’s the expression, “You have two ears and one mouth, and you should use them in that order.” What are some of the things you do to sharpen your saw and stay fresh?

Ryan Bringger: Our team does a great job of doing a lot of our trainings on a weekly basis with our service team and our sales team and I like to jump right in there on the training so I’m usually in every one that I can make. I like to be able to role play with the staff and I’ll jump right in there as well as we do a great job here of putting on a lot of events.

We feel that by bringing people here to the ball park we’re able to have a much better close ratio once they’re here. When we have 50, 60, 100 people here at an event, I’m usually the person that does like to do the speaking at the event and put on the presentation which I think helps me keep my skills sharp.

Fred Diamond: Is that easy to do? Is it easy to get people to come here to experience the park?

Ryan Bringger: It is. We usually average anywhere from 60 to 100 people per event. We run events every two weeks, sometimes even more, but it’s something that we really focus on because a lot of times people want to get out here. They want to meet that representative that they’re going to be able to have that membership relationship with, but then more importantly, they want to look at their seats. They want to tangibly be able to sit in them, look out at the field and it really creates that moment where, “Hey, let’s do this.”

Fred Diamond: What’s a major initiative you’re working on today to ensure your continued success?

Ryan Bringger: I think the biggest thing right now – and we’re going to be launching it here in the next 30 days – really important to me is career growth planning. Being able to have our entire staff put together their career growth plan so all of my management team knows exactly what each person on their team is striving for. We’re not the ones that are obviously driving or steering the ship, they’re the ones that are running point on that but we’re there to help wherever they need.

So coming up with ideas, if somebody wants to be in sponsorship sales for their next step. Are they meeting with our vice president of corporate partnership on a quarterly basis to get those questions answered that they might need? Career growth is going to be big for us moving forward.

Fred Diamond: Ryan, sales is hard. People don’t return your phone calls or your emails, they have a lot of options as customers. Why have you continued? What is it about sales as a career that keeps you going?

Ryan Bringger: Personally, I love the competitive environment. I love that I can sit in a room of 20 individuals and know that if I outwork them and if I train harder, and sure things have to fall your way at times but I really can create my career. I can have the successes that I want to have and I’m really relying on myself so it’s one of those types of positions, that’s why I love sales. You can really dictate how well you’re going to do just on your own.

Fred Diamond: Why don’t you give us one final thought to inspire the Sales Game Changers listening to today’s podcast?

Ryan Bringger: The final thought is find your strengths. I think it’s something that a lot of people don’t talk enough about is everybody’s worried about maybe what their weaknesses are. How can I make my weakness better? Sure, that is important and you want to make sure that those weaknesses are going to strengthen, but they will. They will over time if you put a little bit of focus on them but really what are your biggest strengths? That is what companies want you for. If you’re great at B to B sales, make sure that you’re putting all your focus into that because that’s where you can really take it to a whole other level.

Find find those strengths, be proud of those strengths and that’s what people want you for once you’re able to know exactly what those are.

Transcribed by Mariana Badillo
Produced by Rosario Suarez

The post EPISODE 060: Washington Nats Sales Leader Ryan Bringger Strives to Engage Clients Year Round with Membership Programs that Offer Experiences, Rewards and Access first appeared on Sales Game Changers Podcast.

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EPISODE 027: Monumental’s Patrick Duffy Is a Wizard at Helping Companies Maximize Their Sports Marketing Investment

Patrick Duffy is the senior vice president for global partnerships for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Patrick is a graduate of Florida State’s MBA program. He joined Monumental in 2014 and oversees marketing partnerships for all of Monumental Sports’ properties, including the Washington Capitals of the NHL, the Wizards of the NBA, the Washington Mystics of the WNBA, and the AFL’s Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade, as well as the NBA’s e-sports venture, NBA 2K.

In addition to sports properties, Monumental Outdoor and Monumental Sports Network’s Partnership Marketing fall under Patrick’s management. Patrick has a long track record of success throughout the sports industry. Prior to his current role with Monumental, he served in a leadership role with the Tampa Bay Lightning and also with the New York Islanders earlier in his career.

Find Patrick on LinkedIn!

Patrick Duffy: I grew up as a lifelong sports fan, so I am fortunate enough to be in this industry and really the sales profession as a whole. It has been an absolutely fantastic experience here at Monumental and having grown up in Long Island, New York, and I had spent some time in Florida as you mentioned. I have four little girls, so balancing that with the career in sales and in sports is always a challenge but a lot of fun along the way.

Fred Diamond: Have the girls been on the ice yet with sticks?

Patrick Duffy: They have. Still working to get them up to the level of what we see on a regular basis, but they love coming out to games. They’re very fortunate with the great ownership group here that supports the work-life balance, and being able to get them out to sporting events is a lot of fun. It’s great to see them grow and enjoy what I enjoy as well.

Fred Diamond: You sell things that are fun, but I know in the sports industry it’s sometimes very hard to sell partnerships and tickets when the team isn’t doing as well or hasn’t done well for a while. Of course, it’s always good when the team’s doing really well. But let’s talk about your career. I’m excited to learn a little more about you and some of your evolution and lessons that you learned. Tell us a little more about what you specifically sell today and what excites you about that.

Patrick Duffy: For us, we offer brand engagement through sports and media properties, so it’s a really unique opportunity and an exciting atmosphere. In the landscape of the world today, where I think we really are able to cut across the grain is that live sports has really become one of those few things that you have to consume live.  For us, to be able to really engage brands and story-tell during that moment is really impactful, and you really make a measurable impact for folks.

Fred Diamond: Take us back. How did you get into sales as a career?

Patrick Duffy: While I was at Florida State I took an internship with a minor league hockey team in town. I really didn’t realize that sports is a part of the business world and there were opportunities there. I did a little bit of everything from slingshot T-shirts on the ice to literally pick up the Yellow Pages and call companies, or individuals in some instances, to buy tickets to the games. I recognized that I’m really passionate about sports. I’m not fortunate enough to be out on the ice or the court. I don’t have that level of expertise. I then cold-called just about every NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, and NFL team and landed an opportunity with the New York Islanders, which was exciting for me having grown up in Long Island and now having the opportunity as a first job out of college to go back home and work for the team that you grew up admiring.

Fred Diamond: Now you’re working for some of the biggest brands in sports. You’re working for a great ownership team. You’re working for some teams that have a lot of loyalty amongst the fans. But you mentioned you we were working for a minor league team back in Florida. What were some of the key lessons that you learned from some of your first few sales jobs that have carried with you through today?

Patrick Duffy: First and foremost, work ethic is key in the sales space. I think when you look at it, your hustle is controllable. Ticket sales is really a volume-driven business, as is a lot of different sales roles, so that was something I really took to heart. I really just tried to benchmark myself against the rest and really push as hard as I can.

Fred Diamond: You’ve been in sports marketing your whole career. Tell us a little more about what you’re an expert in. Tell us a little bit more about your area of brilliance.

Patrick Duffy: For me, it’s really working with various brands and our team as well. Just getting out in front of various key partners, both prospective and current, and really getting to know their business and listening. A big part of what we do is learning and listening in trying to put together a compelling story of how we can intertwine their brands with ours to really meet their objectives and goals and, at the end of the day, drive the business for them moving forward.

Fred Diamond: Tell us a little more about sports marketing. Do your calls get answered right away because you’re calling from Monumental and you’re representing an exciting group of products? Or do you have to work hard to get in the door? How does the balance work these days?

Patrick Duffy: It’s not a lot of inbound. It’s outbound, so it’s very similar to a lot of other industries. Certainly there is a bit of cachet to the sports industry, but not everybody is a sports fan by any means, so we work with people who are sports fans. At the end of the day I think everybody values a strong audience, so that’s really what we try to focus in on and make sure we can tell a compelling story of what we can deliver. It’s a lot of outbound and heavy effort, but at the end of the day, kind of what is to be expected in the sales space.

Fred Diamond: Another question, going off course here, but a lot of people listening in are going to be sports fans, because if you’re in sales you’re probably competitive and you’re probably following some teams. Is it the sport you’re selling? At the end of the day, what are you selling to the customer? Is it the sport, is it the association? What is the thing that really resonates with your customers that you found in your career in sports marketing?

Patrick Duffy: I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the sport. I mean, it’s certainly part of it, but it’s really the audience. When you’re looking at sports, at sports teams in general, attendees will be coming to a game. Generally you have to have discretionary income to be able to afford tickets, and you’re usually very passionate about the teams and brands, so you certainly want to tap into that. If you’re a brand that’s definitely attractive… I think it’s the audience and the demographics of that audience. That’s what we really try to foster, not necessarily lead with the sport itself. That’s part of the overall experience and what we can deliver but not the core of it, so to say, from a deliverable standpoint.

Fred Diamond: You’ve mentioned your customer a number of times. Who is your customer? Who are you trying primarily to sell to?

Patrick Duffy: We work with just a number of brands across various industries and categories, so we try to align with really great partners whose goals and objectives and values match ours as an organization. We try to be very thoughtful on who we approach in various industries and try to align with those folks and also work with other brands that are really trying to grow along the way. We’re fortunate with a number of properties here, from hockey to basketball to football to women’s sports—lots of different avenues that we can look at and our media property as well, with our digital network and our out-of-home space. So there’s lots of different avenues that we can go with things. It’s great to have a lot of tools in your tool belt.

Fred Diamond: Patrick, you’ve had a nice long career here. Tell us about an impactful sales career mentor and how they impacted your career.

Patrick Duffy: I’ve been fortunate during my career to work with a lot of great people. Here at Monumental, ownership is great, so it really starts at the top and certainly I glean a lot off the vision of the ownership team. Here at Monumental, our team president and I work together every day. Jim Van Stone is fantastic, and every day I learn more and more. In my years in Tampa, head of our team Ron Campbell and Sean Henry in particular were fantastic. Sean’s the CEO at the Nashville Predators now, somebody I keep in contact with on a regular basis, sharing ideas, and just someone I really learned a lot from in my earlier career.

Fred Diamond: Very good. What are the two biggest challenges you face today as a sales leader? You’ve been doing this for probably close to 20-some years. You’ve probably seen things change. What do you think are the two biggest challenges right now as a sales leader?

Patrick Duffy: Proving the metrics is very important. Obviously buyers and partners these days are very sophisticated. I think in the old days of sports, it was just the cachet of being involved with a team that was the big driver. Now you need to have measurable results. Marketers need to prove that the investment they’re putting forth is rewarding and fruitful. For our end, we’ve really drilled in deep on the business intelligence side and grown that end of our business to ensure that we’re driving measurable results for all of our partners out in the world today.

Fred Diamond: Take us back in your career. You’ve had some great successes. Tampa Bay, of course, won the Stanley Cup when you were there. What is the number-one specific sales success or win from your career that you’re most proud of?

Patrick Duffy: Stanley Cup was a heck of a lot of fun. You certainly feel a part of that being within the organization… You certainly felt part of the team, so it helped me get and replicate that here in D.C. with our teams and reach that championship level as well.

Specifically on the sales side, some great experiences were in Tampa, where I wore a lot of different hats during my 10 years there and had some success while I was overseeing ticket sales. We had brought on a really big partner to oversee one of our big entitlement spaces there when it wasn’t really my necessary role. It was more about driving our teams to sell more tickets there. It was nice to step outside your space and show your merit. That’s kind of what further grew my career, really showing that ability to not only do a great job at the role that’s in front of you but also being a team player and driving results for the organization as a whole. In recent times, our new naming-rights partnership with Capital One that you mentioned at the top is phenomenal. It’s something that we’re deep in the process of getting off the ground, and it’s going to have lots of benefits for both partners, which is what you love to see in a true partnership, so we’re excited about that.

Fred Diamond: Another question here from a sales perspective. You were with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup. Was the next year easier or harder as a sales professional?

Patrick Duffy:  I think my perspective on that’s different than most. With the Tampa Bay Lightning and us winning in ’04, the next year was a lockout. That was extremely challenging. The upside was we had the Stanley Cup for two years, but at the end of the day that’s a tough thing because it’s out of your hands and out of your control. We were trying to bridge that gap with the uncertainty of when we were going to be back. Is it going to be tomorrow, next week, next year? Ultimately that year was cancelled, and we had to wait until the next year to come. It was a different environment, not normal. But I would say for most, in the normal environment of having a championship success, usually the next year is a fruitful year.

Fred Diamond: I want to ask you a question about that year. As we talk to a lot of these sales game changers, it seems that most people have had a nice straight career. Most people that I’m interviewing have had a great ascension from a great company to a great company to another great company, continued success. But we all know the line of sales success has waves and things like that. Here you are. You’re a sales executive, and all of a sudden you don’t have a product to sell. What did you do that year? What was that year like? You just had the highest of highs. You won the Stanley Cup, the biggest prize in sports. Now there’s a lockout. There’s this trust customer. They don’t know what’s going to happen. Do you mind telling us a little bit what that year was like as a sales professional?

Patrick Duffy: Yes, that year you really had to become a psychologist on top of a salesperson, so to say. It was a lot of just trying to keep up on progress even thought it was drips and drabs and update the group and certainly sell the hope that the season’s going to be right around the corner. It was an evolving process. Certainly a week or two in is not bad. A month, it starts to get a little bit more uncertain, and then once that season finally was cancelled it was pointing to the fact that we’ll be back quickly thereafter.

In Tampa, we were fortunate. We had an Arena Football League team there too, with the Tampa Bay Storm, so we shifted some efforts towards that other product. Revenue lines weren’t certainly as large as what the NHL team was, but it still added some focus towards that to keep everybody busy and bridge the gap a little bit.

Fred Diamond: You’ve worked for some great brands. You’re working for one of the biggest brands in sports and entertainment right now. Did you ever question being in sales? Was there ever a moment where you thought to yourself, “It’s just too hard” or “It’s not for me”?

Patrick Duffy: Not really. What I love about sales is there’s always tomorrow. I’m not one to give up very easily. You’re not going to hit a home run every time along the way, but the way I look at it is, if your effort’s consistent and you’re methodical in your process, you’re going to see those results. You may go through the ups and flows—I think any salesperson does—but let’s keep a positive outlook at the end of the day. I think I’m always optimistic that the next day will be better than today.

Fred Diamond: Patrick has been talking about understanding the brands that you’re trying to sell to and what their initiatives are. He also talked about how the buyer has changed and the fact that you now need metrics. You need data. You need information to prove to them that their investment in your offering, in this case sports and entertainment branding and partnerships, is critical. You have to become more intelligent about providing information to a sophisticated buyer.

Patrick, I want to get some tips from you now for the sales game changers listening to today’s call. What’s the most important thing you want to get across to junior selling professionals to help them improve their career?

Patrick Duffy: I think work ethic is key in the sales space. I think coming in at a junior level you need to out-hustle folks. Certainly that’s controllable. As you out-hustle people you’re certainly going to learn along the way. And then you can start to outsmart people, so I think I’ll hustle out of the gates and then I’ll outsmart people down the line.

Fred Diamond: I have to imagine you have a pretty high-profile position within your organization as the global partnership sales VP. What are some of the things that you do on a daily basis or a weekly basis to keep your saw sharpened?

Patrick Duffy: From my end, I try on a regular basis to talk to other counterparts across the industry, gleaning ideas from other folks. We are fortunate in the sports leagues to have a number of people in other cities throughout the country, so certainly I have a close group of folks there that I’ll bounce ideas off and hear their perspective as well in regards to what they may be experiencing. Also attending a number of key sales conferences, whether industry specific or not industry specific, to try to get out as much as possible amidst our normal schedule here to make sure we’re keeping everything sharp.

Fred Diamond: What’s a major initiative you’re working on today to ensure your continued success?

Patrick Duffy: For us, it’s continually looking at how do we advance the ball and staying out in front of the game. We have been fortunate as an organization, even in my three-plus years, that we’ve grown a lot here. When I arrived it was just the Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics. Since then, we’ve added two arena football teams because we love arena football so much and we wanted to double down, so we added a team here at Washington that plays at Capital One Arena, the Washington Valor, and we added the Baltimore Brigade, who plays out of Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, so very exciting there.

We expanded into the e-sports space with NBA 2K. We’ll have our own franchise that’ll play in an e-sports platform, so very unique, very interesting. That’s the space that’s ever-expanding and growing at just a tremendously rapid rate—a different demographic there too, which is exciting. Our out-of-home business has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years, so that’s something we’re continuing to grow. That’s just a little bit more transactional in nature, where you’re looking at eyeballs and what that’s generating—a little bit different than what we do on the sports-properties side.

And then, another area that we’ve grown on the media space is our Monumental Sports Network. We’re the first team in sports to launch into an OTT platform from a regional perspective. It’s been tremendously successful, and we’re really trying to drive a lot of partners through that space. We are focusing on our Caps, Wizards, Mystics arena football products but also youth sports and high school space, so really growing that reach and hitting another level there as well. The way that we’ve tried to stay out in front of things is “What’s that next step?” We’re not risk-averse, and we want to get involved in things and be out in front of the curve.

Fred Diamond: Patrick, sales is hard. People don’t return your calls or your emails. They have a lot of options. Why have you continued? What is it about sales as a career that keeps you going?

Patrick Duffy: I look at sales and the space that we’re in, every day is a new day. You’re working on a million things. You don’t know the next door that’s going to open for you. That’s exciting. It’s exciting to see partnerships that you launch, to see the things come to fruition that you hoped would, so really working hard to make sure that that’s accomplished is exciting. What I really love about this space is it’s not stagnant. It’s not doing the same thing every day. It’s a new thing every day, and there’s always room for growth which is exciting.

Fred Diamond: Give us one final thought to share with the sales game changers listening in to help them take their career to next level.

Patrick Duffy: Something I truly believe in is if you can align your passion with your profession, that will truly set you out for success. I have been fortunate enough that I’ve been able to do that. But no matter what industry you’re in, if you can really home in on something you’re personally engaged with, I think that’s something that can really add that extra twist to make it even more exciting and probably up a level and percentage of success. It’s something that I certainly keep focused on, and I’m fortunate to be in the space that I’m in.

Produced by Rosario Suarez

The post EPISODE 027: Monumental’s Patrick Duffy Is a Wizard at Helping Companies Maximize Their Sports Marketing Investment first appeared on Sales Game Changers Podcast.