by Mandy Green, Selling for Coaches

When you bring a recruit to campus, are they going to see a program that is hanging on by a thread in terms of the team’s relationship with the coaching staff?  Or, is it a healthy, thriving team that has great team/staff chemistry? 

If the answer is anything other than "thriving", you need to begin building team/staff relationships and doing some important things internally that can drastically improve the atmosphere.  Otherwise, you will need to be prepared to see it have a negative impact on your recruiting.
 
When trying to build relationships with your athletes, there are six important concepts to convey to each and every athlete on your team:
 
Show that you care and are concerned for the player as a person. 
Take the initiative to invest the time to connect with them as people. Go out early to practices and work with players, to talk about the day's events, and show you are interested. Check in on their families, how their classes are going, how they feel about the team's confidence, commitment, or even how they feel about their role on the team, chemistry, etc.

Communicate in an effort to build understanding
Increase communication, decrease anxiety. Decrease communication, increase anxiety.  It is very important to give players a very clear sense of why they are going to be doing what they are doing.  By communicating early and often to each of them about their roles, your vision, goals, and your expectations, you will reduce the risk of miscommunication and ineffectiveness.
 
Be willing to listen
The student-athletes in your program deserve your full and immediate attention when they come to see you.  When a player comes to talk to you, stop what you are doing and focus on nothing else but what they are saying.  Make eye contact, nod your head when you understand what they are saying, and don’t interrupt until they are done talking.  When players feel like you are listening to and care about what they have to say, you will have their trust and respect.  Active listening is also an important part of recruiting and overcoming objections, which we'll be dealing with at a special coaches conference in Atlanta in November (you should be there!) 

Share ‘ownership’ of the process
A coaching style based on command and control may not work as well as it has in the past.  Entrust your players with some responsibility and then make sure you support them as they put their decisions into action.  Get feedback from them about drills they like, practice gear, the locker room, travel routines, and about recruits that they hosted.  Being included in the journey throughout the year empowers players to have greater control of their collegiate experience and ensures player motivation and cooperation.
 
Create adult-adult relationship
Traditionally, coaches used fear and intimidation to motivate athletes. Successful coaches now are focusing on developing strong relationships with athletes based on trust and respect.  There is no way in this day and age that you can expect to control everything that goes on with your program.  Clearly define what your expectations, goals, roles, and vision are and then let your team run with it.  You will get more from each and every player you have when and if they feel like they are trusted, respected, and allowed to have the freedom to utilize their talents to reach their potential.  Plus, our studies show that's what they are looking for in a coach when they are being recruited.   

Be willing to laugh and cry together
Collegiate sports is so much more than the game.  For many players and coaches, the team is their second family.  The relationships built can last a lifetime.  Coach, stop being serious all of the time and enjoy the people who you are surrounded by.  If you are going to have a successful program, your players need to look forward to coming to practice, be surrounded by people who are fun to be around, and in an atmosphere where they can learn and develop and people and players.       

Better relationships with your players will lead to a more motivated and psychologically strong team.  Focus on developing strong relationships with athletes based on trust and respect.   When players feel like they are cared for, being listened to, know what is expected of them, and have a role in accomplishing the team goals, they will "go to war" for you and for the team. 

For SFC Premium Members this week, you will be getting a special "Player/Coach Relationship Checklist" and also a list of the 10 Questions You MUST Be Able to Answer About Each of Your Athletes. 

Not a Premium Member?  Try it free for 30 days! 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In our special report for college coaches, we go inside the mind of the 2008 class of high school prospects for insights on how college coaches should recruit them. 

What messages they respond to...who helps them make their decision...and what role the head coach plays.

Want a real-world example of how a coach can make a difference in how prospects view a program?  Look no further than Lincoln, Nebraska, where Tom Osborne is back in the saddle as the interim head football coach for the Cornhuskers.

Here's the story from the Kansas City Star: 

The cold wind swirled viciously, dropping inches of snow on the downtown streets. People kept their heads down, eyes on the icy sidewalks. They walked past dozens of signs that read, “The Power Of Red” without seeing them.

Then Tom Osborne emerged from the Lincoln Square Building, tall and thin with a cell phone pressed to his ear, striding through the storm with his head held high. People saw him, and they smiled.

Here in Cornhusker country, folks haven’t forgotten that Nebraska used to be part of college football’s aristocracy. Signs celebrate the past. Restaurants drape themselves in red. Students still wear sweaters celebrating national championships that happened in the mid-’90s — when they were in grade school.

But pride has been replaced by self-pity, and the joy of college football has moved over to make way for something new: a sense of loss. The feeling that a whole state saw itself severed from the thing that once drew it together.

Enter Osborne.

When he retired in 1997 after 24 years as the head coach, he’d won three national titles and racked up a 255-49-3 record. The team hadn’t seen a losing season since 1961. Since Osborne’s departure, it has had two losing seasons, including this year’s 5-7 debacle that included humiliating losses to Missouri and Kansas.

So on Oct. 15, the university fired athletic director Steve Pederson and replaced him with Osborne, who stepped out of retirement. Two weeks ago, Osborne announced head coach Bill Callahan would not return. He even stepped in as interim head coach until a replacement could be found.

It was like the old days again. Tom is here. Tom can be trusted. Tom will set things right.

Last week, as the snow piled up, Osborne marched quickly across 13th Street. A man in a blue truck honked, waved and stopped in the middle of the slushy street to let the legend pass. People burying their faces against the weather looked up and suddenly beamed.

Rondi Mettscher couldn’t believe it. In all her years in Lincoln, the 57-year-old native had never seen Osborne in person. Now here he was, in the flesh, the man who was going to make everything OK.

“We’re all excited to have him back,” she said as she watched him climb into his car and drive away. “And look. He’s on his cell phone. You just know he’s working on it right now.”

Posted by Dan Tudor at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's no in-between, Coach.

Your prospect sees you as either a salesperson (bad) or as a resource (good).  Yes, I know we're called "Selling for Coaches", but the key to successful selling - otherwise known as recruiting - is to be a resource rather than a salesperson.

Here's what I mean.  If you approach your recruits with information and bullet-points about you, they're going to see you as a salesperson.  However, if you go to them with ideas, answers and engaging ways to meet their goals, they're going to see you as a resource.

If they see you as a resource, it's easier to connect with them.  If you connect with them, they'll see you as someone they can trust.  If you gain their trust, you'll probably sign them.

If you're a salesperson, can you connect?  Maybe, but it won't be easy.  Can you gain their trust?  It's not going to be easy.  And it won't be easy to sign them, either. 

When you're a salesperson, its all about you, and what you have for them, and what you want them to do, and what's important to you.  Now, let me ask you, Coach...does that sound very appealing to the teenage prospect you're trying to attract to your program?  No.  Like we outline in our recruiting guides, "Selling for Coaches" and "What They Didn't Teach You About Recruiting", it's all about connecting with your prospect.  If you don't connect with them, it's going to be tough to sign them.

Sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer has a great rule to remember when you're in a selling (recruiting) situation: The percent of time your prospect does the talking dictates your chances for signing the prospect.  If they talk 20% of the time, you'll probably have a 20% chance of signing them.  If they talk 80% of the time, you'll probably have an 80% chance of signing them.

Gitomer's point?  If you want to sell your prospect, you need to give them the answers they need.  You need to be the resource they're searching for.  And you need to do it by making everything you do and say about your prospect, not about you. 

If you're a SFC Premium Member, or become one this week, I'll give you five ways to make sure you tailor your conversation to your prospect.  Look for it later this week in your Inbox.  

Check your brochures...your recruiting letters...your talking-points during campus visits.  How much of it is centered around your prospect, and how much of it is stuff that you're pushing about you and your school? 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ever catch a glimpse of Tony Dungy sitting on the sidelines during a football game?

Dungy, of course, is the coach of last year's Super Bowl champs, the Indianapolis Colts. It crossed my mind that rarely does a coach in professional sports have the majority of fans rooting more for him than for his team, but there's no question that this has been the case with Dungy for many years.

You don't have to meet Dungy personally to know that he's a genuinely nice guy. Your television screen doesn't lie. Dungy is soft-spoken, respectful, and gracious in both victory and defeat. He sums up his nice-guy philosophy simply by saying, "If you're prepared, you don't have to yell and scream."

Now, compare Dungy to the legendary Leo Durocher. Durocher was the in-your-face baseball manager of the New York Giants when Bobby Thomson hit his "shot-heard-round-the-world" pennant-winning homerun against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951. He was one of the most quotable characters in baseball history, and will always be remembered as the person who said "Nice guys finish last."

Durocher's quote has become part of the American lexicon because many people believe it to be true. But is it? Is Tony Dungy an anomaly? Are nice guys destined to fare poorly in life? Does it take a boorish personality to succeed?

There's no question that some of the most successful people in our culture have been bombastic, egotistical, cold-hearted, and/or just plain nasty. Coaches are perhaps the most notorious examples in this respect - Bobby Knight, Woody Hayes, and Bill Parcells are just a few of the names that come to mind.

In business, Donald Trump is the poster boy for nastiness. And in the media world, broadcasters such as Katie Couric and Dan Rather have never seemed to be able to hide their snarls, even while on camera.

Now, here's the good news: Being mean-spirited is not a mandatory component of success. We know this to be true, because plenty of nice guys (and ladies) have succeeded on a big scale.

I won't deny that many obnoxious people become successful. But don't be misled into believing that their turn-off personalities are responsible for their success. In truth, success is separate and apart from one's disposition.

What determines your degree of success as a college coach is how well you execute the basics - like being prepared... your willingness to stick your neck out and take bold action... paying attention to detail... and finding opportunities in perceived problems.

The primary reason for embracing positive personality traits such as calmness, graciousness, humility, and kindness is to enjoy the mental rewards of such intangibles as peace of mind, self-esteem, and self-respect. If you're going to succeed, why not feel good about yourself in the process? And, as a bonus, you might just experience less stress and live a longer and healthier life.

We should always keep in mind that we tend to attract people who are most like us. And surrounding yourself with a cadre of Tony Dungys makes life a whole lot more enjoyable than having to deal with a bunch of Leo Durochers day in and day out. So, the reality is that attracting decent people into your life begins with you.

One last point: Being nice does not mean that you have to let people take advantage of you in college coaching. On the contrary, the ideal is a combination of niceness and firmness. I bring this up because I believe that many people think they have to be pushovers in their business and personal lives in order to be liked.

Nothing could be further from the truth. People will like you if you're thoughtful and polite, which is a good thing for both you and them. But, at the same time, they will also respect you if you are firm when it comes to doing what is in your best interests and sticking with your decisions.

In other words, being a good person and being tough are not mutually exclusive objectives. It's just as easy to say no in a calm way, with a smile on your face, as it is to say it with a scowl. And why not make life easy?

Robert Ringer contributed to this article.  Do you need help in planning your coaching career?  Selling for Coaches works with coaches to help develop their career plans, interview techniques, resumes and more.  For more information, e-mail Chad Cameron, SFC's Client Services Manager, at chad@sellingforcoaches.com or call us at 661.746.4554.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)