Part 1: Promoting the Obsession
Jason Patterson - Regional ProStaff Director for Mossy Oak's Mississippi Flyway Waterfowl Team
I have been a ProStaff manager for three years now and a Mossy Oak ProStaffer for the last eight before taking over the position as manager. I also promote several other companies in the fishing and hunting industry. I have learned several things in this position over the years and get asked various questions at the events we cover. The number one question I usually receive is, “How do I become a ProStaffer and get started in this industry?” It’s an eye opener to most when I give them the answers. In the upcoming weeks, we are going to discuss the ways you can become a ProStaffer for Mossy Oak or any company in general. It is great information and pretty straight forward. It takes a lot of dedication and knowledge of the business and who you are going to promote, but it takes passion for the outdoors, first and foremost.
I now do seminars on this subject alone at shows and outdoor related events. Most every outdoorsman wants to be more involved in the promotional field. It's natural and most of us would love to hunt and fish for a living, but it starts at the grass roots level and Mossy Oak has one of the biggest ProStaffs around. We have managers covering regions across the whole United States and Canada. These managers in turn take care of their regions and the ProStaff involved. At over 1000 members strong, we leave no area untouched. Tim Anderson oversees the entire Mossy Oak ProStaff and handles the Managers and the National ProStaff. Tim has done a fantastic job of taking on this great task and the results have been outstanding.
First off, let’s understand what the “Pro” in ProStaff really stands for. Most believe it stands for "Professional Hunter," and in a way it does but it really stands for “Promotional.” Almost every person I talk to gets that answer wrong, but the people in this business that have been at it for years get it right. A ProStaffer at any level is hired to promote who they work for, period. We are the lifeblood of the outdoor industry; it enables us to cover vast areas and spread the Mossy Oak way of life. I have been around the business for over 20 years and Mossy Oak is by far the best company I have been involved with. We all have a passion for the outdoors like I have never seen and it is one big family. All of us are down home people who love what they do. Toxey Haas, the man behind the camo, is the most approachable and family oriented person you could have. Everyone at Mossy Oak is this way, just great people who will do anything for you.
If you have the desire to become a ProStaffer, please join me in the upcoming weeks to see how you can get started. I will take you from the initial process to what you need to do in the future to continue your success. Stay tuned, this will be good stuff!
Next week we will get into what you need to do now to get ready to contact the company you desire to promote.
Jason Patterson is the Regional ProStaff
Director for the Mississippi Flyway Waterfowl
Team for Mossy Oak. He handles 70 plus
staffers from Minnesota down to Louisiana.
He resides in Jackson TN.
