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Kris Boyd - Account Executive, Business Development at the Miami Dolphins
- Gen-Achievers
- Mar 5, 2021
- 11 min read
Updated: Jul 16, 2021
We previously interviewed Marius Kola - Membership Sales Account Executive at Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment to learn more about the skills needed to succeed in sports sales. After further consideration and the feedback we received, we knew it was only fitting to bring on another star in the making... Kris Boyd.
Kris began his journey into the sports world as a student at Gwynedd Mercy University. From there, he took on a sales role within the Philadelphia Flyers' organization before heading down to Miami to be a part of the Dolphins. An interesting fact about Kris... his article photos include shaking with Derrick Brooks, Hall of Fame Linebacker from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and getting prepared for the Super Bowl in 2020.
We would like to that Kris for his dedication in sharing his input on succeeding in sports sales but from a different perspective. If you are ever in the Miami area and are hoping to catch a game at Hard Rock Stadium, you can reach him at (305) 943-6738.
Give us what a typical day looks like in the shoes of Kristoffer Boyd.
I bet most others do something similar, but I sort of developed a system that I call my “quarantine routine.” I typically wake up around 7:00 am or 7:30 am, make some breakfast for myself, and either get in some reading or prospect for work. I try to start my day off on the right foot because I believe that the morning really sets the tone for how the rest of your day plays out.
From there, I start my actual workday around 8:30 am, which consists of calls (i.e., follow-up or cold calls), emails, and texts for most of the day until about 6:30 at night. Once I get off work, I usually go do some yoga or hit the gym depending on the day or how I am feeling. This is then followed up with dinner. I love ending my night with a bit more reading or face-timing some friends and family members to keep myself sane!
You sort of have that “Rudy” type of story with how you got into the sports industry. You attended a smaller institution on the outskirts of the Philadelphia region; not the usual big brand school that has all the 'bells & whistles’ with what they have to offer when it comes to internships, networking opportunities, and the perceptions hiring managers have about them. Could you shed light on your experience attending a smaller university, and the reality that it doesn’t matter about where you go but more so about what/who you know?
In my opinion, the last line of this question is the most important piece to succeeding in life: “…it doesn’t matter about where you go but more so about what/who you know.” Attending Gwynedd Mercy was a decision I made solely because I wanted to stay close to home and compete as a college athlete. I also did not want to get lost in the crowd and felt as though it would have been more difficult for me to learn sitting in a massive auditorium full of my peers.
Gwynedd Mercy was the perfect size for me and provided the opportunities to compete on the field and in the classroom. Sports and family have always been two of, if not, the most important pillars in my life. I come from a close Italian/Irish family and we are always together no matter the occasion. We have supported one another at any given chance, which made being close to home that much more important to me when I was deciding which university to attend. As far as the academic side of things, coming from a smaller school that most people (and by most, I mean nobody) outside of the mid-Atlantic region has ever heard of made things quite interesting. Anytime I would be in an interview, recruiters & hiring managers would always have a “tilted head” look and say things like, “Gwynedd Mercy University… I have never heard of this place. Where is it exactly?”
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my professors on a more personal level and building a stronger, more reliable relationship with them since the average class size was about fifteen students (sometimes even smaller). On the other hand, this did not provide for an opportunity to have effective networking events or job fairs with alumni and recruiters, which larger institutions offer regularly to their students. This brings me back to the last line of the question about “what/who you know”. Through family and friends, the connections I have created that span across different industries are ultimately what helped me land the interviews for the internships and jobs I have had thus far. From there, it was all on me to “wow” the interviewers. As one of my mentors used to say, “I will help you get your foot in the door but it’s up to you to keep it open.”
What is some of the best advice you’ve been given within your career in sales?
Some of the best advice I was given in my sales career is to try to be as level as possible. In life, much like sales, there are peaks and valleys. It is important to keep that in perspective and to not let the “lows get too low or the highs get too high”. I was also taught this three-word statement… “network, network, network”. You never know who you are going to be having a conversation with and/or what that conversation could lead to. One of the biggest sales of my career stemmed from me waiting in line behind someone at a local Wawa (a popular convenient store up-and-down the east coast) and him asking me a silly question about the sandwiches.
Let’s say I’m either person in this situation: 1.) A recent college graduate hoping to land a career in the sports industry, or 2.) A seasoned sales professional who wants to work in sports sales rather than in the industry they are currently employed in. What are your suggestions for these two individuals regarding being prepared to take that leap into a career like this?
I would give them both the same advice because quite honestly, working in sports sales is completely different from any other industry. I would tell them both that they are going to be challenged like they never have been before. A career in sports is not easy in due part to the product that you are selling, which can be good or bad, and you are responsible to sell it no matter the situation. Both individuals in this example are brand new to selling anything in sports which is why the advice would be similar; “be the first one in and the last one to leave, ask questions, get to know people in other departments, don’t be afraid to fail, and every no gets you closer to the next yes”.
Top three things someone should have on their resume to stand out from the crowd…
A diversified list of experiences in different industries. Gain as much experience as you can, in my opinion, because it will ultimately support your decision to narrow down what you are good at and what you do not want to do forever.
Dollar amounts or values of previous sales since numbers talk. If you can reel in the big fish, you’’ likely be able to do it again.
I also think that is important to list your accomplishments. This will give you a greater opportunity in the interview process to talk about a time in your life that you were successful and achieved something that persuades the hiring managers’ decision process.
Would you prefer a team member’s sales performance to be in the middle of the pack, but they get along with a lot of their coworkers, or a member’s sales performance to always be at top of the pack but they don’t get along with rest of the team?
That is a super tough question since I am not a manager in my current role. I think that there should be some comradery within a team, but just like everything else in life, some people are better at certain things than others. I think it is important to keep in perspective that people go to work and make money, not just friends. Now with that in mind, it is essential to have a healthy relationship with your coworkers. Personally, I do value having friends in the workplace, but at the end of the day, you are competing with them day-in and day-out to make sure you stay on the team and at the top of the leaderboard.
What’s your schedule like during the off-season? What about the peak of the football season? What are some of the ways you keep yourself occupied aside from the busy work schedule you have?
During the off-season, our schedule is still 8:30 am – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday. We sometimes host events throughout the off-season where we do have to work because we can use the stadium and downtime to our advantage. During the peak of the football season, our hours are the same Monday through Friday schedule, but people tend to come in earlier and stay later. We do work Sundays if we have a home game, and those are typically 8–12 hour days as well. Some things I do to keep myself occupied down here are playing golf, yoga, working out, hanging out with friends, and hitting the beach. I grew up going to Sea Isle City, New Jersey, so the beach has always been my go-to place.
How has your organization adapted to everything happening right now? Do you believe sales professionals need to have a “creative thinking cap” when it comes to developing new ideas from the business to initiate or should they just let management take care of that and go through their daily routines?
The Dolphins have made a tremendous number of adjustments throughout this past year. As an organization, we have accomplished a lot and set the industry standard for safely hosting in-person sporting events. Last March, they made the decision to have everyone work remotely, and to this day, we have been fully remote. During the football season, it was unique because we were still able to safely host a 20% capacity (13,000) fan limit at each of our home games while most teams in the NFL competed without fans whatsoever.
We renovated our stadium and put certain measures in place to ensure the safety of the fans that wanted to enjoy the games in person. I personally think that salespeople and managers alike should both be wearing their “creative thinking cap” right now for a couple of reasons. Salespeople are responsible for doing the “dirty work” and managers are supposed to provide them with the necessary resources and guidance to succeed. Therefore, it is important for both parties to be thinking creatively.
As always, we like to ask this question to see how others in our generations perceive our position in society. For some, they believe there is a shadow over millennials and younger generations in that we are "lazy" or "dependent" on others, and we are not striving to become tomorrow's leaders. What can you say to steer this perception into a positive picture for us all?
I think that the narratives which society paints for our generation are entirely incorrect. I can speak from experience because I was raised by a generation that was taught that the only way to get what you want is through hard work and perseverance. My grandparents, mother, father, and other family members have always instilled in me that if you want something in life, you must work for it.
Throughout my college career, I was able to remain as a full-time student-athlete while having a side job. That meant I was practicing for 2 hours every day, attending class for 4-7 hours (not including studying or completing assignments), and finishing the night off working at a restaurant for 4-6 hours or all day on the weekends. I started working as a camp counselor at the age of 14, and from there, worked in a restaurant where I washed dishes and mopped floors. I think that our generation is the generation that is built and founded on hard work, but with the mentality that we can work smarter rather than harder at times.
You went from working for the Philadelphia Flyers to the Miami Dolphins – two totally different genres of fans, products, brands, and much more. Do you believe that you need to have a true passion, not just as a sports fan in general, in order to go from one sports team to the next and still exceed your expectations?
Working for the Philadelphia Flyers was an absolute dream come true for me because I was born and raised a “4 for 4 fan”. For those of you reading this who might not know what that means, it is when you are a fan of all four major sports teams in your area (if you have all four in your city). For me, it was always the Philadelphia Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Phillies.
The fan bases from Philadelphia to Miami are extremely different, for sure! There is so much to do in Miami aside from attending sports events, so sports, in general, can sometimes get put on the back burner. I absolutely believe that you must be passionate about sports to exceed in any sports role. The one common denominator of people that I have met throughout my career in this field is that we all love sports and everything that comes with them.
This question is not relative to the others we’ve asked so far, but it’s something quite interesting that’s happening in your city! Miami is the first city in the U.S. that is developing a way for employees and people doing everyday purchases to receive and use bitcoin as a means of business. What is your perception of cryptocurrencies, do you have any crypto yourself, and are you hopping on the cryptocurrency buzz?
Great question! I recently started diving further into the cryptocurrency world because a very good friend of mine, Eric Podwojski, started his own Crypto Education company called Hoodie Crypto. I think that a lot of major cities around the country will soon be following Miami’s lead in developing strategies and ways for Bitcoin to be utilized as a means of business. I believe that Bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies will be much more popular in the next 2 – 4 years. Personally, I am invested in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Budgeting is a significant action to take when building wealth as well as being able to remove certain stressors in one's life. In a city such as Miami, being one of the most expensive cities to live in the U.S., what have you done to remain afloat?
What I have done to remain afloat is just that; remain afloat! I am still trying to work out my “checks and balances” to where I can have fun on the weekends, but also build my savings account to generate greater opportunities financially. It is extremely easy to get distracted down here because there is so much going on, and you can do just about anything you want. Personally, I have attempted to remain disciplined with the idea of making sure my bills are always paid on time, that I can buy enough groceries for the week, and that I can enjoy any downtime that comes around.
Are there any other tips or suggestions you have for others out there? What’s the next goal for you to accomplish?
One suggestion I would give to anyone reading this would be to step outside of your comfort zone and DO NOT be afraid of change. Moving to Florida by myself and not having friends or family within a 1,200-mile radius was terrifying. Fortunately, after two years of being down here on my own, I can say with confidence that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I have learned so much about life and have an incredible number of memorable experiences & relationships that it has certainly made my decision worthwhile. My goals right now are simple; make as much money as possible in the year 2021 and continue to learn at a consistent level every day. I am also trying to fall in love with the process of bettering myself, expanding my knowledge through reading, and being more disciplined in certain areas of my life.
I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read my article, and I want to especially thank Carl and the rest of the team at Gen-Achievers for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to tell my story!
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