Written on June 3, 2009

Submit your favorite sports business issue and how you solved it and we'll put it up online. Send to buffy@teamworkonline.com, and give us rights to publish it online with your email address.

Mark Panko

How to renew a disgruntled season ticket holder to the point he bought the team

Turn the clock back twelve years to the Dallas Mavericks of the late '90s. It was the 1997-98 NBA season. The Mavericks were coming off a 24-58 season that included the first change in ownership in franchise history. There had been three Directors of Basketball Operations, 27 players and 18 different starters throughout the previous year. All of this in the wake of a decade-long slump (160-414) that included back-to-back seasons (1992-93 & 1993-94) that threatened the worst record ever recorded in a single NBA season - futility that was cause for Sports Illustrated to dub the organization as the "longest-running laugh riot in the NBA." (SI November 10, 1997)

One month into that 1997-98 season, Don Nelson added "Head Coach" to his title and responsibilities that already included the daunting task of turning around the basketball operations as GM. Billionaire owner and real estate developer Ross Perot, Jr. had his sights squarely focused on a new arena project that would become the anchor tenant to a large tract of undeveloped land in downtown Dallas called Victory Park. Incidentally, that new arena (now known as the American Airlines Center) would also become the focal point of our sales strategy - the promising future we effectively leveraged and sold.

The first order of business upon my arrival in Dallas was to get a sense for the sales climate. There is no better way to do that than through feedback you receive from customers - particularly, those that have chosen to no longer be your customers. With a season ticket holder base that once exceeded 14,000 and had dwindled to less than 5,000, there was plenty of feedback to be had.

Due to the limitations of our ticketing and accounting systems, we made calls from printed cancellation lists. We divided those lists of names and phone numbers among our sales team and took a common sense and yet seasoned-approach to finding out more about our existing and former ticket holders.

Those phone calls yielded many memorable experiences and stories. The entire experience became a case study in how to retain and regain season ticket holders. One phone call in particular stands above all others for both the simplicity of the problem and solution as well as the significance of the ticket holder himself. It is a prime example of why you never ignore cancellations and it is a testament to the potential leads and opportunities that are hiding within your various customer lists and database. All you have to do is reach out to those customers and listen.

When I first spoke with this person it was evident his passion for the Mavericks ran deep. Through our conversation I learned he had moved to Dallas in the early '80s and proudly identified himself with the Reunion Rowdies - a legend of fan support born when a Mavericks playoff game had to be moved across town to the 9,000 seat Moody Coliseum on SMU's campus. When that enthusiasm was carried back to Reunion Arena, the building became known for being one of the loudest in professional sports. This particular season ticket holder had witnessed first-hand the excitement of Mavericks basketball at its peak.

I learned that as the building fell silent throughout the 90's, this ticket holder not only maintained his passion for the Mavericks but had increased his support and financial commitment to the organization through season tickets. He had recently made a jump in location and was seated courtside - the second highest priced seats next to floor-seats at that time. The only problem - the two seats he held were separated by a row and several seats. If he takes someone to the game, he told me, he cannot even sit with them.

While this may not be very unusual when a team is in the midst of championship runs and inventory is scarce, the absurdity of trying to renew anyone under those circumstances, given the Mavericks situation, was beyond excuse or explanation. In spite of the fact that his frustration was clearly running at an all-time high, he expressed some optimism when discussing the direction of the team and the prospect of a new arena.

Through this initial conversation it became clear that the seats were his biggest issue and his cancellation was a statement of principle more than anything else. What had become an even bigger issue to him was the fact that nobody from the organization had taken the time to give him a call, let alone find a solution for his problem.

I was new to Dallas so when I first spoke with Mark (his name too) I had no idea who he was, what his background was, or who/what his company was all about. He was a cancelled season ticket holder on a list. Throughout the course of our conversation, I remember thinking, how hard could it possibly be to get this guy back?!? He was a dedicated fan, had a passion for the team, and seemed to have a positive attitude towards some of the changes that were taking place, etc.

After doing a lot of listening I simply recall asking Mark, "If I can get you two seats together in the same general vicinity will you renew?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Done!" I told him I would go to work on a location and give him a call with a solution.

I went to our Ticket Manager who more than happily freed up a pair of help-seats we had on hold for visiting teams and NBA personnel.

After calling Mark with the news, his assistant phoned me to see if I could swing by their office to pick up his check. I agreed and in the process witnessed history. That day just happened to be the Broadcast.com IPO - the then one-day record for IPOs. My new season ticket holder was Broadcast.com President, Mark Cuban.

Over the course of the next two seasons, my client relationship with Mark continued to grow. He weathered the NBA Lockout with us and became a major supporter of our Community Ticket Block Program whereby kids from the United Way and other charities received tickets to all of our home games. In addition, he became one of our first suite-holders in the new arena by committing to purchase a Bunker Suite - a deal we negotiated completely via email. At that time, his commitment not only validated the Bunker Suite concept but further justified their build-out and construction in the new arena.

In the fall of 1999 while I was giving Mark a tour of the American Airlines Center's Marketing & Sales Facility, the subject of Mavericks ownership came up. One discussion led to another and a few months later, I received a phone call from Mark's assistant alerting me that he had finalized an agreement with Ross Perot, Jr to purchase the Dallas Mavericks. An announcement of the deal would be made to our staff the following morning followed by a press conference. As they say, the rest is history.

In these tough economic times, sometimes sales is as simple as picking up the phone.