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Major League Soccer

Academy For Ticket Sales Representatives Of MLS

May 24, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK - (May 24, 2010) - In the past few years, Major League Soccer has taken great strides in the realm of player development; now the League is adapting the academy concept for the front offices of its clubs with the creation of the MLS National Sales Center. As the first ticket sales academy owned and operated by a professional sports league in the United States, the MLS National Sales Center will recruit and train ticket sales representatives and feature a 45-day curriculum consisting of classroom instruction and hands-on field work to prepare individuals for ticket sales positions with MLS clubs.

Located in Blaine, Minnesota through a collaboration with the National Sports Center, the MLS National Sales Center will further assist MLS clubs with ticket sales and staffing. As part of the program, students will develop ticket sales strategy and conduct outbound sales campaigns on behalf of MLS Clubs, international events managed by Soccer United Marketing, MLS' marketing arm and the Division II NSC Minnesota Stars.

"Ticket sales are the lifeblood of any professional sports team, and this new initiative will provide our clubs with a deeper and more talented pool of ticket sales professionals," said MLS President Mark Abbott. "We believe the combination of classroom instruction and real-life sales experience will prepare these young men and women with the skills necessary to make an immediate impact when they join an MLS club."

"MLS has a young sales force and too few entry-level employees are receiving the adequate sales training needed to be difference makers," said Paul Mott, head of club services for MLS. "This program will become a ‘best practices' laboratory, from which we can distribute interesting video, templates and tips in the area of sales culture, training, motivation and team building as a supplemental benefit to clubs in addition to access to trained and motivated salespeople."

MLS' Bryant Pfeiffer, a member of the League's Club Services department for the past three years who also spent 14 years with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves in a number of sales positions prior to joining MLS, will oversee the initiative.

Scheduled to open later this summer, a national search is being conducted to hire a director for the MLS National Sales Center. This individual will be responsible for recruiting, hiring and teaching the trainees while also managing their sales campaigns. Once the director has been hired, details regarding how interested candidates can apply to the program will be made available.

Pfeiffer and the soon-to-be-hired director of the MLS Sales Center will work closely with the League's clubs to develop the program, including regular guest speakers from the 19 teams.

"We're pleased to see the commitment to develop a sales center that is a first-of-its-kind for a professional sports league," said Chris Canetti, Chief Operating Officer for the Houston Dynamo. "I believe this initiative will be a tremendous asset to the clubs from the perspective of talent acquisition and development. I see it as a national farm system that will help clubs more efficiently and effectively identify and hire quality sales professionals."

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