It Will NEVER Be Normal Again.
Around 1950, boxing and horse racing were the two biggest sports in America. A lot has changed since then.
In 2005, when I started doing sales in earnest, I could use the telephone and maybe email. A lot has changed since then.
In 2007, businesses were freely buying premium seating to the extent that teams were spending millions on renovations, if not hundreds of millions on new stadiums. A lot has changed since then.
In 2020 we're facing a global pandemic. How that will change the behaviors of fans, teams, and reps? We're yet to truly know...but safe to say the answers is 'A lot.'
'I can't wait to get back.'
That's a phrase I've heard from a LOT of sales reps over the past few weeks. But what are we getting back to, exactly? What will have changed? Here's a short list of questions to think about what this new normal might bring:
Will fans SPRINT back into a stadium with 20,000 other people? Or will they be cautious?
How will our ticket packages change with the knowledge of the speed that we'll need to ramp up?
What will the best ways to sell to fans be when we get back? F2F and phone still? Will video become more prevalent? Text?
Zoom meetings have become a quiver in a salesperson's bag. Will they continue to use them as a way to meet more efficiently? How can they be incorporated in a rep's daily activities?
What industries/businesses will be ready to jump back into their old buying ways? Which industries/businesses have been permanently affected positively and negatively?
How critical will fundraising be for non-profit organizations as we get back? How will they think about their relationships with teams?
Will teams encourage reps to self-prospect through social? Are those closest to and commenting on the product be the people we need to target most immediately?
At what speed will humans AND businesses make decisions? Have we done enough work during this time to be included in those conversations?
How will we brand ourselves as we communicate with fans? We've taken off the veil of the buttoned up image and fans have connected to it in a lot of ways...will we be back to stuffy or let that relaxed image out a little more?
We've seen some incredibly efficient Work from Home reps...and others not so efficient. Will teams allow their reps to work from home more often?
We've got a lot of questions to answer. Some are easier and more straightforward, some are 'Who the fuck knows?'. The one thing we know is that at least one something will fundamentally change. Getting back to work is the wrong approach for a rep to take...you should have been moving forward the whole time, and you should continue move forward to find the new solutions when you get back.