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The Telios Group
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Selling and Re-Selling Tournament Tickets

March 8th 2006

A few people have asked this week about tournament ticket sales and I thought I’d share some strategies and best practices from tournaments for you to consider.  Here’s the question:
 

What are some successful strategies to implement when a “host” school loses in the early or first rounds of a multi-day tournament or championship and you have pre-sold all-session tickets?
 

Some of the issues and challenges schools, conferences and tournament organizers face are the tickets returned by schools and now re-selling tickets you already had sold in all-session package.  And in many cases, this is on top of selling tickets you’ve yet to sell!
 

First, I know it will come as no surprise to hear a great deal of pre-planning will need to be invested in each of these areas well in advance of the tournament in order to decide what strategies are best for your school, conference, tournament and market.
 

This way, if a host team is ousted from the tournament – or a favorite local team with a large following, you can turn to your game plan and begin successful implementation.
 

My first experience – or should I say “opportunity” – to be involved in this situation was in 1990 when the University of Tennessee hosted the NCAA Women’s Final Four and the defending National Champion Lady Vols were eliminated and not one of the four teams we hosted in the 24,535-seat Thompson-Boling Arena.
 

Okay, let the fun begin!
 

Although going into the tournament and leading up to the Final Four, Tennessee being eliminated wasn’t top of mind, it was clearly top of mind when the Lady Vols were upset in the Regional.  This brought a whole new meaning to the saying “expect the unexpected.”  Bottom line, this is where the pre-planning and pre-sales can assist you immensely.
 

First, let’s discuss ticket refunds.  A ticket refund/exchange policy should be established and clearly communicated on tickets, your web site and ticket sales material.  Not only do you want to have your policy posted on your web site ticket page, but also easy-to-follow steps for ticket refunds and exchanges.  Also, ensure the ticket office and tournament staff members who interact with your customers are well informed of your policies and procedures.
 

You will want to develop a waitlist strategy in case the tournament sells out early, and to also prepare for team ticket returns during the tournament.  Post a waitlist form on your web site with clear instructions for processing.  You can check out the ticket information page for the 2006 NCAA Men’s First and Second Rounds hosted at the Greensboro Coliseum here.
 

Now what about filling the seats?
 

Here are some strategies you can consider putting in place well in advance of your tournament so you can re-sell teams returned tickets, as well as fill those seats that may have been empty prior to eliminated teams returning tickets:
 

Corporate e-list/waitlist: This is a good strategy for last minute ticket offers, which could be weeks or days leading up to – or even during – your tournament.  Assemble your corporate e-list well in advance of the tournament and include corporate partners, large companies, and organizations.
 

Whether you have limited seating available and want to reach a sell-out, or have flexible seating options in the lower and upper areas of your facility, pro sports, special event centers and select colleges have assembled extensive e-lists and experienced successful sales of both full and reduced ticket offers.
 

With corporate partners and companies, be sure to communicate with leadership and have each of them communicate to their employees, clients, friends and families in advance of the tournament so in the event tickets do become available – or special last minute offers are extended on unsold seats – everyone’s prepared to act on the offer.
 

You will want to have e-mail communication of these offers prepared and on standby in the event you will need or want to send the e-mail ticket offers.  This will make it very easy and effective to execute.  Additionally, have media releases prepared in advance and ready to send immediately when needed.
 

This same strategy transfers over well to the arena or special events center e-list; alumni chapters in the area e-lists; pro and college teams e-lists; and facilities and schools who have hosted, or will be hosting tournaments, may have established ticket buyer e-lists you’ll want to provide an e-mail offer.
 

Why not reach out to current package buyers and single-session buyers who you’ve captured email addresses?  Each have told family and friends how they’re going to the tournament, and family and friends who wish they would have also purchased tickets, and now they have an opportunity to purchase those tickets.  It may also trigger some spontaneous ticket purchases.
 

This can be easily accomplished by putting a one-liner on your email – “Email to a Friend” with a graphic/icon of an envelope, and those you email to can forward your e-mail to co-workers, friends and family.
 

There’s a number of other strategies to consider, and I’ll likely share these in future posts, but the above information and best practices used by tournament organizers should give you a good start and foundation.
 

Your turn to take a swing…
 

What are some ticket sales strategies your school or conference has implemented with tournaments?
 

All the best,
 

Ron Goch
The Telios Group

Comment (1) | Permalink


One Response to “Selling and Re-Selling Tournament Tickets”

  1. Kyle Yeager says:
    March 8th, 2006 at 3:22 pm

    Generally, our OVC tournament our fans do not buy books for the tournament. Almost in every case they generally purchase the session that they know their team is present. One ticket sales strategie that we put in place in November for our tournament was an “Early Bird Special” we offered discounted tickets to our tournament and had the schools who are present email it out through their distribution lists. We had a very positive response to this promotion. Our conference does not know who is coming to our tournament until two days out from our event. The gamble lies within the person as to purchase discounted tickets in advance, not knowing if their team is there or not. We set the deadline two weeks out from our tournament, so no one really knows at that point who will be coming to Nashville. The promotion worked because we were able to establish ticket sales from individual schools, who took the gamble and lost before they came to Nashville. We had success with this promotion and we will continue it in the future!

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