I had the rare opportunity yesterday to speak with advertising sales guys with two soccer magazines. They each wanted me to buy advertising and I really want to buy advertising, so you would think this would be a win-win for us both.
The one rep told me about his CPM, per page rate, seven times impression… all the things you would expect. But then when I started talking about the soccer tournament industry, how TourneyCentral saw an opportunity to shape and guide this industry and how we saw an opportunity for a soccer magazine to help with that vision… nothing, no passion, no enthusiasm… he just wanted to sell me an ad.
Later on, I also spoke with another rep. He started off the same way.. CPM, per page, etc, etc. But when I started talking about our vision of changing the tournament world and how there was an opportunity for a soccer magazine, he threw his script out and started getting excited about how he could share in being a part of it. His magazine is young, only has a US circulation of 20% of the biggest — not ideal — but he will probably get my business… and I will help him with his. Together, we will grow and become the authority for the soccer tournament industry.
Our advice: Change the world with a passion! Don’t just have a tournament; think about how what you do changes the world for the better for each one of your participants, your sponsors, your community. Think about how your tournament will contribute to the soccer tournament industry.
SEEK OUT people who also want to change the world (in or out of soccer!) and find a way to include them in your event. The relationship is usually a lot of hard work to maintain, but well worth the effort, is a heck of a lot more fun and will allow you to grow exponentially. QUIT working with people who drag you down or don’t have your passion. Approach each sponsor, each team, each player, each coach, each parent, each stakeholder of your event with the passion that it takes to change the world. Most of the time, the passion won’t be returned with the same intensity, but when it is, change happens!