52 Weeks of Hustle with Ashley Hall

0:00The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up, March Manus is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real-time scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Zalo, the Bleacher Report app today, so you never miss a moment. Welcome to 52 Weeks of Hustle. I'm Travis App, one of the host of this podcast. I love the chair that I'm in and able to sit down with industry leaders as a way to give back to the listeners that want to get into this business and listeners that want to continue to be elite in this industry. Crazy to think we're in season 6 already, which means over 260 industry leaders have shared their journeys, expertise, and advice. We'll continue the same format where we'll discuss the professional career path, three key

1:00trends in the industry, three hustle hot seat questions, and three key takeaways all under 24 minutes. Now, under our guests this week, business executives in this industry don't often get to stay in the same area their entire career unless staying at the same team. However, our next guest has been able to stay in LA while working for the LA Clippers, LA Chargers, and now the LA Galaxy. I'm excited to have Ashley Hall, SPP of Sales and Service for the LA Galaxy. Ashley, welcome to the show. Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Ashley, very excited to talk about your career journey and, you know, you're going back, you grow up a sports fan, you receive a degree in business administration from the University of Laverne, then on to Pepperdine to receive your MBA, thinking back to that time, what did you want to do career wise? Well, you know, a lot of people don't realize, but I, my dad was a small business owner. Domino's pizza franchise is and when he was, I was 21, he passed away and I took over the business. So for five years, I was running six Domino's pizzas and it was amazing leadership training.

2:06Let me tell you, but at the time also, I was like, I don't know if this is it for me. Like if this is my career, you know, it didn't feel quite right. Yeah. So that's when I went back to school for my MBA and got into sports. Nice. So I guess thing back real quick, like, is there ever a chance you eat Domino's pizza at this point? I love Domino's pizza. You still do? Okay. You know, it's around it so long that it was like, Hey, I can't do it anymore. No, you would think, but it's honestly, it's like comfort food to me. Yeah. It grew up on it. You know, it's like, when I'm like sad, I'm like, I'm going to get Domino's. Yeah. Exactly. Well, you know, it's, it's certainly, you'll hit or miss in this business with executives and you almost got kind of your MBA working at Domino's, right, as at 21 years old and leadership experience. But you went on to get your MBA from Pepperdine and further in your education. What's your advice to listeners on, and it might not be, yes, you should go or not, but like just continue to further their education. I think if you want, if you love school, if you love learning, it doesn't hurt you.

3:10What specifically is very much where it values the experience over your education, you know, people aren't going to come straight out of MBA and get a further job, you know, like a higher title. It's just not going to work like that in sports league roles. As you know, do value those MBAs, but in team side, it's, it's up to you. If you love it, great. Get your education. You know, what I always said is like, everything is further in your education, right, reading, listening, like everything is about that. And, you know, for you, Ashley, your first sports opportunity comes with the LA Clippers where you started off in group ticket sales and, you know, thinking back to that time, what's something you know now that you wish you would have known back then? I spend a lot of time thinking about this particular question because I'm, it feels like point, you know, like this is serious. For me, the real lesson, I think that I'd learn and I stress is that consistency is going

4:12to be more important than perfection. And our jobs, especially in this role, again, as you know, and all your guests know, like it never stops what we have to do. And then as soon as one game falls off, another comes and as soon as, you know, one season ends, there's another. So being consistent, getting up, showing up every day within a great attitude, showing up and doing your work every single day is going to be more important than hitting those big, you know, like big numbers once and then kind of fading off and showing up sporadically. So I think that that's, that's my biggest. No, absolutely. You hit the nail in the head. And for you, with the Clippers, you end up spending 10 and a half years with the organization, moving into leadership from a group sales and then ultimately into the corporate partnership manager roles. Why did you decide to make the move from, from ticketing to partnerships? At that point, I'd done almost every ticket sales role and service. So I'd overseen all of it and analytics and I figured the best way to round out kind

5:16of that revenue experience is to learn more about corporate partnerships, which was really valuable, you know, to learn more the insides on how we price partnerships and the processes of selling and talking to people about them. I mean, it's very different in a lot of ways than ticket sales, but you know, it's still sales in many ways too. So yeah, for me, it's just to round out the experience, continue learning. Absolutely. And your continuous learning then moved you to another team from there, you transitioned to the LA Galaxy on the first time around spending two years in the premium sales and service space and we'll certainly get back to the Galaxy. And then you went on to spend just over a year with the LA Chargers as the senior director of premium and membership services. So now you're looking at three different sports, three different venues, three different times, all in the same city. What would you say is one similarity and then maybe one difference for selling and servicing all three of those? Yes. The similarities are much greater than the differences. I will say it's kind of funny, you know, like no matter what, no matter the revenue

6:19no matter whatever your team size is like about the same. And you're, you know, so it's like in some cases, NFL, the number of season tickets is, you know, much greater, but you still only have the same amount of reps to take care of them. So you have to manage differently if you think smarter about how, you know, how you prioritize managing season tickets. And so that, yeah, I mean, it's actually surprising how similar they are. Yeah. Yeah. Like, okay. And that's what I've always said is like no matter what, even in, you know, my training business, it's like, it doesn't matter if I'm training an MLS, an NFL, an MBA, a major league baseball, they're all very similar. Yeah. They really are. And they have to, you know, like if they need us, they need us for a reason. You know, it's like they need our, exactly. There's a reason they're hiring a salesperson. Yeah. Yeah. You know, after your time with the chargers, you then make the move back to the LA galaxy. This time you've been there almost five years, you know, since your second time back, you promoted to SVP sales and service and you've had a career with a lot of promotions

7:23and a lot of experience. What do you feel like you've done on continuous basis to continue to get elevated regardless of where you are? I like to tackle projects that I think are meeting attention. And a lot of times it's one of those words like, is that really my job? Like, I don't know, but I think it'll help us sell. So I'm going to try and go for it and figure out how to make our systems better or how to solve a problem that's a bottleneck or whatever it is. And I think over time, you know, we've talked about learning and continuing to grow. That's the benefit of that is that I accidentally took on other responsibilities that brought in my job description, right? And then it becomes easy to get a promotion when it's like, oh, well, you're also doing this other thing. So I think that's a big part of it. Years ago, my clippers legend, Carl Lair, my old boss, said to me that he said something

8:24I really love about you, Ashley, is whenever I ask about something, I know it's going to get taken care of. And to me, that was such a great compliment and something that ever since, and I've tried to make sure it's a point that people asked something of me that they can trust it's going to get done. They're not going to have to follow up. They're not going to have to hound me about it. And I will give updates and I will talk to them about it. So I think it's that kind of combination of that reliability and scope expansion. Yeah. No, absolutely. You've done a great job. And during your time, Ashley with the Galaxy, you and your team have had a ton of success. Whether it be in having the highest grossing gate in team history, attendance records with over 80,000 fans for an MLS match at the Rose Bowl Stadium, and many, many more, what do you feel like you and the team have done to have so much success? The most important way I think to hit those big moments and have the milestones is just an extreme focus.

9:24So having the priorities clear for the team, so we're not spread out trying to do too much. It's like, what are we really trying to do? Drive everyone in the same direction and, you know, get everyone on board together. Like make it fun, make it a big moment. And I do think that's how we've had success, you know, like over time, all these moments accumulate to, you know, more fans and they hopefully make your next games easier and everything else. But the moments are a big piece of what make our lead successful. I think one of the key things you said there is just making sure everybody's kind of rowing in the right direction in the same direction, right? It takes communication and collaboration and ultimately challenge each other to truly make it the most competitive organization. And, you know, I know that the easiest answer is no day is ever the same, but, you know, in your role, you're overseas sales and service, walk us through kind of a day in life for you. So days are typically, I would say probably 30 to 50% in a meeting.

10:29Which is, and that's a good way to get it's only 30 to 50% right? Right. Like, you know, ideally. And then there's a lot of people, I hope I enjoy coming in and out of my office, asking questions, getting, you know, like, hey, quick thing on this is their thoughts. And then also a lot of time putting together reports, looking at numbers, trying to think about our business intelligently and walking around the office and talking to people about projects that are going on. So, yeah, I mean, the problems are the same often, but they, you know, we find new ways to address them and we, we bug along and it's fun. It's a challenge all the time. Absolutely. Ashley, for you, what are you most proud of with you and your team since your time with the galaxy? Most proud of is our ability to continue to find new products and new ways to innovate. We have an old stadium by MLS standards and we have added multiple new products over

11:32the time. We've elevated products. We figured out ways to include F and B. We've our premium products are really great. I also am really proud of how we've developed our group business and our kind of theme nights and heritage nights. There's some stuff that we've done here that I am really proud of. Ultimately, it's the people that grow, you know, like at this point between inside sales and everything else, I've seen so many people come in, get their start, you know, and follow them along their careers and it's really cool. I mean, it is extremely rewarding to have people come in and find their next step in sports or wherever it may be and know that you're a meaningful part of their career. Take things to our sponsor, BetterHelp for partnering with us for this important conversation about mental health. This Steve Smith here, former NFL Y receiver and host of the 89 show on YouTube. So having a counselor and working with BetterHelp, that gives you an opportunity to really start to unpack, but people don't understand when you unpack things.

12:34You also open up a box that you're not always sure what's inside. So I think that's why seeing a professional is extremely important. If you need someone to open up to, visit BetterHelp. That's betterHELP.com slash 89 to get started. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up, March Manus is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I could follow the teams I care about, get real-time scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. Looking to book more qualified meetings without lifting a finger, meet Wolfcycle, your AI-powered virtual assistant that never sleeps or complains. It automatically engages your leads with smart, human-like conversations over email, chat,

13:35and SMS. Using cutting-edge, natural language processing, Wolfcycle finds and nurtures your best opportunities 24-7. Please let me know if you're interested in learning more. Again, we're here on 52 weeks of hustle. The guest day, Ashley Hall, SVP of Sales and Service for the LA Galaxy, and Ashley, let's get into three hot topics. Question one, with the MLS, you've seen a lot of ups and downs, and now the league is really seem to be taking off in a massive way. Why do you feel like the business aspect of the MLS has been so enhanced over the last several years? It's received a ton of investment. For whatever reasons, which I believe are the same things people have been saying about soccer for 50 years, it's the biggest sport in the world. It's going to catch on in the U.S. It's going to be great. People are starting to buy into that, literally. Ownership, people are building new stadiums, the team has expanded significantly. Investment like that can't be ignored.

14:35You see these teams coming to the league. They've got cool new looks and supporter groups and all that steps out. Naturally, with the World Cup this year, it's perfect timing to kind of like accelerate, hopefully some of the excitement and the awareness around MLS. It'll continue to grow. It just seems inevitable. Absolutely. Question two, as you think about your career progression, what's your advice to listeners on being willing to take that risk? And that risk might be just putting themselves out there in a different business environment to moving different teams or locations. Yes, risk are, you have to take, you will not grow if you don't take risk in some form or fashion. For me, as you pointed out earlier, it didn't involve moving cities, it didn't involve moving around. It didn't involve putting myself out there on projects or recommendations that many

15:36times, I can't tell you the amount of times I put things together that were shut down. I spent three years pitching the same thing to leadership and eventually got it. Whatever it may be, so risks are part of it. When you're in sales, that's the truth. Every time we pick up the phone, we call someone like, that's a risk to some extent. You have to be comfortable with risks and embrace them and try and, you know, hope, and not take it personally, when only a few things work out out of every, you know, like, yeah, you know, and I think we both probably have a story after story in our career of taking that risk or like what you said, like, you keep like almost beating it over the head of like this plan, this plan, and then three years later, you finally get approval. But there are in similar parallel paths, there's probably a plan that you've been working on for five years that still doesn't have the approval, right? But you can't let it get to you either. No, you just keep refining it and you're like, okay, I always said, like, if you're,

16:36if you're too sensitive and you're not vulnerable, you're going to struggle in this business. Yeah. Because you're going to hear no hell of a lot more times you hear, yes, and that is simple as on a cold call, but just internally as well. Yeah, constantly internally. You know, actually question three, we've talked about working for the right people and knowing that they will care about you, invest in you and your career, both personally and professionally, what's your advice to listeners on finding a mentor or mentors early on in their career? I love this question because mentorship is something when I got started that was talked about a lot. And it felt like I was kind of like doing it wrong. I'm like, I need this mentor, like a magical person who's going to show me the way. And in reflection, I think that the way mentorship has best served me is through growing with my colleagues and growing together in many ways, like mentoring each other through through our careers. Um, Muriel Martinez, who you've had on the podcast, had and I were both account executives as the clippers at the same time we became managers

17:40and directors and we've worked together over the years and we were, we, you know, we've made each other better. And it's great to have advice from people and it's great to have people you can lean on and and bounce things off that are more experienced, but it's also great to grow with people. So I think my main takeaway around mentorship is it doesn't have to be one thing, you know, anyone that can help you learn is a mentor. Anyone who can make you better can be a mentor. So, um, that I've worked with so many great people in my career, you know, and I'm grateful for so many of them and some they they had one conversation with me that that that I took something away and it's like that matters. That every little thing, it's almost like back to our early part of the podcast when we talked about education, like just having a conversation that's educating yourself. And you know, actually, ton of great advice, certainly fun to hear about your journey, both personally and professionally, they close it out. I like to put our guests on the hustle hot seats. Are you ready for this? Yes. What is your most used emoji? It is harding messages.

18:45I'm like, I love this. Love this. On teens, on message, like on chat, like whatever. Love, love, love. And now because we've already talked about the next one and your love for Dominoes, you can't answer Dominoes, but if you had one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Oh, no, I was going to say pizza. I probably talkos. Okay. If you hosted a talk show, who would be your first guest? Tony Morrison. To close it out, actually, what are three key takeaways you'd give every listener to be in your shoes one day? Be curious. Be resourceful. And be optimistic. I love it. Ashley, thank you so much. What a great career. Always some pleasure talking to you. I certainly appreciate your time and expertise. Thanks, Travis. Great chatting with you too. Thank you so much. Again, this is Travis Apple. Thanks for listening to 52 weeks of Hustle.

19:47Please be sure to follow the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. We'll be back next week with another industry leader. Have a great week. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports. Right now, the NBA is heating up, March Manus is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I could follow the teams I care about, get real-time scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.