Sales Director
So the esports industry is worth over 1 billion euro, that is a lot of money, and part of that money is generated by making deals with other parties, a job well suited for a sales director. Sales in esport is close to sales in other fields. The main focus is to create connections between your brand, your followers and other brands, bringing in extra money to help your business grow, without being labelled as a sell-out. We had a little chat with Birger De Geyter, sales director at META, one of the biggest companies in esports in Belgium.
Can you explain your job to us in a few sentences?
As sales director I am in charge of all the commercial aspects within META and it’s my team’s responsibility to generate new leads and work with our current partners and customers from all sectors whom have an interest in the esports and overall videogame demographic in order to achieve their goals and objectives.
What is the most important aspect of your job?
62% of the Benelux population plays videogames. Hence I am confident that the medium could basically serve any B2C (business to customer, a business that is in direct contact with the consumer, ed.) brand in its goal to attract consumers and maintain market position. It is META’s objective to make sure we cater to the needs of the market and serve our customers in the most effective way possible in order to meet their targets. Ultimately META is the Most Efficient Tactic Available.
What is the biggest difficulty in your job?
I wouldn’t call them difficulties but the largest challenges are that we are in a market which is developing extremely fast and is growing exponentially. Therefore we need to make sure we keep reinventing ourselves continuously on all fronts. In addition it might sometimes take years to convince a customer, hence you need to be persistent. Finally there is a lot of misinformation out there, thus I also see it as our responsibility to educate the market with accurate data and facts, so we can help our customers make well informed decisions.
What did you study?
I first started Bio-Engineering and after passing my first semester I left for the US to manage the United 5 gaming team in Chicago. After the summer I returned and started Economics, but history repeated itself and in the second semester I left to work for Ninjas In Pyjamas gaming team in Sweden. But overall I would always recommend either to study a bachelor/master in economics / marketing, media or a degree in communication/linguistics
How did you get started in esports?
I started playing Half-Life ’98 and joined my first team Guano Apes (GA). I soon realised I was better at managing a team than playing the game and started a few clans, while gradually transitioning into Counter-Strike. I worked my way up from there and eventually started managing international teams. At the age of 19 I began representing players. In 2005 I joined the Fatal1ty Brand, the first ever international consumer brand based on a competitive gamer: Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. He recently received a Lifetime Achievement during the Esports Awards. In 2007 I founded the original LowLandLions professional gaming team with Filip Langerock and in 2010 I founded 4Entertainment (currently META) with Gary Peeters.
Skills required
- Strong negotiation skills
- Relationship builder
- Customer service skills
- Determination and energy
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