Troy Kirby is a sports business consultant who builds relationships and revenue for sports organizations. He is the owner of Tao of Sports where he consults for B2B vendors, professional teams, and college athletic departments. He also hosts the Tao of Sports podcast.
We have a really interesting conversation on today’s show. Troy comes from the world of sports, and he is an expert in sports sales. He is going to share some of his great stories in the area of sales, education, where he came from, and what he was trained for. He is also going to share his sales experience from the perspective of focusing on engaging people and getting them to come to his events.
Episode Highlights:
- When people give you time and opportunity it is a gift, and you need to give back.
- Stand up comedy and open mic night helped Troy become relatable.
- If you have a speaking opportunity. Go and screw up. The whole idea is to get practice relating to people.
- Listen to other people and be interested in what they do. Build a relationship that way.
- People want to do business with people who listen to them not talk at them.
- Change your mindset and have a yes mentality.
- Troy ended up having a great conversation interviewing the Octomom and allowing her to talk more and treating her with equity and respect.
- Qualifying people by how much money they have, yet they might be a great source of referrals.
- If someone tells you not to do something, they probably don’t know what they are talking about.
- Troy is known in the sports industry as the sales ticket guy.
- Take an active investment in other people, but also take a chance on yourself.
- Play the long game and really knock the cover off the ball. Plan for the long term.
- Do the work in advance and build your contact over time. Don’t use other people as an excuse for not achieving.
- How we are overly entertained. Put the time in your business, and it will yield out so much more.
- The importance of the daily commitment to the process. It takes time to build relationships and work and work that system.
- Thinking outside of the box and getting people to come to your events. Troy shares his red turf story where the turf could be seen from space.
- You have to be able to tell a story, sell a narrative, and believe in yourself. Take risks and don’t be threatened by what you are doing.
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