models of potential seats, and the actual game view from each seat. “We leveraged our digital assets and sales technologies to get cre- ative during the early stages of the pandemic,” Norman says. “We also leveraged virtual appointments at a higher level than anything we’d done in the past.”
Fortunately, by late summer 2021,
the 76ers and Devils sales teams were on a hybrid sales model, with two days a week spent in offices and three days at home. The two sales lead- ers hope to return to 100% in-office selling in a few months, but with more flexibility for at-home work than had been the case. And Norman definitely hopes to exploit the efficiency and power of virtual selling when times revert to normal. Nevertheless, when those arenas
were closed for a while and fans re- turned only gradually after the arenas re-opened, there were fewer tickets to sell. Yet Norman and Cobleigh laid off none of their salespeople. This no-layoff decision was not an easy one for cash-conscious top man- agement, but sales leaders proved any layoffs would have damaging impacts in future years. The 76ers and Devils measure the return on investment of all their activities and know that sales reps double their revenue from their first to second years. Then reps double it again from their second to third years – making retention crucial. “We were hopeful and confident
that live entertainment would come back in 2020 and 2021 in some fash- ion, and our preparation to execute on those sales opportunities would be paramount,” Cobleigh stresses. Instead of cutting staff and then
rehiring them when live games came back, Norman and Cobleigh focused on training, development, and per- sonal growth opportunities for their sales veterans. For instance, they challenged reps to come up with passion projects. Reps had to submit business plans, and their leaders allocated time for these projects. Some reps got real
estate licenses, others invested in stocks, and still others learned a for- eign language. One favorite project was Sweat. Managers dedicated an hour each day for any kind of exercise. Reps created an email thread and tracked their daily workouts to motivate each other. The sales teams had shifted to
remote work in mid-March 2020, so maintaining energy was a challenge. They stuck to a nine-to-five workday with significant time devoted to train- ing and development.
The team focused on mind, body, and soul, while normal working hours continued to create stability and structure in the early stages of the pandemic. Furthermore, “Optimism was para- mount,” Cobleigh stresses. “We had to continue focusing on the things we can control each and every day: at- titude, effort, and presentation.” During the inevitable slump in ticket
sales, the sales leaders measured suc- cess on a different scale. Instead of focusing efforts on new business, they focused on relationships by strength- ening bonds with existing clients. “In addition, we focused on the
process rather than the immediate result,” Cobleigh says. “We rewarded reps for great sales behavior such as appointments set, calls made, emails sent, and new prospects added to the pipeline – with the mindset that these behaviors would pay off in the long run.”
The Sweat hour helped reps focus on keeping their bodies healthy, and the sales program was re-organized as a series of steps – walking, run- ning, and sprinting – so the team could continue to move forward until it got to the fall and spring of the next sports season. Although revenue was still tight
for the parent corporation, and belt tightening was a must, sales reps still needed motivation. So there were ad- justments in sales compensation plans. “Our reps make a relatively modest base salary; so, while we have a lot of staff, we weren’t paying everybody
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$100,000 a year to sit on their hands,” Cobleigh says. Although sales slowed significantly for a while, the 76ers and Devils did not stop selling. Sales reps could still bring in new money, and they still had a goal of retaining as much on- account money as possible. Norman and Cobleigh knew that
the slowdown in sales would hurt the reps and their ability to earn commissions in the short term. They put together a bridge plan and got approval from the parent company’s CEO for a three-part plan to take care of sales reps and make it easier for them to stay with the company. The plan included a short-term
increase in commission rates on new sales and a doubling of reps’ monthly bonuses for hitting sales targets. The company also forgave any commission debt reps might have had to repay as a result of refunds issued to clients. The two sales teams did lose a
handful of staff during the pandemic slowdown. But rep turnover during COVID was about equal to turnover during a normal year. And that per- formance left the 76ers and the Devils way ahead of the competition. The sports industry in general aver- ages 25-30% turnover in reps during a typical year – partly because a lot of young people are attracted to selling for a sports team, but do not stick around for a career. Turnover at the 76ers and Devils, in contrast, is typically 12-14% – amaz- ingly, the level the teams maintained during the pandemic. “We’ve heard from many of the reps that have stayed that they feel a stronger connection and appreciation to the company after taking care of them during those tur- bulent times,” Cobleigh observes. And proof that the retention strategy is working came from another metric even more important to management than low turnover. By late summer 2021, the 76ers ranked third in the NBA for new sales for the next sea- sons. The Devils ranked fourth in their league in new season ticket sales.
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