• by Jon Last , Columnist, November 11, 2025

Anyone who has worked in sports marketing has likely come across acquaintances from outside the industry who have expressed envy for what they assume a sports marketing career is all about.

We recognize that these generalizations may be misguided. But these assumptions struck me in a different way as I recently met with people seeking help for finding their way into the industry.

Now, I’m more than willing to take a meeting with someone looking to break into sports marketing. I’m grateful for the many along my career path who provided invaluable guidance and a willing ear to me. That said, I still remain a bit miffed by the number of networkers who come in woefully unprepared and uninformed about what my firm and I actually do, despite the fact that there's an abundance of readily available information out there.

But the point of this post isn’t to malign job seekers or sermonize, but rather to apply a career learning for sports marketing -- and, frankly, any relationship-driven field. That insight is one of my mantras: 75% of success is “showing up.” 

In other words, if one makes the effort that 90% of people don’t take, to discern the needs of someone you are trying to influence, and demonstrate your empathy and ability to help meet those needs, you will run circles around most of your competitors.

Everyone brings unique talents and relevant experiences. By thinking of how those can be applied to a specific situation, you exhibit effort and thoughtfulness.

Ideally, you uncover an understanding of an organization's needs and unpack potential solutions that can make a decision-maker’s job easier with fact-based ideas about how to elevate them and their business.

By doing your homework, you show that you’ve actually deliberated and taken a customer-centric approach rather than just come in selling something that you have and others may or may not need.

That initial first step of understanding the situational playing field seems like basic strategy, but in practice seems to be less and less common. 

As a researcher, my goal is often to deliver value by uncovering needs and wants and applying them to a client’s specific situation. I’ve observed over the years that a similar proactive approach can help marketers lap the field across multiple situations.