Tao of Sports Podcast

Being sold out for an extended period of games over the course of many seasons is something that Greg Hylton has had to deal with as the Vice President of Premium Seating and Ticketing at the Indianapolis Colts. Hylton explains the origins of the streak, started in the Colts' former home and carried over into their new one, as well as how one mishap with a Jacksonville Jaguars game cost the Colts organization the ability to extend the streak even longer. Hylton breaks down some of the initiatives that the Colts have undertaken, including their group sales unit, which actually charges more for group tickets over individual seat buys, as well as some of the activities that the Colts use to interact with their groups prior to kick.

Neil Horowitz understands how the digital world is encroaching on the traditional marketing and branding campaigns of sports teams. Horowitz has worked for two NHL franchises, developing their social media accounts on multiple platforms, and now utilizes his experiences for Wilshire Axon Sports. Horowitz's main driver is helping smaller franchises compete in the mobile app space, something that can actually cost a mighty budget if performed in-house with limited success. Horowitz discusses the pros and cons to social media, how to really ensure that engagement is coming from both fans and teams, as well as how connection points matter at all times in the digital space. Twitter: @njh287

Fewer people have seen the dawn of online ticketing like Jim Goodman, who was the first person to advocate for Ticketmaster to have a presence on the web. After that point, Goodman left to run ticketing for Walt Disney, then established Tickets.com's presence as a Ticketmaster competitor, including a merger that yielded Major League Baseball as an owner. Goodman explains some of the ways that online ticketing got started, including how his efforts resulted in those $16 service fees on a $17 ticket, and why those service fees continue to exist today. Goodman spares no punches in his wide-ranging opinions on promoters, teams, service fees, the StubHub vs Ticketmaster & Golden State Warriors lawsuit, and the secondary market as a whole. Goodman speaks about having 'boots on the ground' experience and why the ticket industry has hurt itself by not hiring those with that type real work experience into their upper eschelon. Twitter: @JimGoodman

The world of premium sales at the venue level requires a certain type of perspective on prospective client relations, as Mike Guiffre explains. This doesn't just means hitting the phones hard for 100 calls per day, but a data-driven approach with CRM that helps illuminate exactly who the client is, and what their capacity is as well. Guiffre presents the argument for how data analytics is being performed at the sports/venue level, and where it needs to go in order to improve. Some of those steps require less phone skills, and more information on how to deliver that message correctly in the first place. Twitter: @MjGuff

Consolidation deals are the new mode of operation for the secondary market and resellers. Co-founder of The Ticket Experience, Patrick Ryan, discusses some of the ways in which the reselling ticket business has been drastically changed by how franchises as well as team executives view the practice. Ryan talks about some of the options available to move tickets for the teams on the primary market as well as how the secondary market can be utilized as a distribution channel. Twitter: @PRyanTexas