For a long time, a sports agent's main asset was their network.
Knowing the right presidents.
Knowing the right sporting directors.
Having the right contact at the right moment.
And for a long time, that was enough.
I started in this profession in 2012. Back then, information traveled slowly. Clubs received fewer approaches. The market largely ran on individual relationships.
Today, the context has changed. Clubs are approached constantly. Decisions are prepared earlier. Information travels instantly. And yet, much of the profession still operates using the same methods. That's probably where the main challenge of our profession lies.
The real problem isn't the network
The real problem is information management. Because today, information is everywhere. The advantage no longer comes from access. It comes from the ability to exploit that information before others do.
As an agent grows, they no longer manage a handful of files. They must track, simultaneously: hundreds of opportunities, dozens of clubs, players under contract, players nearing the end of their contract, recruitment needs that evolve every week.
At Activrep, we track more than 700 opportunities every year, promote more than 240 athletes, and continuously analyze a market of about 35 clubs. Without a structured system, this would simply be impossible.
The risk isn't a lack of work. The risk is missing the piece of information that makes the difference. And in our profession, a missed piece of information can cost far more than a transfer. It can cost an opportunity, a relationship, sometimes even a reputation.
What I learned at IBM
Before founding Activrep, I trained at IBM. One thing stuck with me: the best salespeople weren't necessarily the ones who worked the hardest. They were the ones with the best system. They knew which opportunities to prioritize, when to follow up, which information to use, how to prepare for meetings, and how to capitalize on every interaction.
They didn't rely on their memory. They relied on a process. Looking back, I'm convinced the sports agent profession is going through exactly the same transformation.
Speed isn't an advantage
Speed is a consequence. An agent able to respond within hours with the right information isn't necessarily more skilled. He's simply better prepared: he knows where to find the information, he knows the history of the case, he understands the club's context, he has already anticipated several scenarios.
The difference seems small. In practice, it changes everything. Because the best recruitments rarely come down to the quality of the player alone. They're often decided by timing.
Trust is built differently now
For a long time, the network created trust. Today, that's no longer enough. Trust is built through execution. A sporting director puts his trust in the agent who provides reliable information, responds with precision, understands his needs, doesn't waste his time, and delivers what he promises.
Two agents can know exactly the same decision-maker. They won't get the same results.
The next decade
I'm convinced the agencies that will dominate tomorrow won't necessarily be the ones with the biggest network. They'll be the ones who know how to turn their network into a system — a system capable of generating more opportunities, with more precision, less friction and better execution.
AI, data, automation and CRMs are not the end goal. They are levers. The objective remains exactly the same as it was twenty years ago: building trust. But the way to get there is evolving.
For a long time, the network created the advantage.
Tomorrow, the advantage will come from the ability to turn information into decisions.
The network opens a door. The system lets you walk through it.