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Listen First, Speak Second

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Listen First, Speak Second
It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.
I see this all the time in business. Because sales meetings can be nerve racking, most salespeople will jump straight into talking about their product or service because it makes them feel comfortable. Problem is, you’ve assumed what the other person wants hear and you’re probably way off the mark.
It’s a bit like the telephone sales rep that calls you with a long sales pitch and THEN asks you about your personal needs. You lost me at hello.
I know this advice sounds so obvious but you would be surprised at how many people make this mistake, particularly in athlete management.
If I meet with a client who wants representation, I can assume they want me to get them endorsements. Alternatively I can simply ask them want they want from me. Sometimes the answer back is not so obvious. I then tailor my discussion to their feedback. Suddenly I’m different to every other manager they have met with.
The only way to get someone to understand you is to understand them first.It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.

It’s amazing how many sales people rush into their sales pitch expecting to deliver what they think the other person wants to hear. When in reality, simply sitting back and listening first gives you the ultimate upper hand.

I see this all the time in business.

Because sales meetings can be nerve racking, most salespeople will jump straight into talking about their product or service because it makes them feel comfortable. Problem is, they’ve assumed what the other person wants hear and they’re probably way off the mark.

It’s a bit like the telephone sales rep that calls you with a long sales pitch and THEN asks you about your personal needs. They lost you at hello, right?

I know this advice sounds so obvious but you would be surprised at how many people make this mistake, particularly in athlete management.

If I meet with a client who wants representation, I can assume they want me to get them endorsements. Alternatively I can simply ask them want they want from me. Sometimes the answer back is not so obvious. I then tailor my discussion to their feedback. Suddenly I’m different to every other manager they have met with.

The only way to get someone to understand you is to understand them first.


Posted in Communication, Personal Development, Strategy | No Comments »

Crossroads

Monday, February 15th, 2010
“A lot of people think I’m cocky, and I think cocky can be cute. Being arrogant is totally different. I’ve learned that now. If cocky is when, before someone throws you a pitch, you think you’re gonna hit it, then yeah, I’m cocky. Arrogance is talking about it in the dugout all day.” – John Mayer

Mayer should heed his own advice. Because “talking about it in the dugout” is exactly what has caused the singer his latest media crisis; an explosive tell all interview courtesy of Playboy magazine. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/1011527/myer-apologises-breaks-down-on-stage
Mayer’s interview is filled with explosive quotes for the tabloids but the real question is why on earth was Mayer in talks with Playboy in the first place?
Everyone knows Mayer has a history of kiss and tell. Sitting down with Playboy magazine was always going to lead to trouble.
Ok I get it. Mayer has an album to promote. His record agency appoint a PR firm (external or internal) to put the bait out – John is available to talk about his new album, who’s interested? Playboy put their hand up. The rest is history.
When a PR company go all out in the pursuit of publicity they go for quantity not necessarily quality. You see, PR agencies are judged by how many times a logo appears or a word is mentioned. It’s hard to knock back media requests when publicity alone is the goal.
This can lead to some dangerous traps for celebrities. It gives certain media access to your client, media you otherwise would never consider.
It’s difficult to avoid such PR plans by sponsors, so you’ve got to rely on solid media training for your client.
If was preparing John Mayer for an interview with Playboy I would have said “Now John, the magazine is likely to bring up A, B, C. Ideally they want you to talk about X, Y, Z. What I want you to do is stick with 1, 2, 3. If you can’t do that, then I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”
You can’t always hide from sections of the media, one day you’ll come face to face so it’s best to be prepared.

“A lot of people think I’m cocky, and I think cocky can be cute. Being arrogant is totally different. I’ve learned that now. If cocky is when, before someone throws you a pitch, you think you’re gonna hit it, then yeah, I’m cocky. Arrogance is talking about it in the dugout all day.” – John Mayer

Mayer should heed his own advice. Because “talking about it in the dugout” is exactly what has caused the singer his latest media crisis; an explosive tell all interview courtesy of Playboy magazine.

Mayer’s interview is filled with explosive quotes for the tabloids but the real question is why on earth was Mayer in talks with Playboy in the first place?

Everyone knows Mayer has a history of kiss and tell. Sitting down with Playboy magazine was always going to lead to trouble.

Ok I get it. Mayer has an album to promote. His record agency appoint a PR firm (external or internal) to put the bait out – John is available to talk about his new album, who’s interested? Playboy put their hand up. The rest is history.

When a PR company go all out in the pursuit of publicity they go for quantity not necessarily quality. You see, PR agencies are judged by how many times a logo appears or a word is mentioned. It’s hard to knock back media requests when publicity alone is the goal.

As a manager, this can lead to some dangerous traps for your celebrity clients. It gives certain people or publications access to your client, media you would otherwise never consider.

It’s difficult to avoid these situations, so you’ve got to rely on solid media training for your client.

If was preparing John Mayer for an interview with Playboy I would have said “Now John, the magazine is likely to bring up A, B, C. I don’t want you talking about A, B, C. I want you to stick with X, Y, Z. If you can’t do that, then I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”

You can’t always hide from sections of the media, one day you’ll come face to face so it’s best to be prepared.

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Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

Wiki-fied

Thursday, February 4th, 2010
I’m surprised with this week’s attack on celebrity agent Max Markson over his attempt to edit a client’s profile on Wikipedia.
“I changed and deleted a lot of things that I didn’t like, being the good spin doctor and manager that I am,” Markson said.
The attacks have come from people who don’t have wiki profiles, who don’t understand what it’s like to have an online profile edited and maintained by strangers. Imagine that for a second. I’m betting these people would be on wiki editing their profiles quicker than you can type QWERTY.
It’s easy to criticise Markson, but I’m pretty sure you’d want him to do the same if he was your manager.
I’ve long monitored the wiki profiles of my clients. As a manager, I can’t always control what the newspapers or magazines say, but I can control wiki so of course I’m going to use that to my client’s advantage.
C’mon you do the same.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/the-internets-in-a-spin-over-naomi-robson/story-e6frewz0-1225826502872

I’m surprised with this week’s attack on celebrity agent Max Markson over his attempt to edit a client’s profile on Wikipedia.

“I changed and deleted a lot of things that I didn’t like, being the good spin doctor and manager that I am,” Markson said.

The attacks have come from people who don’t have wiki profiles, who don’t understand what it’s like to have an online profile edited and maintained by strangers. Imagine that for a second. I’m betting these people would be on wiki editing their profiles quicker than you can type QWERTY.

It’s easy to criticise Markson, but I’m pretty sure you’d want him to do the same if he was your manager.

I’ve long monitored the wiki profiles of my clients. As a manager, I can’t always control what the newspapers or magazines say, but I can control Wiki so of course I’m going to use that to my client’s advantage.

That aside, Markson is laughing right now. All this free PR for his clients online web-based program, The Naomi Show – LoveLife, before it launches. Brilliant.

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Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Media, Strategy | 3 Comments »

How to Tame a Troublemaker

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

The Daily Telegraph has revealed that senior Sydney Roosters players confronted troublemaker and new recruit Todd Carney in highly emotional meeting over the Christmas break.

Is this the first time Todd Carney has seriously been held accountable by his teammates? It looks that way on the outside.

Now I’m not suggesting Carney’s former club the Canberra Raiders didn’t try to reign in their star prodigy, they did, but there is a big difference between being suspended and losing the respect and trust of your peers.

Look around at any football club with a troublemaker. You’ll often find that the troublemaker is the leader of the pack or someone that has the natural ability to influence others. These troublemakers are nearly always top blokes and they befriend teammates easily with a larrikin personality. It’s incredible tough for anyone within the team to stand up to this person and tell them to seriously pull their socks up.

Sometimes the coach or the captain will put their foot down, but often it’s without the support of the rest of the team who don’t want to lose the friendship of the troublemaker. As you can imagine this creates a siege mentality and only disrupts the harmony of the team.

To tame a troublemaker you need all your senior players to unite and put that person on notice. It’s the only way.

It seems the Sydney Roosters understand this and have rolled the dice. The ball is now in Carney’s court, and only time will tell if he truly respects those around him.

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Posted in Communication, Rugby League, Strategy | No Comments »

Will Tiger Woods Lose Any Sponsors Over This Latest Incident?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

There has been a lot of talk about whether Tiger Woods will lose any sponsors over his bizarre accident.

At the moment he won’t. And nor should he. Right now, these rumours about his personal life are just that, rumours only until proven otherwise.

In any case, its not always easy for a sponsor to walk away from a contract. They have to execute an escape clause which usually involves the athlete bringing the sponsor into disrepute.

So what are the common escape clauses in personal endorsements? Here are the major ones.

  • Being charged or convicted of a crime.
  • A positive test to drugs.
  • Breaking the laws of the sporting body (in this case the PGA).
  • Engaging in conduct that is obscene, indecent, immoral or unprofessional.
  • Doing anything that restricts the ability of the brand to promote the athlete or diminishes the commercial benefits provided to the sponsor.
  • Becoming of unsound mind therefore unable to fulfil sponsorship duties.
  • Not maintaining your elitist position in your sport eg. losing your PGA Tour card.

There are a myriad of others clauses but these are the most common in any contract.

If you know anything about legal contracts, the aim of the game is to make things so black and white in writing that there can be no dispute about a breach.

Tiger would have a strong case against any sponsor who wanted to pull the plug over this news story. There are simply too many grey areas for a sponsor to successfully argue a breach.

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Posted in Media, Sponsorship, Strategy, Uncategorized, golf | 4 Comments »

Retrospect

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson has revealed that personal dramas led to his Ashes meltdown.

At the time, I knew this was the case. Having worked with elite athletes I know that personal issues affect performance more than the public can ever imagine. Especially when those personal issues are played out in the media.

Some athletes can block it out. Some simply cannot. For Johnson, this was the first time his personal life was put in the spotlight. Not only that, he was in the middle of an Ashes Series in England where the tabloids a ruthless and the crowds spiteful. He was always going to struggle.

As a sports manager the best thing you can do for an athlete in this situation, is minimise the longevity of the issue in the media. You need to put the issue to rest and avoid anything that may prolong debate. And I don’t mean hiding under the covers. You need to give the media something to chew. It can be as simple as saying “this is the situation or facts” and “this is my position” and “this is how I’m going to handle it” and “I don’t have anything else to say until I take the next step.”

The media will respect this and treat the athlete a lot better than if they were to hide in the corner.

Minimising the longevity of the issue helps but it’s an external solution to what is an internal issue for the athlete. That’s where mentors come in.

Having one’s personal life thrown into the spotlight is nothing new. There are millions of people who have gone through the same experience. People who have survived and come out the other side. Your job as a manager is to find these people and ask one to speak with your athlete. A simple phonecall can make the world of difference.

When faced with a personal problem, people get so focussed on themselves that they feel like nobody can relate to them and what they are going through. Wrong. There are people out who have gone through the exact same thing and they are only too happy to offer their advice.

If you look at another cricketer Michael Clarke, he has Shane Warne as a mentor. Warne has dealt with fame for a long time and can duly offer sound advice to a younger Clarke in that area. A manager can only wear so many hats, sometimes a manager must seek mentors for an athlete. People that can better relate to what an athlete is going through.

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Posted in Client Relationship, Communication, Cricket, Media, Strategy | No Comments »

One Golden Rule of Publicity

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

When you’re hot – STRIKE.

Athletes and celebrities have a very short time span in the scheme of things to maximise their earning potential.

In a world that moves at a staggering pace, keeping up with sport, music, fashion and entertainment news and trends becomes a game of move on or get left behind.

Consumers are very quick to latch onto something and they’ll doit with tremendous vigor (think Harry Potter and Twilight or any big sports star).

But just as consumers are quick to latch on, they’ll move on. This means when you’re in the spotlight, work it, work it, work it!!!

You would be surprised that some talent don’t get this concept. I’ve had athletes compete at Olympics and Commonwealth Games overseas, their name and image strewn across every newspaper back here in Australia. At this point in time, the best thing they can do is get their butt on a plane and come home.

If they can do that, then I can leverage their name which is already in lights. TV, radio and print will line up for me.

However, what do most athletes do? They decide they deserve a break after years of training and book a holiday directly after their major competition. Bad idea. They just missed a golden opportunity.

I totally understand the need for a break and I’ve experienced first hand how draining major events are for athletes. After competing, they just want to let their hair down, do nothing and switch off. I get this.

But if you’re an athlete that is serious about promoting your brand to attract sponsors then you’ve got to maximise this valuable window of opportunity.

Compete at Olympics, fly home for a week of media, then go holiday. It’s that simple.

It’s no good coming home a month later when news are no longer interested and everyone else has moved on.

This applies to anyone who is experiencing a flush of publicity. Milk it. Be available. Work hard. You can always rest later when you’re not so hot.

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Posted in Communication, Media, Olympics, Sponsorship, Strategy | No Comments »

The Athlete Diary

Monday, October 26th, 2009

I had an ugly situation today when I had to pull an athlete from a major event because they had double booked and not informed me.

In most cases I would enforce the prior obligation with management, but the circumstances on this occasion didn’t allow for that. This left me frustrated and embarrassed but it also reinforced the importance of diary management.

An athlete’s personal diary impacts their professional diary.

Traditionally I would rely on the athlete to update their own diary with commitments I send them. Or I would email them the diary I manage so they could update their own diary.

This system has worked ok in the past, but I’m not in the business of being ok. I need a better solution.

Upon further thinking I would encourage athlete managers to keep a gmail account with a diary that you and your athlete have public access to. One diary. No confusion.

This system still relies heavily on the athlete but once both parties are in a good habit it should become second nature.

Sometimes we need problems in order to see new opportunities or in this case better ways of doing things.

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Teamwork

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Whether you’re an athlete in a team sport, a CEO of a large company or a young entrepreneur starting a business, getting “TEAMWORK” right is critical.

The corporate world can learn a lot from the sporting world and the principles are not hard to follow.

1. You need a great captain/coach. Someone that leads by example. Someone that can make quick decisions and is willing to die by the sword. Someone that stays calm under pressure. Has confidence. Has ethics. And is a people’s person.

2. Everyone in the team must have clearly defined roles. The more specific the better. And just like footy players have hit ups, tackles and disposals, the role must be measureable. Let team members take ownership over their role and make them accountable. And when delegating tasks, be ridiculously specific.

3. Get the team to socialise outside work. You learn so much more about a person away from the office. This casual interaction has the ability to create friendships that are a bit deeper than the typical “workmate relationship”. Athletes always talk about “not letting their teammates down,” and this comes out of friendship.

4. Create a fun and comfortable work environment. Team members have to enjoy coming to work. One of the first things Wayne Bennett did when he went to the St George Illawarra Dragons, was to improve the training facilities. You want your team to be proud of their workspace and take pride in it.

5. Have a clearly defined mission statement that inspires. Every sports team has a mantra. A key set of words that inspire and reminds everyone what they’re striving for.

5. Focus on the process. Sporting teams don’t focus on a premiership. They focus on the process of what they must do each day to achieve a premiership. A salesperson could focus on $1 million in sales, or they could focus on how many phone calls and proposals they’ll need to send out to achieve that $1 million.

6. Communicate. Sporting teams are very candid in their communication. They don’t let things fester. If there is a problem, it’s discussed and solved before it divides a team. The captain/coach needs to be approachable and always have their ear to the ground.

7. Constantly review performance. Sporting teams regularly meet for video analysis to learn from their mistakes and improve performance. They are constantly striving to get better. After a project or business deal, its worth asking “how could we have done that better or what worked and what didn’t.” Don’t go through the motions. Stop once and a while and look at the big picture.

7. Encourage mentoring. Senior athletes love taking younger teammates under the wing. Don’t wait for this to naturally happen. Appoint your senior people to someone. This proactive move works at Australian Olympic team level so it should work for you.

6. Celebrate success. You don’t need to swap shirts, spray champagne and shout a song to the beat of a wheelie bin, but you’ve got to enjoy the wins. If you can’t do this then really what is the point? Celebrating success also has the added benefit of bringing the team closer together so have fun.

teamwork_team_work_coach_a

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Posted in Communication, Rugby, Rugby League, Strategy | 3 Comments »

No

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

If I had a dollar for every time I said “no” I would be a billionaire. I think any sports manager can relate to this.

Athletes receive a staggering number of requests and the reality is only 5-10% of those get actioned.

If you look at an athlete’s day to day priorities you would find that 80% of their time is dedicated to training and competition (that 80% also includes getting sufficient rest, massage, physio and maintaining a healthy diet). The remaining 20% is dedicated to off field duties with their club which includes sponsor and media commitments. It also includes keeping personal sponsors happy and finding time for family and other personal commitments.

So you can begin to understand why managers are reluctant to stack additional opportunities on an athlete. Our duty is to make life as seamless as possible. Our first priority is selling the client to the marketplace, servicing current sponsors, managing the media requests and looking after the athlete’s dedicated charity if they have one. Anything outside these areas is dealt with brutally.

Athletes don’t hear about three quarters of the requests they receive. That’s why they employ managers. To filter requests and only bring to the table opportunities that are commercially viable or that make sense with respect to their diary and other commitments.

So when an athlete manager turns down your request. It’s not personal. It’s just business.

yesornocartoon_200x220

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