The Essence of College Recruiting: The Salesman

The Essence of College Recruiting: The Salesman

The Search

When a person looks to buy a new car or a new house, they always negotiate with someone who makes a living selling. A salesperson understands the ins and outs of the product or service they represent, and explains the appeal, strengths, and weaknesses. They understand and aid in the desires of their clients, all leading to an eventual deal.

Collegiate coaches are no different. While they must design the program and train their athletes, coaches’ careers flourish or wilt under the ability to recruit. Many championship level programs have diminished in only a few years due to their supply of athletes and talent. In essence, a coach must be a true salesperson, one who creates the product they are selling.

The Product

The first principle of sales is making a product that someone would want to buy. While many try to say the team or school is that product, it is actually the coach that is the purchase. Recruits are pledging themselves to train under this coach for the next four years, holding to the faith that this training will make them better athletes.

Programs rise and fall under the tutelage of a coach. Strong programs receive a wider pool of applicants, but coaches that are under constraints or managing a new program can still lead the charge. They just need to sell what they can accomplish with the athletes under the program they are creating. They can bring in specific talent to spearhead the emergence of powerhouse classes. It becomes a snowball effect.

A coach’s abilities that can be logically shown are training style, set construction, stroke development/refinement and taper design. All of these areas are transformed and quantified by the times their swimmers can produce. By reviewing an individual swimmer’s progress throughout the year and making a broad comparison for patterns across the team, a coach can show prospects what their program is specifically about. The ebb and flow of intensity and the effect it has on swims at dual meets. The promise to improve stroke efficiency of commits. And the most important, time drops by team members. How well they swam in contrast to before entering college. All aspects of what makes the program desirable.

The Person

The second principle of sales is knowing how to sell your product. This specifically means knowing how to read people and engage with them on a personal level. The level of importance this principle has in athletics is magnified even further. How well a coach can communicate with recruits and parents directly reflects his/her approachability as the leader of that team and vice-versa. What athlete would willingly choose to train for someone that can’t hold a decent conversation with them? They would never choose that school.

This builds into the first principle as well. If a coach is strong at communicating during the recruiting process, it also yields itself to producing better swimmers. The coach is better at reasoning with their athletes, and projecting a clear vision of what’s required on both ends. What details must be worked on and why. Supporting and understanding reasons why swimmers might leave the team. Know how to compromise so that an athlete doesn’t have to continually question their passion for the sport. All of which result in a better built team, the best product.

The Sale

The final and most important principle of sales is believing in your product first and foremost. If you aren’t willing to truly put all your effort and faith into your purpose, then others will notice. Those that truly care will do whatever they can to improve the team. They will research new techniques and methods of training in an attempt to help their athletes better. These individuals will search for new and exciting possibilities for their team to grow, whether that be new meets with more intense racing or better training trip locations.

These coaches are the ones who truly succeed and create legacies. They find more happiness in the success of the team than anything else. And when someone is so passionate about their craft, it becomes contagious. It is matched by the other coaches and athletes. They begin to put in more effort and believe more in the process when they see their leader doing the same.

Most coaches fail to learn how to use all three principles. They can try to over-compensate by being stronger in a singular aspect, but this means their style of coaching will always be handicapped. It is easy to see whenever a coach is a true salesman, and applies all of these principles into one team. Over the course of a few years, they can accomplish more and create a conducive atmosphere for championship winning programs.

That is the true art of being a people person, of being a salesperson where the product is yourself.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use