“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”– Vince Lombardi
“You’re never a loser until you quit trying.”– Mike Ditka
“There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.”– Pat Riley
“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.”– Phil Jackson
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”– John Wooden
I love “coach speak.” In fact, I’ll let you in on a secret – my dream job would be to coach basketball. I love the game, love to watch it, love to be in a gym when a game is going on. I’ve always been a big sports fan, and baseball was my first true love (baseball and Jennifer from Days of Our Lives), but with basketball I’ve always paid extra close attention to the strategy and the coaching.
I had a small taste of it, the year before I switched from Programming to Sales Management. You may or may not have heard about my 9-7 season as coach of one of the Freshman teams at Clayton High School in St. Louis back in the early 2000’s. Some have called it a “magical” season. For me, it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.
Getting back to the coach speak above, I’ve always been a sucker for a good quote from a legendary coach. My personal favorite comes from “The General” himself, Bobby Knight: “To be as good as it can be, a team has to buy into what you as the coach are doing. They have to feel you’re a part of them and they’re a part of you.”
To me, I believe this quote to mean you have to “dive in.” If nothing else, people have to know that I’m never going to ask them to work any harder than I will. However, as I imagine Coach Knight is as well, I’m very demanding of myself and therefore very demanding of others. I’m also very aware of something else Coach Wooden said: “A coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority.” With my sales teams, I always make it very clear that I do not consider myself “the boss,” I consider myself “the team captain,” pulling from the front, leading the way, setting the example.
This much about coaching I know and believe in – everyone can use some of it. In some way, shape or form, if you are going to grow as a person or as a salesperson, you need a good coach. Ideally, this can be someone you are accountable to and who can help you track success based on goals you’ve set together. Most importantly, what you need in a good coach, is for them to be honest with you, or as they say, “tough, but fair.”
What do you do to make yourself better at selling sports media? The truth is there are too many people who wouldn’t have much of an answer to this question, even though we all know it’s something we should be making time for. This is where a good coach can come in to play and could not only help you see some obvious things like that, but also follow up with you to make sure you’ve not just recognized it, but acted on it.
All of us should strive to be the best we can possibly be, at anything we do. Few of us have the real discipline to do it on our own. Look at figuring out who your coach (or coaches) are and use that tool to be better. After all, as George Halas famously said: “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.”
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
