Jon Schmieder, a widely known sports tourism industry consultant, is writing his second book on Sports Service. We are highlighted in Chapter 1.
Check the excerpt below!
Event Bidding Best Practice Spotlight – Virginia Beach
Nancy Helman, Director of Sports Marketing for Virginia Beach, says her organization has a Golden Rule, “Don’t write checks with your mouth, that your body can’t cash.” Virginia Beach Sports Marketing is widely considered one of the top sports commissions in the country. That didn’t happen by chance, as Nancy points out, “If you commit to something during the bidding or negotiation process, you better deliver. Every time. This industry, even with the rapid growth over the past 10 years, is still relatively small and close knit. Event owners talk to each other. Remember that.”
Their record speaks for itself. Virginia Beach Sports Marketing has a client return rate of 86%, which is something critically important to their work and Nancy points out, “That number is really important to us. Our team is dedicated to ensure that every event in Virginia Beach is successful.” One of the things that she says sets the Virginia Beach team apart is their staff make-up. They are all event professionals first, sales people second, “Every member of our team from top to bottom started our careers in the event business. We aren’t “sales people,” we are a team of professionals who know how to locate, bid on, negotiate and deliver successful events. We know what event owners want because we try to see events through their eyes. In order to create a mutually beneficial relationship, having the ability to create a fiscally responsible event is necessary, so business decisions need to be made. However, at the end of the day, when the event is wrapped up, we want event owners to say, ‘This was my most successful event ever and if the opportunity presents itself, I am coming back to Virginia Beach because they get it.’”