Preparing for the New Reality: Video Interviews – Work In Sports Podcast - a podcast by Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of content and engaged learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast.Well, we all have a lot of questions… and a lot of time to listen to podcasts!I’ve been trying to think about my tone in the next few weeks of podcasts -- to be honest, I don’t want to be all dour and dramatic. I don’t want any fake enthusiasm either -- so I’m just going to do my best to be myself. The goal over the next few weeks -- give you all lots of content, and make it especially relevant right now. With that said, I conducted about 8 expert interviews with incredible guests… BEFORE the coronavirus outbreak. So, when I publish my interviews with Ryan Crelin Commissioner of the ECHL, or Lisa Woodward the manager of sports sponsorships at Anheuser Busch, you may think to yourself… how did he not ask about how this will affect the ECHL or Budweiser?! Well, it didn’t exist when I did the interview!I still think they are incredibly valuable so we will still air them on Wednesdays. I’m going to attempt to sprinkle in some extra fresh episodes on Fridays that are timely. For instance, on Friday I interviewed Kenneth Shropshire CEO of the Global Sports institute to discuss the economic ramifications on the sports industry - we talked about layoffs and changes in the hiring process moving forward. It’s a great interview and you should go back and listen -- I’ll try to do more of these in the coming weeks so we can stay on top of how this will affect all of us into the future. Obviously revenue is being impacted, and there will be some contraction… how much, we don’t know, but I’ll be staying on top of our job listings, talking to employers and relaying whatever I find out back to you. Now is a good time to subscribe to the podcast and tell your sports interested friends the same. OK, so what about right now. I this episode I’m going to do a brief overview of things we can expect, and also hone in on tips for video interviews since that is the direction we are headed for the time being. Let’s start with a broad overview.In the major sports leagues, a vast majority of their revenue comes from long-term media rights deals and sponsorships. These have insurance built into them, so they will continue to generate revenue. Yes, they will be affected by the loss of ticket sales, concessions and merchandise, but they’ll survive this. The big hit will come to the smaller leagues and organizations. Those with razor-thin margins, who exist barely as it is. I worry about those leagues. I’m not being flippant at all when I say this -- but just prior to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s there was a company that launched an appetite suppressing candy bar, meant to help people on their diet, called AYDS. They couldn’t have had worse luck. You kind of feel that way for the XFL -- they launch, they’re off to a pretty good start - and then this. All momentum lost. That is some awful luck. You also worry about the Professional Lacrosse League, minor league hockey, YMCA’s fitness clubs…Now, to put it all in perspective -- this hurts right now, especially for those of you working directly for teams and not having a job now. That is awful and I hurt for you. I mean thatBut let’s have a forward-looking perspective because sports will return. * Sales jobs.* Revenue generating rolesIf I were you, college seniors, or recent graduates, I would take a class on sports sales --  * SMWW, ISBI 360 The demand is going to be huge, and the appetite for fans to return will be huge. There is a great opportunity… eventually... so get ready now. As for hiring right now, I think you’ll see timelines pushed back. If someone was expecting to hire in the next 30 days, expect it to be 60-90 days. Thisng will slow down for a bit, but then it will likely spring back. We’ll be exploring other opportunities in the coming weeks...

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