If you’re a huge sports fan, you probably wish you were a professional athlete. However, if that’s not possible, the next best thing is a sports agent. This job allows you to negotiate deals, look after athletes, and handle their business interests. Here are the nine of the most important characteristics for sports agents.
Business Acumen
Not only do sports agents need to be good negotiators, but they also have to be business people. Taking care of the athletes’ financials, managing deals, and selling merchandising are all necessary parts of this job. You should be prepared for anything and know how to handle yourself in any business situation.
Professionalism
Sports agents need to be able to interact with athletes as well as other professionals. They have a lot of responsibilities, including making sure their clients get treated fairly by trade organisations or leagues.
Social Intelligence
For the most part, sports agents will be dealing with athletes. This means you’ll need to have good social skills in order to work well with people and gain their trust. When you’re mixing amongst powerful and wealthy young people, you need to know how to keep up.
Negotiation Skills
Negotiating is a huge part of this job. Sports agents go head-to-head with other professionals who are trying to get the best deal for themselves, so you’ll need the skills to come out on top. This means being able to understand both sides and adapt to different situations as they occur.
Luck
To succeed as a sports agent, you need a certain amount of luck. Not the kind of luck you need to win at real money online slots USA, but the kind of luck that helps you find the right talent at the right time. Without that, you could have a career full of failures.
Good Public Image
The public perception of certain sports agents can be a little negative. You need to remember that your image is very important and needs to be 100% professional. People want to believe you’re doing the right thing, turning down unfair deals, for example.
Understanding of Contracts
Sports agents need to know what they’re doing when it comes to contracts. This means you should take courses in contract law or at least understand the basics. You don’t want to be negotiating something and make a mistake that loses your client lots of cash without knowing how much money is on the line.
Leadership
A sports agent is one of those jobs where you’re not just an individual contributor. Instead, you act as a leader for your staff and athletes. This means being someone everyone can look to for guidance and support when needed. While this might not seem like a major requirement, it shows that you know how to manage people.
Passion for Sports
Last but not least, you should be passionate about sports. If you don’t like watching or playing them, this isn’t the right job for you. You need to have a certain excitement and love for all things related to the business of sports in order to succeed as a sports agent.
