Selling sponsorships for your alma mater sounds like a dream come true. But the truth is, while it comes with a multitude of pros, it also creates a unique set of challenges.
One of the many sets of challenges can be distinguishing your emotions. It can be difficult to set aside your emotions and come to work after a tough loss. Knowing how to push past that and push forward to sell hope even during tough seasons is crucial. But how do you do that?
According to Matt Preece, the answer is the 24-hour rule. The 24-hour rule is allowing yourself to mourn or be upset for a 24-hour period. Then reset yourself and your emotions and get back to selling hope.
Dealing with strong emotions and being passionate about your school isn’t always bad. Especially when it comes to selling from your alma mater. Loyalty and emotions go hand-in-hand. It can help sell sponsorships even. It’s infectious. It helps to pull people in. They want to be a part of it!
Whatever your emotions are while selling, you need to be able to navigate the ups and downs of both when it comes to selling sports sponsorships.
You also need to continue to be real. Authenticity is key. People can tell when you are just selling and when you actually believe in your product. When you are selling from your alma mater, you always believe in your team and you always love your team no matter how well they’re playing. That's authentic and it sells!
Another unique set of challenges that occur when you work for your alma mater is that the way you view games changes. You can no longer use attending those games as an outlet because you’re working them. You have to find other outlets. This can be anything from exercising, attending professional sporting events, or even spending time with your family.
Brandon Parks, co-host of Knox Talk, explains that his outlet is his kid. His kid playing sports, seeing his kid at games, and watching away games with his kids all become an outlet.
You just have to figure out what works well for you.
Learn more about selling sponsorships for your alma mater by listening to our latest episode of Knox Talk.