By Teresa Dimiduk ('10)
This summer I had the opportunity to intern with IMG in the heart of the Golf Sales Division in Cleveland, Ohio. I was one of 22 interns participating in the eight-week summer internship program in the Cleveland office. We were spread out across many divisions of the company including finance, consulting, legal, accounting, golf course design, tennis, golf, sales, events, IT, and human resources.
As a graduate student on a tight budget, I quickly reached out to my network in the Cleveland area for housing accommodations during my eight-week stint in Cleveland. I was fortunate enough to park my air mattress in the living room of my former roommate/doubles tennis partner’s house, Victoria. From here I experienced the joys of commuting and working downtown for the first time. This provided me with insight into the lifestyle; i.e. location, driving distance, etc. that I would like to achieve for myself after graduation. Needless to say, I quickly learned the value of audio books!
The major project I worked on this summer was completing company research for player endorsements and PGA/LPGA title sponsorships for the IMG clients and tournaments in the golf division. Once I researched and assembled targeted lists of companies for each player and each event, I began the cold call process with my supervisor. This was a very eye-opening experience for me because I experienced corporate sales at the highest caliber in sports. I learned first hand just how challenging sales is in this economic climate. The key piece of advice I took away from these conversations was to touch as many companies and people as possible in order to increase your chances of making a sale. In addition, it was very insightful to participate in meetings with the division leaders because it allowed me to analyze their thinking process.
In addition to this major project, I was also given the creative opportunity to build player sales decks for the young golfers who were new to the IMG family. These decks were used to position the golfers to perspective companies for player endorsements. I enjoyed building the decks because I would first meet with the golfer’s agent, then conduct additional background research on the golfer, and create a detailed sales tool.
On top of the daily job responsibilities, IMG did a fantastic job of introducing the interns to the career paths of key influencers in the sports industry. We had lunch sessions with many senior executives both from the Cleveland office and other offices where we had the opportunity to hear their story as to how they first made their mark in the industry. Surprisingly, many of the current executives were former interns who made their way back into the company. It was extremely motivating to listen to these industry leaders.
Overall, I had an incredible internship experience at IMG. I was slightly intimidated to work in the golf sales division at first but it quickly turned into a new interest of mine. IMG confirmed my desire to work for a sports marketing agency and opened my eyes to not only sales, but also consulting. I now have a more focused career goal, which is to pursue a career in consulting because it provides a diverse mix of marketing, sales, events, and new business development.
