Stephanie Lee, Group Sales Box Office at Broadway.com | Showbizu x Broadway League

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Hi, I'm Stephanie Lee.

Stephanie, what got you into this crazy world, into that chair today?

A crazy world indeed, and one I am so passionate about and one I love. My story is a little bit unique in that I was literally born into the business. My father— I learned everything from my father. He started Group Sales Box Office, which was, I believe, one of the first wholesale theater ticket companies here on Broadway. And as a kid, my siblings and I would literally play box office on the bunk beds. That little ladder was our window. And what I didn't realize at the time when I was 5, 6, growing up with 4 other siblings playing box office is that it was something I could actually make a career of, which is ironic because it, it was essentially what my father was doing. I went to college, pursued other avenues, other careers having nothing to do with Broadway, but all along would always come back to Broadway and see shows throughout my entire childhood.

Let's define group sales manager.

Sure. So a group sales manager here in New York might look a little bit different than how it looks out on the road. But here in New York, uh, we have a team of over 20 people. My team of 20 includes sales representatives who are handling accounts, who are managing our queue, our 800 number. I have a team of sales representatives who are managed by my group sales director. Anthony Barone, who's been in the business for a very long time. In addition to our sales team, I also oversee and manage our group sales marketing team as well as our education team, which is Broadway Classroom. So group sales manager here in New York is actually comprised of a team of, of individuals with particular skill sets. So I have my sales team, marketing, and education, and combined we serve the wholesale industry here on Broadway.

And if you look at the skill sets that it takes to do, do your job, you know, there's— you can't check a box in school for that, but what kind of qualities and skills are useful?

Sure, I would say collaboration is key. You have to collaborate. I mean, it goes for the entire industry. We have, you know, millions of people visiting Broadway shows and plays and Off-Broadway, you know, throughout the year. We had record-breaking attendance numbers last year, and not one of us, regardless of which part of the industry your role is, you have to collaborate with so many others. So we are strong collaborators, we are efficient communicators, and we all have a deep, deep passion for Broadway and sales and selling Broadway and bringing as many people to Broadway and supporting the experience of buying a group or bringing a group, I should say, to Broadway and buying wholesale tickets. It's very unlike an individual ticket sale. Usually, you know the show, you know the price point, and you know what date or performance you want to see. It's very different when you are selling group tickets to to a group leader who may not know what they want to see. That individual, that group leader, is actually often making a decision, a buying decision, on behalf of tens, hundreds of people, sometimes thousands.

When you are— a show comes to you and you're looking at it for how it's going to play with a group, what do you look for?

Ah, the million-dollar question.

Or the billion-dollar question.

Or the billion-dollar, yeah. You know, it's a tricky question, and I love being asked that question by producers because every show is unique, whether it's an original new musical, a new play, or revival for that matter. And every conversation is different. But we get it, my team and in group sales, because we're trying to guide our group leaders in the best direction possible because we want them coming back every year. We want them coming back multiple times a year. We really, we put a lot of thought into guiding our clients because there's trust there. There's a great deal of trust. So we will look at our wealth of data that we have from, from Group Sales Box Office, from Broadway.com Groups. We have about 60 years' worth of group data that we rely on, and it's a beast to tackle that data, but it's so important. It's so, it's so valuable. And back to your question, it's because you want people to have a great experience. You go to the theater, you come to Broadway to have a memorable experience. It might be, you know, move you to tears, tears of joy or sadness. You want to leave the theater being impacted in some way, and that's what we look at our data for. We look at buying trends of the wholesale market. We look at every different demographic, whether it's domestic, international, our senior groups. They're not just coming on the Wednesday matinees anymore. So we follow those trends. Our corporate groups, how— what are they looking for? Is it a straight play for perhaps a law firm? Is it a holiday party that a corporate client wants to just take out their company and have fun? Is it a student group who wants to match their itinerary to a play? So we constantly are answering that question, but answering it in a very informed way and relying on our data.

You're really using both sides of your brain because you're looking at the— you're looking at the creative aspect as far as the show, the story, the emotional connection, and you're marrying that with data to find that intersection.

Sure, and it's a— and we geek out with our data, right? When you have the benefit of having this rich data and you're in a global destination, or probably I would say the number one global destination for live entertainment, you could just, I could spend hours and hours and days, and we do, just looking at our data to try and figure out, you know, well, who's this show right for? At the same time, who is it not right for? Everyone says, you know, well, that's the low-hanging fruit. Sure, we got that, but what about those people who aren't gravitating towards a particular title? That's even— that's just as much fun to figure out why not, you know, and to cross those boundaries and have very unexpected results.

What's a story or two of something you've heard back from a group sales agent that just makes your day after they've seen a show?

Oh gosh, there's so many. There's so many. We work very hard to actually capture feedback, not just from the group buyer It's from the people who are the patrons, right? We put a lot of effort into finding out who the individual patron is who's sitting in that seat. But I hold the key to all the other people who are representative of one group leader. I'd say that the joy that we get is from students most of all. We get letters from students. We've had kids, you know, who are more comfortable speaking at one of our educational workshop sessions among their peers than perhaps they are at home. And it is a pivotal moment because of what they just experienced. So this theatrical moment gave them the courage to say whatever was on their mind, however big, however small, however earth-shattering. So I'd say students are the number one the joy that we get in feedback. You know, it's easy to complain. I didn't like my seat. The ticket was too expensive. But when people stop and take the time to say how much they enjoyed a musical, a play, the experience in its entirety— where else can you sit in a room sometimes with 1,000+ other strangers and laugh at the same time, cry at the same time, or feel at the same time? And when our clients take the time to give us that feedback, it's invaluable and it keeps us going for the next day.

When you look at the career website and you look at what the Broadway League is doing, a lot of people enter through their theatrical program in their high school and majority of them are on stage and they think, oh well, if I can't perform, I don't know if I can be part of this industry. What would you say to that?

Oh gosh, there's so many, so many careers to seek out and I think there's, you know, as technology advances, there's even more careers that are, are coming to fruition in our industry. You know, I remember as a kid coming in and out of my dad's office, I would take the paper orders and I would roller skate to the box office. I would drop off requests, I would pick up confirmations, drop off checks, pick up tickets and roller skate, and then jump 10 years later or whatever the case may be. There was the internet. And I said, Dad, we probably should get on this internet thing. So, you know, and that hasn't— technology hasn't slowed down. You look at the, you know, the production value as it relates to technology that's happening now. I think the creation of jobs and careers that perhaps are new to the industry is an entirely different conversation. But, but the jobs that exist currently, there's a wealth of them. And what I love about them, as you mentioned, that a lot of people start off on the stage. I think I had the acting bug for a second and realized I just didn't have the chops for it. Never did I dream that I would be a wholesale ticket seller, that I would cross paths and collaborate on a daily basis with marketing advertising geniuses. So there's the art part of it. And then to communicate and rely on so many different areas of expertise. I continue to learn every day about a different part of our business and other people's careers. You know, our CBB, NYC Company, I'm heavily involved in tourism now. I've served on the board of the American Bus Association for over 8 years. I mean, it's wild. I think you can take a skill set that you may enter into the industry with and expand upon that for a lifetime. And that's what, that's what I love about what I do. And I think anyone can do it.

And lastly, anything you want to say to inspire those when it comes to the joy of our live art form called theater?

Wow. Do it, go for it, be passionate about what you love, and continue to learn and listen and collaborate. I think, you know, learning goes on for a lifetime, and this is a perfect industry in which to do just that.

Thank you so much.