Manal Smith (The Hundred & SailGP) bonus episode: The thrilling world of ticketing

Some choose the safe path, others a more daring one. Manal Smith is of the last category. Her ticketing career started at the London 2012 Olympics, and since then she has taken on huge challenges at both AXS, GP World Tour, and The Hundred before she recently was appointed Head of Ticketing at SailGP.

In this bonus episode of TicketingPodcast.com, Manal transports us back to when she got her first taste of the ticketing world, followed by her swift transition into the heart of ticketing operations.

With a dash of humour, Manal shares intriguing anecdotes about the extremes people will go to secure tickets, and her secret hacks to securing tickets for sell-out events. We uncover the magic woven by Manal into the end-to-end customer journey that begins with a ticket purchase. She shares her invaluable insights into ticketing strategy, pricing, and system building. 

The episode was recorded on 24 May 2023.

TicketingPodcast.com is powered and sponsored by TicketCo and hosted by TicketCo’s CEO, Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Hello everyone and welcome to this bonus episode of TicketingPodcastcom where ticketing experts reveal their secrets and share their insights. My name is Karl-Erik Moberg. guest today is Manal Smith, head of ticketing at the 100th at England and Wales Cricket Board. Feel free to listen in. I really enjoy the conversation with Manal. Hello everyone, thank you so much for tuning on to this episode of TicketingPodcastcom. This is the bonus episode. my name is Karl-Erik Moberg and I'm the host of this podcast. Today's guest is Manal Smith, up until recently, head of ticketing at England and Wales Cricket Board's Cricket Tournament the 100th And now head of ticketing at Sale GP. It's a pleasure to have you as our guest, manal.

Speaker 2: 0:53

Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1: 0:55

So, for the listeners who came straight to this bonus episode, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you started or ended up in ticketing?

Speaker 2: 1:05

Yeah, of course. So it goes back all the way to London 2012. Originally I went into the Commons Department and was kind of a public liaison information officer. So I worked across the organisation, including with ticketing, because that was one of the hot topics across for London 2012 back in 2009. So worked with those guys and then there was an opportunity to move across to ticketing, which I jumped at quite quickly and kind of started ticketing back then around 2009, 2010,. Initially managing the outsourced call centre, who were managed by Ticketmaster, and as our ticketing partner and working on all the public information that you saw around tickets for London 2012. So that's how I started my journey into ticketing.

Speaker 1: 1:55

I mean, london is a huge city, right, and London Olympics was the talk of the city, or talk of the town, to put it that way, and everyone was probably talking about it. I wasn't to sit on the inside when everyone was focused on this event.

Speaker 2: 2:13

It was absolutely phenomenal. It was probably no better feeling. I didn't tell everybody where I worked and I certainly did not tell them that I worked in ticketing for London 2012. But no, it was a great opportunity. I think it was something when you saw a city and not just a city, but a nation come together around the anticipation and kind of what the games was going to bring and everything can kind of how that built up. So yeah, over that period of sort of just over three years when I was there, it was just such a phenomenal experience to be part of.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Incredible And I guess the event by itself was fantastic And, as you said, brought London, or maybe UK, the world together. You started your career here right At London 2012 Olympics. You were interested in ticketing from the beginning, but what in ticketing in that event made you want to continue in ticketing? Why did you enjoy it so much?

Speaker 2: 3:12

I think we've touched on that couple of things. Ticketing is something you fall into and once you go in, you either stay there or you kind of get out quite quickly. I was hooked. I was hooked by it a bit from the get go. I love the fact that the opportunities and how you get to build something from scratch and get to build not only from pricing, from a concept and a strategy, through creating prices, through building a system, through looking at that end-to-end customer journey And the journey starts for a fan when they buy the ticket. So actually, how do you take them on the journey from finding out about the event, securing their ticket and that excitement, through to the communication and the comms that they receive pre-match, pre-event, as well as taking them through and actually walking into a venue and looking at a Pat's Stadia and realizing that something that you started working on years ago actually the final product is a Pat's stadium of people waiting to watch and watch whatever session they bought is a phenomenal experience, especially on London 2012.

Speaker 1: 4:16

Yeah, i can imagine, and on our guests, we've had a lot of different ticketing managers, different perspectives on ticketing And one of the things we've been asking them on how to get the ticket, how to get the ticket for these amazing events, and I guess that's why you didn't publicly announce that you had tickets for London 2012 as well. But what's the secret to? how should you approach such a massive event or an event that's going to be sold out quickly?

Speaker 2: 4:48

Look, i think planning is key. Sign up to all your dates So the database, to make sure you're the first to hear about ticketing news. I think as well, there are going to be situations and there are going to be events where demand far upstrip supply. Hmm, and I think sometimes it's also for London 2012.

Speaker 2: 5:09

I think one of the key was, you know, everybody might have wanted to go to the opening ceremony or closing ceremony or an athletic session, but actually what London 2012 was about was, if you couldn't get a ticket to those sessions, you could still be a part of it. So don't worry about the ticket, come and, you know, enjoy the experience, be that football or any other sport that was going on, you know, the equestrian sport, anything. There was an opportunity for people up and down the country to be involved. I think, around Around, how do you secure those tickets? Look, being first to know about them, being there early on and everything and everything, putting yourself in the best position to Secure those tickets, signing up to you know the pre-sales, etc. But sometimes, unfortunately, when you've got, you know 10 people bidding for one ticket and demand is that extreme. Sometimes there is an element of luck as well.

Speaker 1: 5:58

Hmm, so in a marketing mix, when you work with marketing to market the event, one of the first thing you do is then probably send out an email to your Your followers, right? And I guess if you're one of those followers, then you have an opportunity to come in front of the queue or skip not skip the queue, but get in front of the queue.

Speaker 2: 6:19

Yeah, 100%. I mean, look, sign up. So you've signed up to your marketing, you've got that. You're part of the That fan base already. I think something that, for example, you know there are specific pre-sales. We've done it probably just touching on the hundreds. So people who attended in in 22 and the fact you know have the first opportunity to purchase it for the 23 tournament, so that secures your place as a fan And you know how the opportunity and the access that you get and that comes with with time and as you as you build your fan base. So I think it's staying abreast of that. Staying, you know, making sure your key you plugged in. Look at the social channels and everything, cuz stuff gets released in different ways by all different organisers. So I think, just seeing it you're plugged in as possible and Giving yourself every opportunity.

Speaker 1: 7:06

We've also asked for some crazy attempts. So what's the craziest the times people have seen when people wants to once you get tickets? Do you have any stories on that or?

Speaker 2: 7:16

I, i suppose, like a lot of ticketing people there are a lot of a lot. My phone starts to ping when there are certain events coming up, so you ignore a lot of people on LinkedIn and and Your phone and what's happened? Facebook etc. Who are asking for tickets.

Speaker 2: 7:32

I mean, years ago I can remember kids turning up at an event I can't remember if it was, i can't remember what the event was. They turned up and they saved up money and they bought, rightly or wrongly, from a ticket tail outside and they bought one hospitality package and there were two or three of them and they thought that they could buy this package. One would go in for a little while, then they'd come out and then they swap the ticket and another one would go in and then they'd go in for a little while and come out and then, and yeah, having to explain hospitality manager, having to explain how that worked, why they couldn't do that, and never, ever buy tickets from someone standing outside an event. But you felt that you felt for them, because they do. You know what. They just wanted to see the artist.

Speaker 2: 8:19

It was pure fandom. They just wanted to be a part of it. However, they fit.

Speaker 1: 8:23

Yeah, yeah And it's. I mean it is. it has excitement written all over it. really, it's. it's true, and of all the questions we've had, we've only found one backdoor to get the best tickets, and that is to choose a career within ticketing. That's the only way. But if you are so and you've, you've done so, manal What would you recommend people to do if that's a career move they want to take? There is no formal education out there for ticketing. How should they approach it?

Speaker 2: 8:54

And do you know what a lot of people have started in box office work. You know, working at a venue and stewards, matchday stewards, you know football and stuff like that and having any opportunity box office is a great way to get through a call centers And kind of I think comes back to being able to see opportunities. You know, i've seen for a lot of the guys who I've worked with, the ones who do really well, the ones who are like I'll stay late or I'll help this, and you know when you're in trouble and you're there's mud everywhere and you know you're having problems with an access control solution. You're having problems because ticketing we've got Wi-Fi issue The ones that will just kind of jump in, do anything and always be open.

Speaker 2: 9:33

Just take the opportunity, whatever it is, whatever is presented to you, because you'll always learn from it. And I think the networking, because someone will remember you, so that ticket manager will remember you in a black. Do you remember the kid that we had at the box office who just literally went above and beyond? Can we bring them back? or we've got a role, or you know, i think that has well, word of mouth helps phenomenally. So I think never say no to an opportunity, if possible, and just throw yourself in and get involved.

Speaker 1: 10:00

Great. So you described the way in through the box office, but you also said some criteria for success right To be engaged and follow up, and don't leave too early. Stay back and make sure everything is okay before you go home, right.

Speaker 2: 10:15

Look where possible. There's times that I think, yeah, just making sure that you enjoy it as well. Talk to the customers, talk to the fans. Make sure it's not just a transaction. if you're selling a ticket at a box office, you can still build a rapport with that customer because you're their first touch point for the event. if they're turning up and buying that ticket, the journey starts with you.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And finally then, manal, to touch a little bit and to discuss the hundred which you worked and which you built part of building up, which is an incredible story in itself. There's people out there who haven't yet attended the cricket match, and they should right, i think we can agree on that. Where would the right place be to start? Where should they start? Is the hundred the right place?

Speaker 2: 11:05

Obviously I'm biased. I sit here with a hundred t-shirt, A hundred percent, i think I would say. Head over to the hundredcom, sign up, have a look at all of the matches. It's across eight cities. There's a great opportunity to come along, be apart. Tickets are affordable. They're an accessible price point. They start at five pound for kids from six to 15 year olds. I think it's a great family day out. A great day out not just for families, but for everybody who wants to come along and attend. You don't necessarily have to be a cricket fan. It's great for cricket fans, even if you've never been to a cricket match before. There's something there for everybody. So definitely come along, take in a match and enjoy a day out.

Speaker 1: 11:47

And I'm sure more people will. Thank you so much, manal. It's been great to have you here as well on this bonus episode for some tips on what to do if you want to pursue a career in ticketing And also if you want good tickets, which we touched on. You've been listening to theTicketingPodcastcom, where today's guest has been Manal Smith, up until recently, head of ticketing at England and Wales Cricketports Cricket Tournament, the 100. There's two versions of the podcast. It's the one that you've just been listening to. This is the Short and Sweet version, and there is also another version. Let's call it the Industry Expert version. So if you would like to hear more from Manal, you should check out that episode as well, and I have to say that was super interesting, great conversations. I really recommend you do. If you're interested in the topic, you'll find it at the very same platform as you found this one. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to our sponsor, ticketco, and for powering theTicketingPodcastcom. Until next time, see you.