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Audiences love to be addressed by a sports star; they
add clout and glamour to an event. The right sports
celebrities can contribute greatly to the success of
your meeting or convention. However, the type of sports
personality you hire needs to be appropriate for your
particular audience. For instance, a football player
may be well received by an all male audience but may
not do so well at a ladies garden club convention. An
Xtreme Games skateboard champion may be of great interest
to a younger set at a high school yet may not be able
to connect with a more mature group. It’s not
just the fact that a sports celebrity is famous that
makes him/her appealing; it’s also his/her appropriateness
to your group. So before hiring a particular sports
celebrity, you need to make sure that they are right
for your particular audience and can fulfill your intended
purpose for them.
Before hiring a sports star, the questions you need
to ask yourself are:
1. What am I expecting the sports celebrity
to do?
a. Attend a ribbon cutting
b. Participate in a grand opening
c. Make a presentation
d. Deliver a motivational talk
e. Do a leadership program
f. Engage in a Q&A session
g. Hobnob with the organization’s elite
h. Sign autographs
i. Do a photo-op
j. Attract attention to a trade show booth
k. Socialize in the hospitality suite
l. Participate in a celebrity golf outing
m. Endorse or promote a product
n. Do a media tour, etc.
2. What attributes does the spots celebrity
need to have in order to fulfill my intended purpose
for them?
3. What type of sport celebrity would my audience
best relate to?
Obviously, there are many different types of sports
celebrities who offer a variety of different attributes.
Following are some of the factors you need to consider
when hiring a sports celebrity.
1. Sport Appeal
So you’ve decided to bring in a sports celebrity
to your event; now you’ll need to decide on a
particular sport. The sport you select can be as crucial
as the star. The sport you select needs to appeal to
your audience. If a particular sport does not resonate
with your audience, they will, in most cases, be less
than enthusiastic no matter how big a star he/she may
be in that particular sport. Some sports have more of
a universal appeal than others. Your first step is to
pick the sport(s) that your audience will most relate
to and go from there.
2. Appropriateness
Once you have selected the sport(s) that would be most
appealing to your audience, your second step is to select
a star from those sport(s) who is most appropriate for
the task that you intend for them, be it to make a speech,
pose at a photo-ops, sign autographs, or participate
in a golf outing, etc. Obviously, not all sports celebrities
are good public speakers. You obviously wouldn’t
want to hire an athlete who is inept at the lectern
to give a speech; for that, you’d want a sports
star that is both an excellent speaker and one who also
has a compelling message. You may also want to consider
bringing in a sports coach to deliver a leadership or
team building programs. (Eagles Talent Connection will
be more than happy to make recommendations).
3. Temperament
When hiring a sports star, their temperament needs to
be compatible with the job you engage them to do. A
star, whose assignment is to attract attention to a
trade show booth, or to sign autographs, or do photo-ops,
needs to have the right disposition. For those situations,
you need to look for a star who is friendly, easy going,
uses appropriate language, and is very patient. When
considering a sports star to mingle with your current
or potential customers, you’ll want someone who
is affable and will endear him/herself to them.
4. Message
In a tight economy, when a person invests money and
time to attend a business conference, they are, in most
cases, looking for, and expect definitive take-home
value. Your chances of satisfying them is multiplied
if the sports star you have chosen to speak at one of
their business session does indeed speak well and also
has an appropriate message. Unless your objective is
simply to entertain, you should judge a sports star’s
presentation not just by whether the audience will enjoy
their celebrity status (although enjoyment is an important
factor), but also by the sports star’s ability
to stimulate, provoke thought, educate, inspire, and
motivate.
Following are some questions to consider when selecting
a sports star to speak at your event:
a. Do they communicate well?
b. Do they have a message?
c. What exactly is the message?
d. Does the message conform to my organization's philosophy
and policy?
e. Is the message appropriate for my particular audience?
f. Is the message relevant to the theme and purpose
of our meeting?
g. Is the message timely?
h. Does the message complement the other speakers on
the program?
5. Banquet Speaker
There are several sports celebrities who make excellent
after-dinner speakers. These are the ones who will regale
your audience with memorable stories, humor, and inspiration.
Your Eagles Talent Connection’s program consultants
will be more than happy to point out the ones who are
the best at this.
6. Dependability
The nature of the sports world is that it attracts individuals
with strong, independent personalities. A sport star
may be extremely popular, and even excel as a communicator,
but are they also dependable? When you pay a sport celebrity
to perform at your event, no matter how big a star they
are, they are working for you. The last thing a meeting
planner needs is to be hassled with a celebrity who
is unreliable. A sports star still needs to forward,
in a timely fashion, his/her biography, photos, A/V
and tech requirements and travel itinerary, etc. They
(or their assistant) need to be reachable. They need
to return phone calls promptly. They need to communicate
with the meeting planner well before the program date.
They need to arrive at the presentation site early enough
to prepare, and not cause the meeting planner any unnecessary
anxiety. They need to finish their presentations on
schedule.
Always do your homework by thoroughly checking a sports
star’s past performance before booking him/her.
To alleviate any doubts, get their most recent references
and call several of them. Most meeting planners will
be happy to answer questions about a celebrity they've
used.
At Eagles Talent Connection, we know that your meetings
cost too much and your audience is too important for
you to play “super star roulette.” There
are far too many sports celebrities who are not only
reliable but are also a delight to work with. We don't
need to put up with any unnecessary risk.
Let us help:
For a specific sports personality or to simply get some
guidance and suggestions, please call us at 1-800-345-5607
or e-mail to 
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Eagles Talent Connection, Inc.
57 West South Orange Ave.
South Orange, NJ 07079 USA
Attn: Presenter Submission
PHONE: 973-313-9800
FAX: 973-313-0040
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© 1998 - 2008 Eagles Talent Connection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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