5 Career tips to succeed in Sports Management

In a sports-mad country like Australia, it’s not surprising that careers in sports management are appealing to an increasing number of people.

The industry is flourishing with opportunities in many areas such as marketing, sponsorship, sports media (online and traditional channels), sports facilities and even higher education institutions.

Meet Professor Ramiro Lahera, a Sports Management lecturer at Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea. His background includes impressive roles in the industry, including Managing Director at Tactika Sports Culture (a leading sporting events company), Marketing Director for 2014 Basketball World Championships and also Marketing and Sponsorship Director for the Madrid 2016 Olympic Games Bid.

We caught up with Ramiro to learn a few key things about what it takes to succeed in the industry…

1. Know your product

First of all, know your product and what makes it different – it’s unique selling point. Talking about sport, this unique selling proposition would normally be an emotional one. This unique characteristic gives sport brands or sport properties their competitive advantage and is often the reason why they will interest and attract consumers.

2. Know your consumer

Secondly, know your consumers, where they are and how you can connect with them. Define your target marketing, the one who will be interested in your brand and more importantly, how to connect with it to let them know about you.

3. Know your market

Understand those key aspect that will allow you to have success and where your brand is positioned in relation to your competitors.

4. Build team culture

Next, sports management is are a team effort. You need a good team to deliver your sports products and services. The team will be formed by staff or external providers, so it needs to be run in a motivated atmosphere and based on trust.

5. Bring your passion

Last, but not least, sport is about passion. Sports managers have to be passionate about what they are doing, have clear professional and personal goals, and go for them!