Annie Bennett 

Annie Bennett is from Toledo, Ohio. Growing up, she participated in about every single sport possible. This led to her passion for sports. If she was not playing that sport, she had it turned on the tv. Annie ended up loving running cross country and track the most, and this led her to Central Michigan University, where she was part of the Women's Cross Country and Track teams. Annie originally started as a Dietetics Major, but after her freshman year, she switched to the Sport Management major. During her time at CMU, she interned with the CMU Athletics Department Student-Athlete Leadership and Development Team. Through that internship, she got an inside look at all of the ins and outs of a college athletic department. After that internship, she spent her last year of college working as a Team Sales Lead at Rally House. Through that role, Annie was able to get experience in managing my coworkers, helping customers, and understanding what the retail world is like in general. Also, during her senior year, Dr. Adler invited Annie to the Teamwork Online Sports Sales Workshop. At this workshop, she was able to learn more about inside sales as well as interview with multiple different sales managers across all the different leagues and teams in the professional sports world. This is where she got in contact with the Arizona Diamondbacks, which ultimately led me to where she is now. Annie is now working for the Arizona Diamondbacks Sales Department as a New Business Consultant.
Working in the sports sales world can be challenging. Not all days are the same, and your success is mainly determined by how much you sell. This can lead to hard times, making someone feel unsuccessful if they don't make sales. This feeling keeps Annie grounded and motivated. Annie says that it can be so easy to focus on the negatives, but she is always trying to find the positive in every single situation.  Annie says it's important to always be willing to adapt, especially to change. In the sports world, people are always on the move, and things are constantly changing, so it is important to have an open mind and be willing to adapt. Annie says she is very fortunate because she has such amazing coworkers who are always so helpful and motivating each and every one of us every single day. Along with this, in sales, it can be very easy to celebrate the highs and become sad over the lows, so she always just tries to stay consistent. No matter if she made a sale or got hung up on by a client.

Annie says her experience at CMU helped her tremendously. Without CMU, she would not be where she is today. Annie credits Dr. Adler for her success. He was the one who invited her to the conference where she met her current managers. Specifically, Dr. Adler's sports sales class really prepared her for the role she is in today. Throughout her time at CMU, the CMU Sport Management professors constantly challenge every student to step outside their comfort zones to succeed in their classes. The classes consistently provided real-world experiences to help us understand what working in the sports industry is like.