Blake Chapman Essays (801 words) - Economy, Sports Agent, Business

Blake Chapman Period 1 Mrs. Mennuti English 11 CP The Player's Babysitter Imagine getting paid for working with professional athletes and for going to football games, basketball games, or whatever sport your athlete participates in. Well that job does exist, it's called a sports agent. They are considered to be the "babysitter" of the athlete. Agents are important to athletes because they are responsible for ensuring their client is successful by negotiating their contracts, being accessible, being ready to help, and directing marketing and advertising activities. Not all athletes know it at first but a good agent is the key to a successful future. First, it is important to know how to break into the business or how to become a sports agent. Networking and word of mouth can go a long way and unearth potential job opportunities (Learn). Although there is no specific educational path to becoming an agent, you could begin by earning a bachelor's degree in business, sports management, marketing, or sorts/tax law (Learn). College is where young people receive the knowledge and skills required to be an agent. Having the skills makes you more applicable for qualification and success in the industry. People who work in this occupation generally prize achievement, but also value independence and working conditions in their jobs (CaCareer). It is essential that the key skills are obtained: critical thinking, customer service, organization, and marketing (Learn). Nobody in the agency industry will take employees seriously without a degree. Along with a degree it is important to maintain a good image, for there is heavy competition among agents. After obtaining a bachelor's degree or being employed to the job, agents must become comfortable negotiating contracts, specifically with professional team managers. The key to negotiating is managing relationships, so that conversations stay open and spark more conversations (Fletcher). In order to make the right decisions when negotiating contracts agents must make ongoing recommendations based on their formal knowledge, client preferences, market trends, and their gut instincts (Lo). A successful negotiation will end with a result that is better than your best alternative (Fletcher). These negotiations come with a big responsibility for the client's financial and lively well-being. Agents earn a percentage of their clients finances, if you make a poor negotiation, agents and their client will lose money. During the negotiating period many agents realize the job is not for them because of the long work hours and the effect that it has on family time. Another hard aspect of being an agent is the demanding amount of travel. The job demands agents to fly to major cities frequently to negotiate contracts with clients or teams to do endorsement deals or sign contracts. Also agents are expected to attend any of the clients important events. This can be somewhat stressful because agents don't get to spend time with their families. Although some may find this as a con others see it as a good thing because you never know where or what you'll be doing the next day. "There is no such thing as a typical day in my life; everyday is different. I travel about 50% of the time and when I'm in the office everyday it's different" (Steinberg). Agents must be ready at all times for travel or unexpected events. Teams offer their contracts for a limited time so they need to be acted on quickly. If not acted upon teams might retract contracts or lower the deal. Within this fast-paced career it is essential that agents find time to form a personal bond between themselves, the client, and the client's family. Agents who care about the athletes and their loved ones are the agents that represent the most clients and who get paid higher percentages of players' contracts. "You should care about your clients in their professional lives as well as their personal lives. I've seen too many agents not care about the sport and the kids that play it" (Kauffman). Steve understands what it takes to become successful in the business for a long period of time. Caring for the athlete is a large part to both the client's and the agent's success. The trust earned by the agent lets the client