Skip to main content
Sports Innovation Institute IU Indianapolis

How Teaching Sport Sales Creates Storytelling Opportunities for Students

Posted on by SII Team

A recent paper in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly shows the role that stories play in the success of applicants in the job search process. Stories can help students describe past work and educational experiences in a memorable way that conveys their knowledge and skills.

Among the many things I try to accomplish with each class is creating environments and opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in real world contexts. These environments provide fertile ground for students to translate their classroom experience in rich and compelling ways with storytelling when they start interviewing for jobs.

For example, in my sport sales class, students make 200 sales calls to prospects that purchased tickets to at least one game online last season for the Indianapolis Indians. The video below shows Braxton Bragg closing a sale on his first day in the sales center.

To close the sale, Braxton:

  • quickly developed trust and rapport with someone he didn’t know
  • asked questions to understand someone’s needs
  • presented value to a customer
  • overcame objections
  • asked for the sale
  • explained the benefits of a product/service
  • celebrated accomplishments with teammates
  • participated in a positive sales culture

Brandon now has a compelling story to tell when asked behavioral interview questions like:

  • Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something you had never done before.
  • Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to see things your way.
  • Describe a time when you had to sell an idea to your coworkers or group?
  • Tell me about a time you had to get out of your comfort zone.

It is our job as faculty to help students translate the experiences in the classroom to storytelling in the job interview setting. Creating storytelling opportunities is just one of the many benefits of adding a sport sales class to the curriculum. With 36% of the jobs listed on Teamwork Online in sales, it is somewhat surprising that only 22% of undergraduate sport management programs in the United States offer a course to teach students how to sell.

—David Pierce, Ph.D.

Lessons Learned at the Applied Sport Management Conference

Posted on by SII Team

I attended the 4th annual Applied Sport Management Conference last week at First Tennessee Park, home of the Nashville Sounds. At this point in my career, attendance at conference tends to provide diminishing returns, but I left this conference more excited about the future of sport management academia than ever.

Here are four reasons why:

1. There are faculty who want to engage in applied research.

Academia gets knocked by industry for focusing on the theoretical and not the practical, and rightfully so most of the time. But an organization like ASMA is a great way to smoke out researchers who want to get their hands dirty solving problems in industry. I saw outstanding presentations and posters at the conference, like

  1. How optimization modeling can be used to generate revenue in sports organization by Elizabeth Wanless at Ohio University
  2. Best practices in retromarketing by Brian Gordon at Kansas University
  3. How to responsibly market rivalry in sport by Cody Havard at Memphis
  4. Who to hire when there’s a coaching change by James Johnson at Ball State
  5. How data envelopment analysis can be used to assess the performance of college athletic departments by Faizul Huq and Elizabeth Wanless at Ohio University
  6. Better recruitment strategies to find sports referees by Lynn Ridinger at Old Dominio

If you work in the sports industry, reach out to a sports business professor at a local university and grab a cup of coffee – they might be more helpful in solving problems than you previously thought.

2. Innovation in sport management education is slow, but progress is being made.

Chad McEvoy delivered the keynote address and challenge us to consider new and innovative curricular models. His fundamental question was:

“Why do most programs have sport management curricula that looks like curricula from 25 years ago, given how much has changed in the world?”

This is a great question for sport management educators to chew on. Several presentation sessions addressed classroom innovations:

  • Work-based integrated learning by the Natalie Smith and the faculty and East Tennessee State
  • Study-abroad program development by Adam Pfleegor at Belmont
  • How Title IX applies to the internship setting by Michael Odio at Cincinnati
  • Developing sustainable service learning programs by the faculty at South Alabama

At IUPUI, we have invested heavily in using human-centered design to provide students with the innovation and creativity skills needed to be successful in today’s economy. Our senior capstone class asks students to be bold in solving important problems facing today’s sport organizations.

3. Innovative session formats are desperately needed at conferences

I was asked to facilitate a “Works in Progress” session organized by Erianne Weight. Attendees submitted three pages about a paper they are currently working on, and a small group of 3-4 people gave them feedback. It was a low-pressure way to get feedback from other people about your research ideas.

I also attended “Faculty Professional Development” sessions at Sport Marketing Association in October. These sessions were designed to provide faculty skill sets that can keep them current in the field, like learning how to visualize data in Tableau. These presentations accounted for 5 of the top 10 most-attended sessions.

These are two examples of what could happen with our academic conferences using human-centered design to innovate the conference experience for attendees. Better understand what people want by focusing on empathy should deliver a better conference experience in the future. All faculty should consider getting trained in the Event Canvas methodology to design better events.

4. Case study competition is a high impact practice

Competing on a case study competition team doesn’t make the AAC&U’s list of 11 High Impact Practices, but it should. I watched our students Anthony Treash, Rachel Lohman, Jack Habegger, and Michael Tocco work incredibly hard over 3 weeks to submit high quality work. While they did not win any awards, they learned what high quality work looks like. They learned how to put a pitch using our storytelling arc framework, which will help them in coursework later in their academic careers. If they push their fellow classmates to meet this new personal expectation, our program will improve overnight.

–David Pierce, Ph.D.

Fan Experience at Lucas Oil Raceway – Fall 2018

Posted on by dpierce3

Driving Innovation at Lucas Oil Raceway


The Project
Lucas Oil Raceway partnered with students in Dr. Pierce’s senior-level, sport management capstone class.  Taking a human-centered design approach, students were tasked with enhancing the weekend race experience for drivers and families competing in racing events at Lucas Oil Raceway, predominantly designing for the “weekend warrior.”

Human-Centered Design

Students visited the track each weekend in September and October. Students collected data through the contextual inquiry methods of observation and ethnographic interviews. Students synthesized the data to frame problems and ideate solutions. Students completed the following problem framing exercises:

  • Empathy maps
  • What – How – Why
  • Journey maps
  • Problem tree analysis
  • Statement starters
  • Problem stories

After framing the problem, students engaged in ideation sessions to starting creating innovative solutions to the problem. Students completed the following ideation exercises:

  • Brainstorming
  • Alternate worlds
  • Impact difficulty matrix
  • Concept posters

After developing 24 concepts, students engaged in participatory research at Lucas Oil Raceway to gain feedback from weekend warriors using the Buy Feature scorecard. Based on the notion that price measures value, (think real estate: the house is only worth what someone will pay for it), the game is designed to help elicit the truth about what people value, not just what they say they value. Using fake money and a game board, students gave participants $1,200 to spend 24 features priced at $100, $300, or $500. Users placed their money on the features they would most like to see at Lucas Oil Raceway.

This method uses a system of constraints that create tension by offering choices that exceed available resources. It simulates the conditions that exist when people have to budget their resources to get what they truly desire. Because users were provided with a limited amount of currency with which to buy items, they have to pick and choose which are most important. The results informed the development of the solutions presented by students.

The Solutions

Social Hot Spots

The Social Hot Spots are 20’x20’ pavilions on a 20’x28’ concrete foundation that includes electric, picnic tables, a fire pit, and a grill. These pavilions were designed to meet the needs of the weekend warrior. The pavilions provide comfortability and convenience. These Social Hot Spots provide a nice place to be shaded from the sun in between races and easy access to a grill, picnic tables, and a fire pit. 40 people will be able to comfortably gather around these spaces, fully meeting Stacy’s needs. These spaces will be strategically placed throughout LOR to allow everyone to utilize these pavilions. After the implementation of the Social Hot Spots, racers will receive a whole new experience when they comes to the track.

Lucas Oil Raceway Marketplace
The Lucas Oil Marketplace provides an interactive meeting place with the convenience of one off and daily essentials. With race weekends being very busy and the potential to forget basic needs throughout the weekend, this is the perfect one stop shop instead of having to leave the grounds. This marketplace will provide an experience to not just the weekend warriors, but to racing fans in general with the multipurpose flex space that the hangar offers. Outside of the convenience created by the marketplace, it forms an environment that a multitude of consumers can call home. This hangar will aid in keeping consumers money inside the facility rather than adventuring to an off-site location. Even in the offseason this space is able to be utilized in order to make more of a profit.

The Pit Stop
The Pit Stop. This facility is made for the fans and participants who need a break from working on their car in the scorching heat. A place where they can enjoy an ice cold drink in an air conditioned building. The Pit Stop is a restaurant that serves a variety of food choices outside of the already available concession stands. It allows for family and friends to gather and socialize in an environment that is racing oriented. With the décor being Lucas Oil Raceway themed, all attendees can learn a little more about the facility they come to every year and make their experience all that more memorable. After spending all day racing and working hard, The Pit Stop provides games on site such as corn hole and bocce ball to give people fun activities to participate in, a stage for live music, and an outdoor patio to allow everyone to relax outside of the races.

Drag Tag
One of the biggest problems that Lucas Oil Raceway is facing is their poor arrival process for the drivers. When drivers get to the raceway, they must fill out a registration form that is known as a “tech card.” The tech cards consist of personal information that the drivers must fill out every time they come to Lucas Oil Raceway for an event. After that, the drivers will wait for an Extended Technical Inspection (ETI). Finally, the drivers then must go to a separate area to sign a waiver/release form for the event. All these steps can be pain points for the drivers, as it is slow and tedious for them. Drivers have a desire and need for convenience to the raceway, and that is what the Drag Tag will fulfill. The Drag Tag is a smart id card that will provide ultimate convenience to the drivers when they arrive at the facility. Once the driver arrives at Lucas Oil Raceway, they will pull up to the ticket booth where ticket officer scans the Drag Tag. This will pull up the waiver/release form as a first step and as drivers sign the waiver, ticket officer will be able to see the personal information and race records in the NHRA. The Drag Tag will eliminate the need for the tech cards and will provide a smoother arrival process for both the drivers and staff.

Kids & K9s
Families have downtime in between races and are usually confined to their campsite. We observed there were many pets inside the RV’s and many kids focused on their phones and technology. Families have to think twice before coming to Lucas Oil Raceway with kids and pets. Sometimes parents would come to the track and leave their kids with a babysitter and their pets at a kennel. When they did bring their kids and pets though, pets had little to no room to run around and kids were usually bored as soon as they got there as there were no activities for them to do. Kids & K9s is a playground and dog park that will let kids have somewhere to hangout at the track and it will allow dogs to roam freely. The playground is ADA accessible and the dog park is a fenced-in play park for both small dogs and big dogs to release all their energy. Kids & K9s will allow families to not worry about leaving their kids with a babysitter or their pet at the kennel. It will not only save them money, but it will make it a no brainer to visit the beautiful and historic track for a race weekend.

Power
While conducting research at Lucas Oil Raceway, we realized there was no power available to attendees that were camping overnight. Attendees are required to bring their own generator or forage for it onsite. Many attendees struggled with having generators that couldn’t provide them with the power they needed for the weekend which meant that they would have to make trips offsite to refill the generator with gas. Due to the lack of power, many attendees have started spending extra money to stay at a hotel a few miles outside of the facility. We wanted to remove the hazard of extension cords running to and from buildings and across busy roads as well as the inconvenience and hassle of attendees and racers bringing their own generator. All of this combined could help create a brand new revenue stream that Lucas Oil Raceway has previously been missing out on. Our idea of implementing power was to purchase one or two 100 KW generators from Winco Inc. Buying one in the beginning is more than viable, but buying two would be ideal for a higher return on investment, as well as creating more spots for our service on the premise. This newly implemented power will make Lucas Oil Raceway a top destination for every racer, even those without a generator.

The Winner’s Circle – VIP Camping
The spots in Winner’s Circle measure at 60ftx30ft allowing for plenty of space for families to enjoy their camping experience. Amenities present in Winner’s Circle include a fire pit, picnic table, concierge service, help hotline, shower/restroom facility, and Wifi. A generator hookup will also be provided to eight spots in Winner’s Circle and will be labeled the “500cc” section while the other thirty-two spots will be labeled the “300cc” section.

Big Ten Social Study Informs Strategy

Posted on by Geoff Sherman

 

Team Social Media Performance

by Rich Schneider, Senior Communications Specialist/Content

Indiana University and other Big Ten schools post thousands of sports-related videos to social media channels, but which types of video perform best on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?

The Sports Innovation Institute analyzed 3,748 Big Ten football and men’s basketball videos posted by those schools during a three-month period in the 2017-18 season to answer that question. (more…)

Indianapolis Colts Study Improves Strategy

Posted on by Geoff Sherman

by The SII Team

Overview
The Indianapolis Colts organization reached out to institute professionals with two projects: season ticket holder renewal research and a digital media needs analysis.

Approach
Regarding the season ticket holder research, the SII team conducted multi-tiered qualitative research to understand and identify behavioral, emotional, and motivational patterns of fans. With the second study, researchers met Colts digital media professionals to gather initial information then structured and implemented a qualitative research plan to gather data about fan digital media channel preference and engagement frequency.

Delivery
In both instances, SII researchers synthesized the information and presented key findings and insights to Indianapolis Colts staff. As SII clients, the Colts received not only the final report with information and recommendations but also all of the data to utilize for future projects.

Beyond Monumental: Leveraging Personas

Posted on by Geoff Sherman

The Monumental marathon held by CNO financial on November 4th 2017 in downtown Indianapolis.

by The SII Team

Overview
Graduate students in IUPUI’s Applied Research Methods course helped Beyond Monumental collect data that will help them continue their current growth position as the 15th largest marathon in the United States and provide strategic direction under the new Beyond Monumental brand.

Approach
Employing a mixed methods research approach, students analyzed existing data, conducted 30 interviews with event participants, and collected survey data from over 2,500 runners.

Delivery
Using 31 event attributes identified through qualitative interviews and review of relevant literature, students delivered:

  1. 6 marathon runner personas based on results of factor and cluster analysis of the 31 event attributes (see infographic below).
  2. Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) of 31 key event attributes. IPA is a tool used to provide a better understanding of how well certain event attributes are functioning and the quick identification of areas that need improvement. The team made recommendations to Beyond Monumental leadership on how fix customer pain points using the persona segments to create focused target messaging market messaging.

Makeover Means More for USA Diving Members

Posted on by Geoff Sherman

USA Olympic Diving Trials at IUPUI Natatorium Saturday June 25, 2016.

by The SII Team

Overview
Sports Innovation Institute faculty and students completed a study of USA Diving memberships to understand why individuals were not renewing. Surveys and interviews of past USA Diving members were conducted with the goal of identifying ways USA Diving’s membership structure could change to increase renewals.

Approach
Qualitative methods utilized empathy and focused on deep understanding of consumer motives and behaviors to hone survey design questions. Next, the key themes were surveyed and an importance performance analysis utilized to prioritize membership benefits and satisfaction.

The team delivered to USA Diving:

1)     Membership-driven data they can use to inform solutions

2)     Reasons members discontinued membership

3)     Value rankings in terms of membership benefits and participation

4)     Key business insights and recommendations

Plans to Propel Incrediplex Partners

Posted on by Geoff Sherman

by The SII Team

Sports Innovation Institute faculty proposed a plan to strengthen Incrediplex revenue and visibility with a memorable, authentic, and viable partnership.

The program built awareness and drove sales for partnering entities related to consumer interests. Faculty assembled cross promotion, implementation, and financial plans to successfully strategize their proposal.

They worked hand-in-hand with Incrediplex leadership to deliver a proposal that considered factors such as event space, signage, digital platforms, and other marketing channels based on consumer habits. Faculty reviewed data, performed a cost-benefit analysis, proposed revenue models, and more.

Leveraging the strengths and potential investment return for both entities, the institute delivered a winning partnership plan to Incrediplex.



Skip to toolbar