Playbook Management International

Welcome to the ticket services suite at PMI HQ.  Enter into the world of ticket sales “best practices” and learn more about the best ticket sales training services offered in the sports and entertainment world from experienced sports ticket sales executives at PMI. PMI offers two programs: 

1. Best Practices in Ticket Sales Program
2. Weekly Sales Training

Best Practices in Ticket Sales Program

PMI Sales Training- PMI’s Competitive Advantage: All the executives within PMI have risen from the ranks of entry level ticket sales.  Many, including Founding Partner Michael Hitchcock and Managing Partner Mark Washo, have gone on to become team President’s and General Managers.  Andy Smith has been a VP of Ticket Sales at several pro teams. They have taken 50 + years of ticket sales training experiences, sales notes (literally 100’s of sales training documents) and personal training experiences and have developed PMI’s unique ticket sales training offerings.

PMI Ticket Sales Awards and Recognition: PMI Executives have won a combined 12 MLS Ticket Sales awards, including one Minor League Baseball sales award and a NBA personal ticket sales award.  Few, if any agencies have won this volume of ticket sales awards selling tickets for teams.

How your sales team will benefit: There are many ideas, theories and opinions on how to sell tickets.  However, very few ticket sales training providers have actually picked up the phone, made 100’s of sales calls per day, went on 10-15 meetings and attended 4-5 networking events per week to maximize ticket sales revenue.  Therefore your sales reps and account executives will relate directly to PMI Executives conducting the sales training, because they know we can relate directly to their experiences as a ticket sales rep.

Also, very few sales trainers have actually managed or directed ticket sales teams.  PMI Executives have sat in the sales manager chair for a combined 35 plus selling seasons.  We understand how to hire, train, inspire, motivate and build a successful sales team.   Therefore, we can relate directly to what a Sales Director is going through as you attempt to get the most out of their respective sales teams.  We also have years of experience Managing Sales Managers and Directors.  Sales Director Training is often over looked, yet an important part of building a “positive sales culture”.

NASL Club Services: PMI is currently the “agency of record” providing club services functions for the North American Soccer League.  PMI kicked off the engagement by facilitating a two day sales training league wide training session at the NSCAA in January 2011.  PMI continues to hold weekly ticket sales training, and team wide “best practices” calls on the sponsorship and revenue side of NASL team business

Ticket Sales Training offered:  PMI recommends that ticket sales training be tailored to meet the unique needs of each ticket sales team.  PMI is committed to working with Team Executives to create a ticket sales training program geared to the needs of the department.  Sessions can be “half day” boot camps, full day boot camps or two day sales or sales planning retreats.  PMI also hosts weekly ticket sales training calls, and can also explore hosting a conference call or Skype or Webex remote online ticket sales training sessions.

Training for segmented audiences

• Inside Sales
• Account Executives
• Rookie sales reps- less than 2 years of experience
• Veteran sales reps “excellence program” for 2-5 year experienced reps
• Full sales team
• Director of Ticket Sales Mentorship Program –for Directors and Sales Manager
• Executive Assessment-Ticket sales team review or sales team “audit”-season planning

PMI Ticket Sales Training Topics

Join the weekly discussion on Ticket Sales best practices.  Discuss ticket sales with your peers, learn from industry professionals, and guest speakers.  Guest speakers include team President’s, VP’s , Directors and other account executives.

Call day & time: Every Tuesday -1 PM EST, 12 Noon CST- 10 PST

Call length: :30 minutes up to :45 minutes (hard stop at 1:45 PM) in respect of busy schedules

Format: Weekly relevant ticket sales topic- and guest presenter (when available)- follow up notes sent after each call

Personal Ticket Sales development investment (fee includes unlimited members of staff):

$0- first call, PMI clients, guests                 $35- per session ($50 rate card)

$350 per track ($525 rate card)                                 $900 full year ($1750 rate card)

 

Related ticket sales topics covered in 2011

• Key Account Identification (growing business organically)
• Growing your database – tips for data collection
• Testimonial contest- testimonials due
• Summer Time Groups- successful summer group ideas
• Objections- current objections & how to over come
• “Incoming”- how to maximize results from incoming calls
• Generational selling- how to sell to your target audienc
• Using your games & events to maximize sales
• Sales call “must have’s” what every sales call must have
• Power of networking events- how to maximize
• “Early Bird renewal strategies”
• Corporate Sales and in person drop in’s
• Breaking out of a sales slump
• Become a “sports marketing expert”
• Effective voice mails and follow up emails
• Don’t show up and “throw up”- powerful sales meetings
• Pro Sports – you are in entertainment use it to your advantage
• Sales Mentorships and sales buddy system create your own
• Cancelled due to executive travel

Sales Training topics continued

• 2012 budgeting and business planning- get in them
• Buying stages and how to assess where a prospect is
• Success stories sell- build your own and tell others
• Crafting proposals- tailored ticket sales programs/packages
• Warm calls” intro calls to individuals and corporate

 

Other ticket sales topics for calls

Ticket Sales Training can be targeted to segmented sales audiences

• Inside Sales
• Account Executives
• Rookie sales reps- less than 2 years of experience
• Veteran sales reps “excellence program” for 2-5 year experienced reps
• Full sales team
• Director of Ticket Sales Mentorship Program –for Directors and Sales Manager
• Executive Assessment-Ticket sales team review or sales team “audit”-season planning

PMI Ticket Sales Training Topics

• Ticket Sales 101
  • Cold Calling
  • Prospecting
  • Effective Voice Mails and emails
  • Fact finding- needs analysis
  • Presenting
  • Closing
  • Referrals
  • Sales role play and sales contests/games
• Ticket sales 201
  • Up-selling and Cross selling
  • Presenting in large groups
  • Time Management tips
  • Personal Ticket Sales Plan creation
  • Key account identification and “max” the account sales
  • Expert new business prospecting
• Target Market Sales training
  • Corporate
  • Youth Sports
  • Affinity and ethnic markets
  • Season Ticket Sales
  • Package Sales
  • Group Sales
  • “Whale hunting” in search of the big deal

• Director of Sales Training
  • Recruiting, training, hiring best practices
  • Accountability, activity tracking, successful sales meetings
  • Sales Planning, Goal Setting, Ticket Pricing and packaging
  • Effective sales meetings
  • Success charts and office visuals
  • Managing “up” and managing your mangers
  • Building a positive sales culture

Case Studies of Sales Training Sessions held for clients

Carolina Railhawks

Half Day Sales Boot Camp June 2011 by Mark Washo, Chapel Hill NC

Benefit of Training: Carolina RailHawks and PMI Fan Development executives took a half day out of the office to focus on basic “ticket sales blocking and tackling” as they neared the mid season point of their selling season. 

Who attended: Carolina RailHawks Director, Account Executives and PMI Fan Development AE’s

Topics covered: Ticket Sales 101: Group sales and group leader programs, corporate sales, power of networking events, overcoming objections, and sales role play

Result: RailHawks AE and PMI FDE’s walked away feeling more confident about their current success stories and how to better over come objections.  All reported back that the role play sessions were positive and beneficial and the trickle effect of the session lasted many weeks beyond the training

North American Soccer League- PMI Executives

Two Day Executive and Ticket Sales meetings January 2011, Baltimore MD

Benefit of Training: brought all NASL team executives together to discuss league and team business.   In conjunction with BOG and Team President meetings, PMI facilitated two days of “ticket sales best practices”

Who attended: All NASL executives in charge of ticket sales, including team President’s and BOG members.

Topics covered: Ticket sales 101, ticket sales 201, corporate sales, large groups and ticket sales events, MLS “best practices” and programs

Result: Ahead of launching the innagural NASL season, key team executives understood that ticket sales and implementing best practices was a key priority heading into the season.  Each team walked away with ideas to build a positive sales culture right from the start, and all dedicated themselves to hiring sales minded people to lead their respective organizations.

Northwood’s Baseball League

2 hour “ticket sales best practices” session by Mark Washo, Minnesota February 2011

Benefit of training: facilitate a discussion with Northwoods league executives about the importance of “building a sales culture” and “best practices” for large group ideas and Corporate Sales.

Who attended: All Northwood’s baseball team and league executives

Topics Covered: Database building, key account identification, large group night and theme night ideas, corporate sales ideas, developing an ambassadors club and group leader rewards program

Result: Northwood’s team executives walked away armed with numerous ticket sales “best practices” that could be easily implemented for the new season.  PMI heard a few comments to the effect of “our league needs to spend more time discussing ticket sales” and “our league needed to hear a presentation 100% focused on ticket sales revenue generation, what a great session”. 

WPS  Off-Season retreat 2010

Two Day ticket sales “boot camp”- facilitated by Mark Washo Chair of WPS Ticket Sales Committee (pre- PMI), Atlanta GA

Benefit of Training: brought all WPS ticket sales executive together during the off-season to focus on ticket sales best practices and training. 

Who attended: All WPS ticketing staff, Sales Managers, AE’s and General Managers

Topics covered: Season one round up & review,  Ticket sales 101, ticket sales 201, ticket sales role play, networking, referrals , guest speakers from local area sports teams including Atlanta Falcons

Result: Ahead of the important second WPS season, all team executives spent two full days discussing ticket sales “best practices”.  Many league wide success stories were presented, and each team walked away feeling more confident about their 2010 selling plans.  Session was also dubbed as “motivational and inspirational”

 

DC United February 2009 and upcoming August/September 2011

Half Day Sales Boot Camp- Mark Washo, DC United offices DC

Benefit of training- Mark Washo related his ticket sales training experiences to the DC United Sales staff.  DC United reps took away ticket sales best practices and enjoyed the “hands on” sales training approach

Who attended: Full DC United Sales team

Topics covered during sessions: Corporate sales, group sales (youth, corporate, community), ethnic sales, cold calling, prospecting, fact finding, presenting, closing, referrals, networking tips, up-selling, sales success stories, overcoming objections, effective voice mails, time management for sales, sales role playing ,review of rep personal sales plans (or sales plan creation).

Result:  DC United sales executives heard real life MLS sales stories from the “trenches”.  All the reps related directly to the training because Mark Washo had “been there and done that” in MLS sales.  The session resonated because the trainer had been in the exact shoes of each MLS AE. 

San Jose State University Athletics- Comprehensive Full Day Training Session Mark Washo 2009 (pre- PMI), San Jose Athletics offices California

Benefit of training- meeting held with entire San Jose State Athletics Staff to discuss starting outbound and proactive ticket sales 

Who attended: Entire San Jose State Athletics Department

Topics covered: Ticket sales 101, database building, starting a group sales program, creating mini plans and ticket pricing review, cross selling between sports, how to approach phone calls

Result: San Jose State took first steps towards building a “positive culture of sales”.  All staff members in the Athletics Department walked away thinking about how they could contribute to proactive outbound ticket sales.  Senior Associate AD John Poch was extremely pleased with the overall discussion, and “take away’s” and has led San Jose State to activate a outbound ticket sales team inside their Athletic Department.

 

 

St. Louis Rams-NFL full day group sales training

Mark Washo 2009 (pre-PMI)- St. Louis Rams offices, St. Louis

Benefit of training: group sales account executives were able to discuss, review and learn about group sales specific industry “best practices”

Who attended: St. Louis Rams Group sales account executives

Topics covered: Group inventory, group pricing, group strategy, large groups, group discounting, group success stories, creating a group sales plan

Result: Rams Group Sales AE’s walked away from the sessions armed with dozens of pro sports group sales “best practices”.  AE’s were excited to implement the new ideas, and reported direct group sales results within a few weeks of the sessions.

If you would like to learn about PMI’s ticket sales training services, please contact Andy Smith VP of Business Development, (941)447-9693 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Mark Washo PMI Managing Partner (201) 669-9013 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  PMI will send you a brief ticket sales training questionnaire, and Andy or Mark can discuss needs as it relates to ticket sales training, session topics, length of training and fees affiliated with the program.

PMI Ticket Sales Tuesday's

Thank you for visiting the PMI Ticket Sales Training Suite.  We look forward to working with your league, conference, team or college soon!

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