Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the current state of job announcements relating to sport ticket sales and service positions in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis methodology was utilized to examine 733 sport sales job announcements from two subscription-based sport job websites posted over a six month time period.

Findings – Sport sales jobs were geographically clustered with over half of the positions within only eight states, led by California (12.7 percent), New York (9.3 percent), Texas (7.2 percent), and Florida (7.2 percent). The majority of organizations posting jobs were specific teams or integrated sport/entertainment companies owning specific teams (76 percent), followed by media firms (11 percent), outsourced sales firms (6 percent), and sporting goods companies (6 percent). Of the 12 major job types, inside sales positions were the most common (32.3 percent) followed by sponsorship sales (13 percent) and media advertising (12 percent). Logistic regression revealed that directors and non-entry level hires were more likely to supervise other salespeople and utilize consultative sales techniques, while a strong work ethic and cold calling was sought from entry-level personnel.

Practical implications – Sport sales hiring managers and sport management academicians can utilize survey results in preparing education and training programs for entry-level sport salespeople, including the use of experiential learning and sport sales combined.

Originality/value – As the first study to empirically examine the nature of sport sales positions, it provides academicians and future sport management and sales employees with the elements of sport-related sales most prized within the sport industry.