The 12 Steps to Secure an NIL Deal

The NIL Sales cycle is difficult to understand; I am here to help.

Since the NCAA declared that athletes could monetize their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) in 2021, the question on nearly every athlete had was ‘How do I get an NIL deal?’

I spent the past 10 months securing an NIL partnership for eight SMU athletes with the high-end, New York-based fashion brand Robert Graham.

Here is what I learned and the steps you need to take to close an NIL deal.

Last Saturday, eight SMU student athletes from three different sports did a ‘Texas Takeover’ at the Robert Graham (RG) store at the Dallas mall. The NIL partnership included the athletes receiving RG clothing; sharing their selected styles on Instagram and personally meeting fans and other RG ‘Collectors’ in store.

I put out a poll asking what would be most beneficial and after tallying all of the votes, a ‘How to Guide’ on how to land an NIL deal was the winner.

It may go without saying, but if there is not a donor-funded NIL Collective throwing money at you, then you will have to go about securing an NIL partnership the old fashioned way*.

*But, you know, still be able to use the Internet; social media and smartphones as incredible resources.

Here are the 12 steps on how to go from no NIL deal to a successful partnership.

Identify a brand

Make a list of a few brands that you would want to work with and the reasons why it would be a good fit. The reasons could be anything:

• Love the product

• In your field of study

• Company has same core values as you

• Target similar demographics

• You believe in the company’s vision

Examine your network

The saying is ‘it who you know; not what you know’ when it comes to being successful.

Who in your personal network do you know that can help introduce you to someone at your desired company?

If you do not have anyone in your network, then get to networking!

Gain Meeting

Using your contact, find the best way to secure a meeting. This should be slightly easier as a warm handoff rather than a cold DM on social media.

Your only goal is to do whatever it takes to get a meeting on the calendar. Offer a compelling reason as to why they should indeed take the meeting; however, try to avoid ‘pitching’ yourself for a partnership.

Ask & Listen

In the meeting, ask open ended questions based on the research you have done on the brand.

Then listen for understanding. Identify their business challenge and pain points that they deal with on a daily basis such as:

• Low marketing reach

• Cannot move inventory

• Difficulty selling to a different demographic

Your Value Proposition

Now you know what solution they need and can best position a way to help them. You can frame a question like this:

“If I can help you better market to the desired demographic you mentioned in order to sell more and keep your inventory levels low, would it be valuable to partner with each other?”

Showcase Features & Benefits

The answer should be obvious, but be prepared to address how you plan to achieve this. Showcase your social media follower count, engagement rate, and more.

Remember to always bring the conversation back to why that will bring value to the brand.

• I have 100,000 followers with a 10 percent engagement rate on my posts.

  • This will extend your reach across the 18-25 demographic in a more economical and efficient manner.

• My last NIL campaign, 1,000 fans came to the meet and greet at the pizza place on campus.

  • We increased revenues by 147 percent that weekend and sold $5,000 of pizza in the four hours I was there. This strategy could work for your store near campus.

Design Solution

Be prepared to discuss exactly what your solution is on how you can assist the brand. This can include social posts (where and when); in person meet and greet; how long the campaign will last (one day vs. months).

Based on what they told you they need, be prepared to pivot. Over the course of you working together, this solution may be fluid.

Overcome Objections

Still, the brand may have objections or hesitations surrounding cost, time and reputation. You must overcome them:

• My team does not have time to prepare this.

  • I prepare all of the material, so there is no additional work for your staff.

• Nervous your post may be cheesy and unprofessional.

  • Here are samples of my work—do these satisfy you professional requirements?

• I don’t have the budget.

  • These are my rates, and we have seen that they are cheaper and more effective than other marketing strategies.

Price is always going to be a sticking point. Make sure the brand is on board with everything you offer if you set price aside for a minute. If they do, then you can more easily come to agreeable terms.

Negotiate Terms

From here you will negotiate in some capacity. It may be intense or relatively easy, but you want to be sure to prepare the same way each time.

• Know What You Want

• Know What the Brand Wants

• Select what you are willing to compromise on and what you are not

• Know at what point you’ll walk away and what your alternatives are if you do so

Demo Solution

If necessary, some brands would like to demo or test the solution before committing to a larger project. This can be part of the negotiated agreement.

Finalize Strategy & Execute Solution

Once you have all the details ironed out and agreed upon in writing, then you can move on to the fun part—executing the solution!

Be sure to stay in communication with everyone throughout the process so nothing falls through the cracks.

Debrief

It is important to have a sync up call with your partner after performing the deliverables (or check point calls if the terms are longer than a one-time event).

It is important to confirm that your client’s expectations were met; what goals were hit; what could be done better if goals were not met; and maintain the relationship for future projects or referrals.

Some of these 12 steps may be completed at the same time or even need to be revisited, but I believe this to be a great outline of the NIL sales process.

Why?

Because these are the exact steps I took to gain Robert Graham’s agreement to work with SMU athletes. Over 10 months there were hundreds of emails, near 20 meetings and endless networking to make this into a reality.

I had a connection who worked at their HQ in NYC; found they sometimes had extra clothing in inventory; and in our meeting asked if it made sense to have athletes wear those to promote instead of leaving it sitting in boxes.

We did a solution test run with one athlete and his post gained over 3,500 likes with a 13.5 percent engagement rate!

We expanded to connect with SMU athletes to promote a new demographic in their Dallas market. The campaign was a success with over 15,000 impressions in just a few days on Instagram posts alone (not inclusive of stories) and an average engagement rate of over 10 percent.

So for athletes still asking can this be done? The answer is yes.

Subscribe for free for more NIL tips. And be sure to ask about the NIL solutions I provide for athletes and Collectives to help securing deals and more.