I had the distinct opportunity of speaking with former professional tennis player Erik van Dillen. Erik went to school at the University of Southern California and got his undergrad in finance while playing Division 1 tennis. After going pro for 12 years Erik went back to school and got his MBA from San Francisco State University, after which he got a job at the largest international sports marketing firm, IMG. Erik had quickly figured that he could not make a living off playing tennis and had seen the sports industry start to rapidly expand, so with his family’s background in sports, he pursued a career with IMG. IMG told Erik that he could make his experience there his experiment, so with the networking experience he had already built up in college, Erik took off on his successful 18-year career with IMG, running half the country in national sales and clients.
Today, Erik is the Founder and CEO of van Dillen Partners, a smaller sports marketing firm with an international reach similar to IMG’s. As in any sports-based career, Erik’s schedule differs daily. He handles a wide variety of activities within the firm, including managing events like golf fundraisers and being the third party in sponsorship sales. When starting his own firm, Erik truly believed (and continues to believe) in sales through relationships, the best example being the trust he had built with clients in his several years at IMG. This outstanding belief of his has complemented his efforts of running his own firm for the last decade, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Erik has seen the sports industry change quite a bit throughout his time in it. He remarked that back in the day, there barely used to be one page of sports coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle; now there is an entire section dedicated just to sports. Particularly with tennis, he has seen something so specific to one interest exponentially expand internationally. Unfortunately, though, as the tennis industry grew, Erik found it very difficult to lead a professional tennis tour while raising two kids and handling a mortgage. Looking back at the end of his playing career, he was distraught that he had to walk away from his passion and start completely anew, but the fact that he would be continuing to work within the industry he loved consoled him through the process.
Through both his playing and professional career, van Dillen has learned a thing or two on how to succeed, both in the sports marketing world and in general. First, he believes it is crucial to understand that not everything is perfect and that adapting to any situation is important, especially in a novelty industry like sports. Second, he says that people must work as a team to be successful, no matter what scenario they are in. And third, he asserted that people must make sure they are prepared to face anything that might come at them.
When asked about his biggest piece of advice for young aspiring sports industry individuals, he was straight to the point: “Do something you love, be passionate about it, try to find your skill set, and make sure you work with people you like and respect.” Keep these aces in your arsenal, and you’ll be serving up Game, Set, and Match in no time!
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