TLDR: The Pipeline Press team interviews Dave Bluver, the VP of Sales and Enthusiast Gaming. Dave shares with us what it’s like to sell in the video game advertising space amongst other things.
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Tell us about yourself and what Enthusiast Gaming does.
I’m the VP of Sales at Enthusiast Gaming, and have been with Enthusiast since November of 2020. It’s such an innovative company and innovative space. I head the sales team here for about 20 reps and we are focusing on educating our prospects and customers on the growing space of in game digital advertising.
My Sales journey has been solely in the media space, where I started as a seller in traditional digital media sales. The fun thing about media sales is that it is always constantly evolving. From print & radio, to television, to digital and mobile, and now with gaming as a major emerging form of media, this is a very exciting space to be in. When I first started out as a seller, it was a different world. However, the one constant has always been trying to best demonstrate ROI to our clients and make sure they are hitting their KPI’s.
What does Enthusiast Gaming do?
Enthusiast Gaming is an amazing company that considers itself as the surround sound of gaming, allowing our advertising partners to reach their target audiences across the entire gaming ecosystem. Data tells us that the gaming space is the number 1 most important form of entertainment for young people and we believe brands should capitalize on those eyeballs.
For instance, we own 50+ gaming communities that are diverse in their content. We own one of the largest League of Legends communities, the largest online sims resource, as well as Addictinggames.com, one of the most popular online casual gaming sites. Further, we work with some of the most popular content creators in the world where brands can integrate their brands into their content. Esports is also a massive priority for us as we own Team Luminosity, one of the largest and most respected Esports organizations in the world. Enthusiast Gaming also creates branded experiences in the metaverse such as Roblox & Fortnite. Last year, within Roblox, we worked with The UPS Store where we created a game where players could start and maintain their own small businesses which was such a cool program to see come together.
Finally, Enthusiast Gaming works in the intersection of gaming, sports and pop culture as we create major content tentpoles like NFL Tuesday Night Gaming. As an official gaming partner of The NFL we created a weekly show that airs on Tuesday during The NFL season where NFL players play against famous gamers in games like Fortnite, Fall Guys, Rocket League and Madden.
As VP of Sales, what are key things you need your sales reps to be able to accomplish?
Our sales team is the life blood of Enthusiast Gaming. They are constantly educating our customers and prospects. It’s of utmost importance that our sellers are educated on all parts of the sales process, what is going on in the industry, and relative use cases and KPIs.
As gaming is a relatively new space for advertisers, we need to be the experts in the industry and educate our prospects and customers on the importance of the space. Oftentimes we are working with very experienced individuals in the advertising world that may not have experience with the gaming space and want to do things in a traditional way. It is up to us to ensure that we can educate them and become an ally to for their future and how gaming as a whole can help get them there.
When Hiring a rep, what are some key characteristics you look for?
The sales reps need to be hungry & need to be willing to go the extra mile. Relationships are huge in the industry but you can’t just rely on relationships, as it’s about the end results. We need people that are data driven and will identify that if their pipeline is not where it needs to be, to do the extra work of filling it up.
We need critical thinkers that can discuss the ability of Enthusiast Gaming to solve the problems of the prospect and customer by providing value.
The most important thing is the type of seller they are. Every interview I ask “What type of seller are you?” I’ve gotten an array of answers, but what I am most looking for is a seller that is consultative. Not someone that will just say yes to the client, but someone that will educate and will keep them aware of expectations. Our buyers sometimes don’t understand the space and have expectations that don’t align with traditional content so it can be challenging. We need sellers that will level set and control expectations of the client, not just say yes.
What advice would you give to sales people starting out?
Be hungry and willing to learn as much as possible. Get a mentor who has years of experience in the space, learn from them and emulate what they are doing with your own flavor. Sometimes people struggle to ask for help, but those that do are the ones that learn, improve and rise to the cream of the crop. Sales is an amazing career that if you put your time and effort into it during and after work hours, it will take you to new heights.
What are your thoughts on AI in the sales world?
AI is in its infantile space when it comes to sales. Some sellers use it as a way to enhance their capabilities while others are using it to replace their tactics. I’m reached out to by hundreds of vendors looking to make a sale, and immediately I can tell if an email is written by ChatGPT. When sellers use AI to be lazy and remove the personalization, they lose. I want to embrace AI, but it needs to be done the right way.
