Webinar Recap: Become a Better Broker

The Fall 2013 Ticket Summit® Plus webinar series concluded yesterday with Become a Better Broker. In this webinar, two premier brokers—Lon Belvin of TIX CITY and Andy Wallenstein of Best In The House Tickets—discussed best practices for running a ticket brokerage in the secondary market.

The two brokers covered a variety of topics, including daily logistics, last-minute orders, pricing, customer relations, and marketing. Each broker discussed how these issues impact his business, depending on its size. Belvin runs a large brokerage, with about 15 employees, while Wallenstein’s is smaller with only one employee besides himself.

Belvin’s buying and pricing philosophy is simple—he wants to be the first in to an event and the first out. “The only way we have inventory late is if we really believe in the event,” he said. Customer service is also very important to his business. As he says, “the way you say ‘there’s nothing we can do’ makes all the difference. Say it nicely and they’ll come back.”

Wallenstein agrees about the importance of customer service. “It’s really not that hard to do customer service well,” he adds. His pricing philosophy is a little different though, he looks at the price on the TicketNetwork® Exchange and prices based on that. He also defines his competition slightly differently: “Someone buying three tickets isn’t actually competing with pairs or four-packs…they’re different customers.”  He also advises brokers to diversify their inventory, unless they have a great knowledge of a specific area.

Ticket Summit® Plus will continue in February 2014. More details about the spring webinars and registration will be available on the Ticket Summit® website soon.

Webinar Recap—Publicity: Boost Your Profile!

This Wednesday, publicist and media strategist Carrol Van Stone shared some tips and tricks for using media coverage to boost your company’s profile in her Ticket Summit® Plus webinar! Van Stone works to position small business brands for media coverage to have a dramatic influence on awareness and growth. Her work with a ticketing industry company has led to profiles in Forbes and regular appearances on Fox News Live, Yahoo Post Game, and ESPN Radio.

In the webinar, Van Stone said it is important to know how you WON’T get publicity. She has a few hard and fast rules: never call the media to say how great you are, never read the company brochure to a reporter, and never ask why they have quoted your competitor and not you. Remember that reporters and editors work for their company, not yours. Your mention or quote will be the result of your assistance to them, not theirs to you.

You can keep a PR representative on retainer, Van Stone suggested, or you can have a pay per placement arrangement. However, you should never expect any media coverage guarantees. Van Stone offered the old adage: “Advertising is what you pay for, media coverage is what you pray for.” Instead, Van Stone recommends gauging the media efforts of the PR rep you are working with.

Van Stone also discussed unusual or underused methods of boosting your company profile, such as paid editorial or op-ed pieces. Paid editorial will guarantee your coverage, but might be obvious to viewers/readers that you have paid for the opportunity. Op-Ed pieces and letters to the editor can provide extra coverage, but must cover timely and relevant topics.

Be sure to follow Van Stone on Twitter at @VanStonePublic for more tips! The Fall 2013 Ticket Summit® Plus webinar series continues on Wed., October 23 at 1 PM ET with How to Prevent Online Fraud. Register now for FREE!

Stay Connected Year-Round with Ticket Summit® Plus!

Ticket Summit® may be over, but you can stay connected year-round with Ticket Summit® Plus. Ticket Summit® Plus is a series of educational webinars hosted by industry experts. These  experts will provide you with an inside look into the ticketing and live entertainment industry. They will also discuss development strategies to help you grow your business. The Fall 2013 webinar series features these webinars:

·         Social Media Marketing Demystified: Tuesday, August 20 at 1 PM ET—Ron Cates of Constant will pull back the veil on social media marketing, and provide practical tips and tricks for promoting your business across a variety of platforms.

·         Publicity: Boost Your Profile!: Wednesday, September 18 at 1 PM ET—Join publicist and media strategist Carrol Van Stone for this informative session on using publicity and media coverage to boost your company’s profile.

·         Inside Sports: In October 2013, Tickets.com’s Doug Lyons will provide an insider’s look at sports team and venue management and how markets have evolved.

·         How to Prevent Online Fraud: In November 2013, Cresta Pillsbury of Trust Guard will discuss tactics for decreasing fraud and ensuring customer confidence.

Register now for Ticket Summit® Plus for just $99 per webinar, and stay up-to-date on the ticketing and live entertainment industry all year long!