Luke Schuellin
Luke Schuellin (B.A. 2011) Manager, Business Development
VIWA
What's your current position? How long have you been in this position? Can you give
me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?
My current role at Viwa is Manager, Business Development. I have been in this position
for just under two years now. Viwa is a ticket management solution company and deals
with the secondary market of the sports and entertainment industry. There are two
sides to our business: the consigned side and our wholly owned inventory. The consigned
side consists of brokers, smaller teams, and venues who send us their inventory to
sell and use our software to push their tickets out to hundreds of different ticket
exchanges. This increases visibility, which leads to more sales. The wholly owned
side consists of us going out to the different teams, venues, and events and purchasing
the tickets ourselves and then using our software to sell them for a profit (ideally).
My role is unique in that I have management duties, sales duties, and acquisition duties (think of it as three main buckets). I manage the Business Development department and I am responsible for the recruiting, hiring, and training of each Business Development Representative. In addition, I have sales goals in which I am responsible for bringing on board so many clients (consigned side of the business). Essentially, we are a SaaS platform. I reach out to different ticket brokers, minor league teams, and venues with the intention of signing them up to use our software. Once they are on our system, we take a small percentage out of the total proceeds. Some of my clients have sales in excess of one million dollars, others are smaller and only do a couple hundred dollars in sales over the course of a year.
The other main facet includes acquiring new inventory for our wholly owned side. This
involves networking and developing relationships with the various professional sports
and collegiate teams, and venues in order to acquire season tickets, groups, and mini
plans for us to resell. The whole goal is to sell the tickets for a profit. Some teams
I've purchased in excess of 200 season tickets for a football season. The investments
I make range anywhere from a million dollars to as small as five hundred dollars.
It all depends on the analysis that is completed and the projections of the investment.
This requires running different numbers, using past data, demographics, buying patterns,
price points, etc. to make an informed decision. Investments are not made just because
we have a favorite team. Being impartial and focusing on the data is key. I like to
describe this part of my job to people like it is the stock market. We analyze a 鈥渟tock鈥�
(team/event) and determine whether or not we see it being profitable in the future
and invest in that 鈥渟tock鈥� accordingly.
What would you say most motivates you to do what you do? What are you most excited
or passionate about? What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work?
Not so much the goals that are in your job description, but the goals you hold personally?
There are a couple of main things that motivate me in my job. First off, my intrinsic
motivation keeps me going day in and day out. I expect myself to be the best, and
lead my department to success. Failure to do so is unacceptable. In addition, I would
be lying if I said money does not help motivate me. While money is not my main focus,
it does help fund my other passions, which includes traveling and photography. My
job includes a base salary, a commission component, and bonuses based on how well
my team performs, how many clients I bring on board, and the volume of sales those
clients do. I would advise all students that money should not be your main motivation
though. At the end of the day, it's important to have a life outside of work and be
able to enjoy your time outside of the office. Too many times I've seen people get
burnt out chasing dollars and missing out on the things around them. I've never seen
anyone become truly satisfied with the amount of commissions they make and they are
in an endless cycle of wanting more.
I love exceeding expectations and going above and beyond what is expected. I like
the challenge and I enjoy being pushed to become better. In addition, I thoroughly
enjoy teaching and developing my reps to become better and go on to lead successful
careers within the sports industry. While seeing them succeed in the industry is satisfying,
I also strive to develop people of good character and proud when I see them make an
impact in their communities and families. Helping others succeed is a great passion
of mine.
Ultimately, I'd love to continue to move up and become the CEO. While that may not
happen anytime soon, it is an aspiration of mine to run a business.
What led you to this job? What were you doing before you came here?
I have worked in sports most of my career. I had a handful of internships in college
with the Wichita State Rowing team, Johnson County 3&2 Sports Complex, and the New
York Mets. With those internships, I saw how enjoyable it was to work in the sports
industry. My competitive nature led me to my first sales job in sports with the San
Diego Padres, before I returned back to Wichita to become the Director of Ticket Sales
for the Wichita Thunder. After a two year stop at the Thunder, I was looking to expand
my skills and took on the challenge of managing a larger team of sales rep (12) at
The Aspire Group at Arizona State University. Here I was able to tackle the college
landscape and learn how to sell multiple sports, while managing and developing a much
larger team. Unfortunately, the Aspire Group's contract was not renewed and the department
structure changed. Arizona State cleaned house when new management came in and the
sales staff was let go. Due to this sudden change, I had a year stop at Vanguard,
where I worked with clients that had a million dollars or more in investments. Working
with high net worth clients was a great experience and helped further develop my skills
and allowed me to expand my network. Ultimately, I yearned to be back in the sports
industry and found the opportunity to achieve that and work with Viwa.
Did you have any key mentors or people who influenced you?
Having a mentor is essential. Ideally, it is someone who you can talk to, bounce ideas
off, and someone who is open to helping. I was fortunate enough to network and develop
connections with people at the New York Mets. My mentor was Chris Leuth, Premium Sales
Manager for the New York Mets. He was a top producer for the Mets and was highly regarded
within the organization. Even after I left, I stayed in touch via email or phone calls.
I referred to him when presented with career opportunities and he helped guide me
along the way.
I cannot stress the importance of networking. As Dr. Noble would say in his Intro
to Sports Management, 鈥淚t's not what you know, it's about who you know. And it's not
about who you know, it's about who knows you.鈥� Having a strong network goes a long
ways. This industry is a tightly knit community, and having people that you can turn
to is key. As I type this, I am reminded of certain individuals that I have not touched
base with recently and plan on reconnecting.
Were there specific experiences you gained while studying in the Sport Management
program that prepared you for the work you do today?
The most valuable experience that I obtained in the Sport Management program had to
be the internships that I completed while in school. These experiences helped me gain
insight into the real world, helped me identify what I liked and disliked, bolstered
my resume, and prepared me for what it took to succeed within the sports industry.
In addition, these internships helped me build my network, hone my sales crafts, and
learn from the best. While the program may only require one internship from students
in order to graduate, I would recommend doing several internships so you can gain
a wide array of knowledge and skills.
What advice or suggestions would you give to someone that wanted to pursue a degree
in Sport Management?
Working in sports looks sexy. Telling your friends you work for a professional team
is cool, but many people do not realize what it is really like. It's like watching
the highlights on Sportscenter of the baseball game last night. There are some intense
plays and the crowd goes nuts during those moments. However, what Sportscenter does
not show is the downtime during the game, the rain delays that might occur, or all
the pitching changes that are made. Hearing about people working in sports is like
those highlights. You hear about the remarkable things, but you do not realize everything
that goes into it. You do not hear how most jobs in sports are in entry level sales
at first. You do not hear about the constant rejection that you receive on the phone.
You do not hear about making 100 outbound calls a day. You do not hear about the countless
outside events or networking meetings you have to go to. You do not hear about the
twelve hour days that are put in. You do not hear about people being let go because
they do not hit their sales goals. You do not hear about the initial low pay.
That is not meant to scare anyone away. It is meant to paint a realistic picture.
Working in sports is extremely fun. I have taken clients on the field and watched
batting practice with them as Adrian Gonzalez dropped bombs over the Petco walls.
I have spoken to David Wright in the tunnels at Citi Field. I have had the opportunity
to turn down jobs from the New York Yankees. I have watched Arizona State upset Notre
Dame and 70,000+ fans go nuts. These are just some of the moments that I would never
want to trade in. These moments are why I enjoy working in sports, you just have to
realize it takes a lot of hard work, time, and effort to be successful and to enjoy
these moments.
The other piece of advice I would pass along is the number of jobs in sports. There
are a limited number of professional teams out there, and there are hundreds of other
students across the nation gunning for those same positions. If you are truly wanting
to work in sports, expect to begin working as an entry level sales representative.
While this is not what you may have dreamed of when you were little, it is a great
opportunity to learn this side of the business, master your sales skills, and move
up into an organization and potentially branch into another department.
How did your experience at Wichita State help you find your first position after graduation?
Wichita State's Sports Management program is well known. Having a degree from Wichita
certainly helps gain recognition. In addition, I would say doing well and having a
good GPA goes a long way. When there are hundreds of other resumes that you are competing
against, it is important to stand out. The average time a hiring manager takes to
look over a resume is ten seconds. Recently, I had a job posting and had 369 resumes
submitted. I spent less than three seconds on each resume weeding out the good from
the bad. That being said, maintaining a good GPA in class can certainly help. Be an
active participant in class and ask questions to those guest speakers that come in.
There are some great resources at Wichita State and the faculty is more than willing
to help 鈥� you just have to ask.
How difficult was it to transition from college life to your professional life? And
what advice would you give to students that are close to graduation?
For me, the transition from college life to professional life was not difficult. I
had worked 30 hours a week during school, took classes, and had internships all at
the same time. I was prepared for the long hours and what it took. The biggest change
for me was not seeing all the familiar faces and friends every day. While different,
I embraced it, made new friends, and enjoyed my time at each stop.
My biggest piece of advice is to grow your network and to gain valuable internship experience. There are many sales combines and networking opportunities that you can attend. While it may cost some money for a flight and registration, it can pay off big dividends. Be coachable and learn during these events. Sports Business Solutions has different opportunities across the nation, and it is a very valuable experience. I have been a coach at these events in the past, and can attest that many individuals that have attended, have landed sales roles within different sports organizations.
Make the most of your internship experiences and learn what you enjoy doing. Grow your skill set and build a good reference that you can leverage down the road!