BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Brunswick => Topic started by: MuncieBowler on April 28, 2010, 12:00:22 PM
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I just cashed in my first PBA event and was wanting to know how to become a staffer these days? Or where should I go to send in a resume? Any help would be appreciated.
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USBC Nationals April 20th and 21st.
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Do you work in a pro shop?? Have you had multiple 300''s and 800''s?? If not, don''t waste your time..
Cashing in 1 PBA event means nothing as far as being a staffer.. They are looking for you to be in a position to help sell the Brunswick product..
Congrats on the cash though..
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My first child.. Hannah Allison Kiser born 4/30/2007... My little angel..
Roto Grip.. King of Them All!!
Storm ain''t so bad either!! LOL
I also like AMF/900 Global..
Edited on 4/28/2010 9:01 PM
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You don't have to own the pro shop, if your an employee at one thats sells their product and they don't have any other staffers in the area you can probably get on their staff that way.
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" men lie, women lie, numbers don't "
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How about I run a bowling center and had 6 800's this year and 9 300's. Instead of knocking my one cash I would like to know how to get ahold of someone to just ask.
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Really these days unless your going on tour full time and have a legit chance to chash in each one. OR you run a pro shop you have no chance. My buddy has 45 800s and like 60 300s and stills gets turned down becuase he doesnt work at a pro shop.
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REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE)
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Being that I have been on all sides of this coin, I will tell everyone that how I determined who I signed to a contract was how much influence that person would have on ball sales.
If a person came to me and said, "I drilled a (insert ball name here), and I know that because of me throwing that ball, I sold 10 of them this season. Can I get a contract?" I would politely thank them and explain that I appreciate their efforts, but I needed someone who had more overall influence.
Most of you mentioned you need to be an owner or employee of a pro shop. While that is, most the time, the most influential person's as far as ball sales. It is not "cut & dry" the only way to get "on staff" with a ball company. While the majority of people I signed were pro shop operator's, I did have some folks that were good/great players in their area, who could talk up the equipment and take one of the balls we would send them, and turn that into 50 ball sales fairly quickly.
What it comes down to is how much you can affect ball sales.
Some people, who were persistant in request's, I would try and turn them down politely. But eventually, when the same person, who would have VERY LITTLE influence on ball sales, would get to be a pain, I would tell them that when we sent them a ball, we were basically giving them $100. We expected them to take that $100 and turn it into $10,000 in ball sales. With the average price of a High performance ball around $200, that would equate to 50 ball sales in the pro shop(s).
So while being a good/great player in your area (big fish/small pond), how you influence ball sales is more important than your accomplishments.
Verbs
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Larry Verble
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quote:
Being that I have been on all sides of this coin, I will tell everyone that how I determined who I signed to a contract was how much influence that person would have on ball sales.
If a person came to me and said, "I drilled a (insert ball name here), and I know that because of me throwing that ball, I sold 10 of them this season. Can I get a contract?" I would politely thank them and explain that I appreciate their efforts, but I needed someone who had more overall influence.
Most of you mentioned you need to be an owner or employee of a pro shop. While that is, most the time, the most influential person's as far as ball sales. It is not "cut & dry" the only way to get "on staff" with a ball company. While the majority of people I signed were pro shop operator's, I did have some folks that were good/great players in their area, who could talk up the equipment and take one of the balls we would send them, and turn that into 50 ball sales fairly quickly.
What it comes down to is how much you can affect ball sales.
Some people, who were persistant in request's, I would try and turn them down politely. But eventually, when the same person, who would have VERY LITTLE influence on ball sales, would get to be a pain, I would tell them that when we sent them a ball, we were basically giving them $100. We expected them to take that $100 and turn it into $10,000 in ball sales. With the average price of a High performance ball around $200, that would equate to 50 ball sales in the pro shop(s).
So while being a good/great player in your area (big fish/small pond), how you influence ball sales is more important than your accomplishments.
Verbs
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Larry Verble
Good post Verbs...your credibility on the issue is refreshing.
How can someone in my position as a shop operator get more info or contact the appropriate people within a company?
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ALL STAR BOWLING & TROPHY
LANGAN'S ALL STAR LANES
WALLED LAKE MI
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or be Tom Smallwood....
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Formerly BrunsRico
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I bowl with a guy I have know for many years. He has 5 regional and 1 national Pba wins and he has tried to become a Staffer. With no success he said it is because he is just a local guy and can not help in selling the product and he does not work in the Bowling industry.
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I think you need to move to Japan. Brunswick's Bowling division does not appear to be very interested in the US market.
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There are 2 guys locally here that have been on staff with multiple companies over the years and neither of them own a shop, work in a shop or have any PBA titles of any kind. How do you explain that?
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Not just any athlete can handle a bowling ball!!
800-10 : 300-6 : 299-3 : 298-3 : 11 In A Row-4
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quote:
There are 2 guys locally here that have been on staff with multiple companies over the years and neither of them own a shop, work in a shop or have any PBA titles of any kind. How do you explain that?
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Not just any athlete can handle a bowling ball!!
800-10 : 300-6 : 299-3 : 298-3 : 11 In A Row-4
When those 2 you know of started they must have been in the right place at the right time and had lots of people talking about them. . . now, with their previous experience as staffers it could have been a big plus when applying for a position. Who knows? Just my guess. If you do get a position be thankful and give it your all.
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I've often wondered how bowling ball companies signed prospective staff members and then later evaluated their job performance. Without naming any companies or persons I know of a ball company that has a regional staff member who does not sell that much equipment nor does he bowl many regionals at all. Yet, he's still on their staff. This same company used to have a regional staff member who sold even less product and quit bowling regionals and was still on their staff for over a year. This made no sense to me. When i was bowling regionals i would literally beg for equipment and was politely turned down every time.
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Like me and a friend were talking about earlier this season. I really think you need to have some high points on your resume and can move some product, but I really think it's like a lot of things. It's who you know. I have a local guy who owns a shop at a center and he was on Track's staff. He literally only sold Track to himself and one friend of his. He told me he sold 5 pieces of Track all year. He has 1 just 1 award score his whole life. But the thing is, is that he knew someone who worked for them and now is a staffer. So I think it's who you know now how you bowl.
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USBC Nationals April 20th and 21st.
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quote:
Like me and a friend were talking about earlier this season. I really think you need to have some high points on your resume and can move some product, but I really think it's like a lot of things. It's who you know. I have a local guy who owns a shop at a center and he was on Track's staff. He literally only sold Track to himself and one friend of his. He told me he sold 5 pieces of Track all year. He has 1 just 1 award score his whole life. But the thing is, is that he knew someone who worked for them and now is a staffer. So I think it's who you know now how you bowl.
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USBC Nationals April 20th and 21st.
Read what you wrote dude
I have a local guy who owns a shop at a center and he was on Track's staff.
What has every one pretty much said you need to do RUN A PRO SHOP
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REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE)
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Unfortunately that is a huge part of it. In my area there area several men and women who are on an Ebonite International staff who are not the most deserving of people and in my opinion are not good representatives for the sport. But they are friends with sales rep so they get the contract.
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I'm suprised the manufacturers haven't gone after coaches of larger youth leagues. You have a bunch of kids, who basically look up to you and want to be you when it comes to bowling, and they have parents with expendable income who will purchase whatever ball the kid wants which is usually whatever the coach they look up to is throwing.
I personally see it as a huge missed opportunity. Professional golf coaches do the same, why should bowling be different.
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I'm suprised the manufacturers haven't gone after coaches of larger youth leagues. You have a bunch of kids, who basically look up to you and want to be you when it comes to bowling, and they have parents with expendable income who will purchase whatever ball the kid wants which is usually whatever the coach they look up to is throwing.
I personally see it as a huge missed opportunity. Professional golf coaches do the same, why should bowling be different.
because golf makes millions of dollars bowling......... not so much
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REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE)
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quote:
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I'm suprised the manufacturers haven't gone after coaches of larger youth leagues. You have a bunch of kids, who basically look up to you and want to be you when it comes to bowling, and they have parents with expendable income who will purchase whatever ball the kid wants which is usually whatever the coach they look up to is throwing.
I personally see it as a huge missed opportunity. Professional golf coaches do the same, why should bowling be different.
because golf makes millions of dollars bowling......... not so much
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REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE)
Not really, I would venture more bowling balls are purchased in a year than sets of golf clubs. Also think of the longevity of the equipment. In golf the only thing equipment wise that regularly needs replacement is wedges and balls, and with the move back to V-grooves changing wedges won't be as important any more. So it really depends on the golf ball used to figure out the expense.
As far as it goes for bowling most kids want at least a 3-4 ball arsenal to be competitive. Even being nice at 150 a ball that's 600 a year in bowling equipment. Every year 1, 2, 3, or all 4 need to be replaced. Nevermind if your league is filled with super competitive youth bowlers who start going into the 8-12 ball arsenal with regular changes in equipment.
I'm the advanced coach on a youth league in a 28 lane house that has 2 session of teenagers with 4 on a team. The amount of equipment I could move for a manufacturer compared to a pro shop operator would put them to shame.
Like I said, it's a wasted opportunity. If I was picked up by Storm/Roto or Ebonite/Columbia/Track/Hammer I could basically have 224 kids wanting to purchase their equipment first before looking at other manufacturers.
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They could call those staffers that are involved with youth leagues: Youth Development Advisors.
The only reason we aren't treated like golf is we refuse to treat ourselves, or expect others, to treat us the same way as the sport of golf does. The majority of those in golf come from similar backgrounds as those that bowl, but the difference is how our psyche as bowlers is compared to those that are the typical customer base of the golf industry. It's hard to convince someone to put money into something, when even the best in the world at bowling, almost feel shameful to say they bowl for a living when not in the presence of other bowlers.
I've been involved with the highest levels of competition in both golf and bowling, and bowling is much harder at the highest levels, but we'll save that for a different forum as I really don't wish to hi-jack this thread.
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Guys reread what Verbs wrote. There are many things that will go into if you can be a staffer or not. Owning a shop or working in a shop does not mean that you will be able to get on staff with a company. It MAY help but does not give the ticket to be on staff. Honor scores are a small part of it as well. However if I was a ball company I would look at the person as well. Would you rather have a guy someone who has a lot of 300s and 800s but is rude or would you rather have a someone who has fewer honor scores but people relate to? Bowling is no different then anything else when it comes to being a staffer. It's all about who can help move equipment, even if you don't work in a shop you can still get people looking at the equipment.
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Kyle