Last Wednesday night I attended the Philly Sports Networking
Night at Xfinity Live, and it is extremely important for everyone to look out
for these sorts of opportunities. For
those just beginning their ascent through the sports industry ranks, these
kinds of events are vital. There are not
too many opportunities to be able to go out and meet industry-established
professionals and get your name out there.
Here I caught up with industry friends that I’ve made and also met new
people. I was skeptical at first, but
networking events truly are extremely beneficial.
Some of the well represented entities at the event were
Comcast-Spectacor and Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. I attended the event with Hayley, SMTSU’s
Director of Marketing and Outreach. We
went into it with a rough plan that I would introduce her to the people that I
co-oped with at Comcast-Spectacor and she would introduce me to the people that
she co-oped with at Turnkey. The plan
worked well and we also met some people from outside of the two companies.
As Mark Gress mentioned a few weeks ago in his preview for
the event, it is also beneficial to go in with a plan or some goals. I didn’t want to set a goal of handing out 10
business cards or something like that because I’d rather it just happen
naturally. Plus if I was stuck at 9 and
just trying to get to 10, I would have felt like the scene in Super Troopers
where they pull the car over on the highway and the guys has to say “meow” 10
times in the stop but was only at 9 and he added one last “meow” in as he was
walking away from the car to get to 10.
If you have already had a little experience in the industry,
then I would try the plan that Hayley and I used. Start with people you know and then people
that the person you go with knows. It’s
less awkward than just walking up to random people and striking up a
conversation. If you know somebody there
that is already established in the industry, then ask that person to introduce
you to some people that they know!
One of the many beauties of the sports industry is how
competitive it is to get established in but also that the people already in it
are willing to help those trying to break in.
These networking events are the perfect example. If you are reading this blog, then you are trying
to break into sports. If you are trying
to break into sports, then you have to attend networking events to get to know
the people in the industry. If it is
outside of your personal comfort zone (like it was for me), then just try it
out! You may like it, and the benefits
far outweigh any qualms you may have about them before you try it.
Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.
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