Sales is the engine that drives every business. The amount of money coming in must clear what’s going out, or an organization won’t last long. Sales acumen is, therefore, a valuable skill that potentially provides a fast track to career advancement and high income in the sports industry.

Today’s guest on the WorkInSports Podcast is Cherie Cohen, Chief Revenue Officer for the World Surf League (WSL). Cohen established herself managing marketing and media campaigns after graduating from Rutgers, and later seamlessly transitioned into sales roles in the TV industry. She picked up her first in a series of sports sales jobs with ESPN in 2004, a company she spent nine years with, and eventually rose to VP of Multimedia Sales. After a six-year stint with NBCUniversal Media, where she climbed to Senior VP of Portfolio Sales and Client Partnerships, Cohen moved on to the WSL in 2019. She oversees global brand partnerships, media sales, and ticket sales for the WSL and speaks with VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp about:

• Why sports sales jobs appealed to her

• The cultural differences she observes between surfing and other sports

• How important green sports initiatives and sustainability are to their business model

• How the WSL got surfing into the 2024 Olympics

• Why college students looking to work in sports should consider sales

Enjoy the full episode to hear how lucrative sports sales jobs can be for the right candidate. Also, subscribe to the WorkInSports Podcast for more sports career advice. You can also access additional content on our YouTube channel!