Jack’s Blog

Fan is short for fanatic.  It’s just that a fanatic gets fanatical about his or her team when the team is down as well as when it’s winning.  And that fanaticism can take on the form of sarcasm, negativity and disgust if losing persists - even if injuries turn a slim chance into a nonexistent one.  In the case of the Los Angeles Lakers, their fans should have their “fan licenses” revoked after the way they acted toward their team - or what was left of it - the past few games.

If any Lakers fan is asked to name the greatest player in the NBA, every last one of them will (still) yell, “Kobe!“  So, when your team loses its best player - who happens to be the best player in the NBA (according to you) - wouldn’t you think it would be normal (even for fanatics) - to tone down their expectations?  At least a little?  One of them was heard (on the air in Fresno) answering that question by exclaiming, “Maybe, but this is the Lakers.“  Meaning what?  That there’s a proclamation issued that your team is bequeathed wins?

First of all, before they lost Bryant, the Lakers were a seven seed matched up against the two seed.  The two seed that just happened to be the San Antonio Spurs, a team that’s used to post season pressure, having won its share of championships in the past, and a team that has a coach in Gregg Popovich who many think is the best in the business.  In addition to having the great Kobe MIA for the remainder of the year, Los Angeles had Steve Nash as its point guard.  He would have been the perfect lead guard had he not gotten hurt.  Some fans felt that it was a mistake to obtain Nash because it was inevitable he was going to get hurt - with his age and history of injuries.  Nevertheless, these fans still expected Nash to lead the team to a World Championship.  But, alas, Nash got hurt and wasn’t available last night.

Steve Blake is, ideally, the back up to Nash, so with Nash out, Lakers fans felt he was certainly capable to lead the team.  Then, he pulled his hamstring - and now he’s out indefinitely.  Jodie Meeks, a nice complementary player was next, but he sprained his ankle and is headed for an MRI.  Is there someone out there with a Los Angeles Lakers voodoo doll?  I guarantee if there was such a thing, they’d sell out in a hurry.

Still and all, Laker fans went into Game 3 with hope that, maybe the home crowd could pull them through.  Of course, if that were to happen, it would have to wait until at least midway through the second quarter because that’s when it’s fashionable to show up in LA.  You know, like, with the traffic and all.

When the game began, the Lakers got a few points from their big guys - Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.  The fans, which include their announcers, actually thought, even though the game is 48 minutes, that they’d have a shot.  “Get it inside!” they yelled, because it is somewhat unrealistic to depend on a second year player and a guy just called up from the D-League to knock down enough shots to win.  And, because that’s what Kobe tweeted.  As if the Spurs didn’t consider it would be a good idea for the Lakers to try to score that way and had not game planned for it.

That’s when the cynicism begins.  All because the fan’s team is losing.  And they don’t want to be a loser.  A number of them are losers in what they do.  The Lakers give them meaning - and they think - respect.  Hey, they don’t need any more help being a loser.  While fanatic has the word “fan” in it, so does infantile.  Winston Churchill said a long time ago:

“A fanatic is someone who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”

Ohio State and Arizona played one of those NCAA tournament games in which the cliche “every possession counts” was to be taken literally.  ‘Zona was up at the half but the Buckeyes came storming out of the locker room and quickly claimed the lead.  Now, let’s flash forward to the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game when OSU’s Nick Johnson deflected an Ohio State pass into the backcourt.  He and the Bucks’ Aaron Craft scrambled for the ball.  Johnson did what he’s seen so many of his peers do in similar situations.  He wisely called time out.  Or was it such a smart move?  True, they got the ball - but the time out was the Wildcats’ last. Had Johnson simply grabbed onto the ball and been tied up, the call would have been a “held ball” with the possession arrow going to . . . Arizona.  In other words, there was no need to burn that final timeout, leaving the ‘Cats with zero so late in such a meaningful game.

Anyone reading this blog is undoubtedly saying, “How in the hell - in the heat of such a moment - is Nick Johnson supposed to know the possession arrow in his team’s favor?”  My former boss and current friend and mentor George Raveling started a website about a year or so ago (CoachGeorgeRaveling.com - a site I highly recommend).  To date I’ve contributed a couple articles and I’m currently working on another (”Seating Arrangements and Duties for the Coaching Staff During Games”).  The first was entitled Top 10 Traits of a College Assistant Coach.  Trait #6 mentions “end-of-game situations.”  I encourage anyone who’d like to more deeply be involved when witnessing a game to read it.  The article I’m currently writing will reiterate the answer to the above posed question - as did Trait #6.

An assistant coach should have made everyone - coaches and players - aware of 1) how many times out the team had left and 2) which team had the possession arrow.  Some may think, “oh that’s easy to say.”  No.  It . . . really . . . is.  It’s just part of your practices.  Maybe not every day in October, November or December but as the season moves on (and the majority of your defensive and offensive sets or plays have been implemented), there is more time for special situations and incidents exactly like the one that occurred in the UA-OSU contest.

Arizona’s head coach Sean Miller was speaking about the final Ohio State possession when Aaron Craft passed the ball to LaQuinton Ross who buried a three-pointer with a couple of ticks left.  What he said was their plan was to switch the screen on the ball but didn’t.  He lamented (not a direct quote):

“In the pressure of the NCAA tournament, as the pressure mounts, it’s difficult for guys to do what you want them to do.”

Writing a blog on a daily basis is, as anyone who attempts to do it (or any rational person who would take the time to give it a thought), a difficult endeavor.  While I have fun doing it, I have to admit, there are days I can’t think of something to post that would be different, or in greater depth, than the reader could find elsewhere.  Even with yesterday’s great games, including the Florida Gulf Coast storyline, I’m offering up a previous blog (3/26/08) that will have true meaning for the reader.  I seriously doubt anyone’s been following me that long and even if you have, this one might have escaped your memory.  It’s well worth the time to (re)read it.  (Also, we’ll be bringing Alex back to CSU-Monterey Bay (their spring break is over) and will be spending a few days in that area.  Ain’t retirement great?  The blog will return Friday).

In any endeavor, hard work is the key phrase when it comes to attaining success.  This seems to be true more in the field of athletics than any other business.  At least, I’ve heard more leaders of teams (coaches) speak about outworking people than I do in any other business.  I can’t say that I’ve heard a pharmacist or a teacher, when asked about the key to success, mention “outworking” the competition.

Yet, it’s the standard line viewers, readers and fans get when they tune in & are presented with the outlook for the season.  When it comes right down to it, everybody can’t be outworking everybody else.  Somebody, while putting in the time and effort, is falling short of a competitor - somewhere.  But no one will admit to it and possibly, because they don’t believe it.  “Nobody is outworking us, I guarantee you that.”  Just saying it makes people feel like they’re beating down all comers.

The best I’ve ever heard the term “hard work” put in perspective was in a speech given to one of our USC teams in the early ’90s.  George Raveling, our head coach, deeply believed in the use of outside speakers to motivate, inspire, stimulate thinking or help players reach their full potential and each year, we’d have people outside the program, some well-known figures, others of lesser fame (but often with a higher quality message), address the squad.

One of those was a former Academic All-American basketball player from Duke named Dick DeVenzio.  I had known Dick mainly because I followed him in a graduate assistant’s role at Washington State where, by the way, George was also the head mentor.  Dick, a 5′11″ guard, had a terrific career for the Blue Devils in the late ’60s.  Being a fan of the game, I’d heard of Dick but getting to know him was a truly exceptional experience.

Without a doubt, he was one of the first “out-of-the-box” thinkers I’d ever come across.  When you spoke with Dick DeVenzio, you always came away from the conversation wiser, and often shaking your head in wonderment at some of the ideas he’d bring up.  He was a true Renaissance man whose life, tragically, was cut short by cancer nearly two decades ago.

The day he spoke to our players, he’d mention a few strategic things he’d do in a game that I found fascinating and I’ve passed on to other players I’ve coached.  But the one remark he made regarding hard work was the best in its simplicity, yet logical bluntness.  It stopped our players in their tracks and greatly increased the intensity of our practices from that time on - throughout the remainder of that year and a couple more to come for the underclassmen who had the benefit of hearing his message.

He simply said, “Who’s the hardest worker on the team?“  Nearly every team has one, maybe two guys, everybody would select.  On every team I’ve ever been around it’s always been that way.  There just seem to be one or two who stick out above the rest when it comes to work ethic.  It was the same for this particular Trojan club.

Then he said to the others, “What’s keeping everybody from saying you?“  He followed that up with the clincher:

“What’s keeping YOU from saying you?”

Pretty powerful when you think about it.

Some people are uncomfortable doing the “single dating game thing.”  Where are you supposed to go that doesn’t make it look obvious, e.g. that a guy is looking to pick up a girl or that a girl is hoping to get picked up (by someone like her dad who will wind up being her lifelong partner)?  When I was in my 20s and 30s, there were folks who loved the dating scene - both men and women.  Many, however, would go only if others accompanied them.  I hated it because back then, bars were filled with smoke, and the whole schtick seemed so phony.  Most everybody worth dating would have their guards up.  It was nearly impossible to get to know anybody.

My own personal dating strategy was to get fixed up, i.e. the old “blind date.”  It was usually dinner and a movie.  I can’t ever recall being at a loss of words but all I had to do was chat it up during dinner because there’s no talking during a movie.  To many, the only thing worse than barhopping was the infamous blind date.  My philosophy, however, was “If a girl can stand me for an evening, I certainly ought to be able to get through it.”

Whether my formula is the right way to go or not, last year my wife, Jane and I celebrated 25 years of marriage.  Throw in our two sons, who are each currently thriving, and our model can stand up against anyone’s.  Then again, I was a month away from my 40th birthday before I decided it was time to make the leap.  I didn’t have a handbook or a mentor showing me the way.  Today, the “hook up” routine has been revamped.

Anytime I want to know something, I’m always told, “Google it.”  Therefore it comes as no surprise that the computer has become the source of guidance for America’s (or, the world’s, for all I know) singles.  Allegedly, there are over one thousand dating service sites.  Another example of the computer solving problems for society.  There are sites for baby boomers, Christians, Jews, Indians, Latinos, Asians and gays.  Googling “online dating service,” I noticed in Wikipedia one section entitled “Problems.”  Believe it or not, one subsection was “Lies.”  Really?  You mean people are going to lie about their online profile to somebody they don’t even know but want to date, or maybe even, marry?  Kinda starts off the relationship on a downer.

These dating services (not to be confused with escort services, although I imagine there are at least a few out there who feel the former could be like the latter - just without the monetary exchange) take care of all kinds.  I will not make any ethnic remarks - however funny readers might find them - but there are a couple observations I’ve made.  When I heard the ad for ChristianMingle.com say, “Sometime we wait for God to make the next move when God is saying it’s your time to act.  The next move is yours.”  Wow!  Do they know really know God said that?  I didn’t put quotation marks inside the last sentence and a half of the above quote because I don’t think they were actually quoting God.  Although it is something they’d like you to think.

The ad I saw and heard today while riding the stationary bike at the gym is the one that propelled me into blogging on the topic.  It was for FarmersOnly.com.  Apparently, this site is for someone looking for a “farmer, rancher, cowboy, cowgirl or animal lover,” i.e. a dating site “meant for down to earth folks.”  So, any y’all down to earth folks interested in, uh, well, you know, check us on out, ya hear?  What did down to earth folks do before FarmersOnly.com?

All of this is, I guess, exactly what I was looking for 35 years ago.  Have friends introduce me to someone they thought would be a good match for me.  As J.B. Priestly said:

“Many a man is praised for his reserve and so-called shyness when he is simply too proud to risk making a fool of himself.”

On many occasions I’ve told people I wish I had listened to my colleague (and former geometry teacher) way back in 1971.  George Towne (and that’s really his name) brought in to Highland Park High School one of those huge IBM mainframes.  He was going to teach all of HPHS’ math teachers about this computer thing.  I was in my second year teaching math and coaching football and basketball at my alma mater, but was working toward obtaining a graduate assistant position (by writing over 200 letters to colleges at all levels, all over the country).

Since I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I avoided George and his new giant, rectangular friend - which took up about a quarter of the space of our tiny math department office.  Why did I need to know about something so far removed from hoops?  Somehow, I always managed to get out of his workshops, not realizing how much more comfortable I’d be when computers became the rage.

Although my shortsighted anti-computer attitude is one of my great regrets (unlike another Jersey guy, I have many of them), it had no shortage of company from others in the coaching fraternity.  In the mid-70s, work was the catchword of my new profession and that is what all of us prided ourselves in - outworking people - day and night.  And loving it!

By the 1980s the work ethic paradigm was still in vogue but with a caveat - eating better and exercising.  More fiber, smarter food choices and jogging swept through the profession.  But, for the life of me, I can’t remember computers as an integral part of our work with the possible exception of the athletic development and ticket offices.

During the early 1970s, I worked for George Raveling as a grad assistant at Washington State.  Rav, who became one of my two greatest mentors, and I hooked up again in 1991 at USC, only this time my title was associate head coach.  Cell phones had now flooded our profession, as well as the rest of society.  It was becoming evident that computer knowledge was going to be mandatory for success - or survival.

If there was someone who knew less about computers than I did, it was my man George.  Only he had a plan.  He simply followed the advice of my other brilliant mentor, the late John Savage, who used to say, “Never do anything you can get someone else to do.”  It wasn’t as trite it sounded.  For example, in addition to being a motivational speaker, John was a giant in the life insurance industry.  During one of the newly established NCAA dead period (May), I’d travel with him when he spoke and he was the most basic, down-to-earth person I’d ever encountered.  One thing he’d say to other insurance agents was, “Why waste your time filling out an application?  Have your secretaries fill out apps.  Do what you do best: sell!”

George, now in his 70s, is one of the brightest people I know.  He’s always shared information with his friends, whether it’s the best dining or shopping experiences or book recommendations and travel spots.  While he’s certainly capable of learning computer skills, he felt (since he has the means), “Why not get someone else to do it?”  He’s hired an absolute computer whiz (whose name is withheld because I haven’t asked him for permission to print it) who’s designed CoachGeorgeRaveling.com.  It is chock full of information, in addition to where to dine, shop and what to read, there are interviews with George and legendary coaches (Lefty Driesell, Jerry Tarkanian, John Chaney, Nolan Richardson, Joe B. Hall, John Calipari) as well as other sports figures (David Falk, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Harry Edwards, Howard Garfinkel).  Also, there are a plethora of sensational interviews with George himself.  Sensational because I happen to be the one interviewing him.

Other categories are articles (two of which I’ve authored - Top Ten Traits of a College Assistant Coach & The Greatest, Most Realistic, Pressure Free Throw Shooting Drill) on nearly every area of basketball - for coaches and players, the latest NBA news, George’s famous “Life Lessons”, leadership, and other topics that are captivating, interesting and educational.

Anyone who knows George Raveling will tell you he has no problem spending money.  Luckily, throughout his life, he’s had no trouble making it either.  He put together his strength with a concept spoken about in a book titled The McKinsey Way by Ethan Raisel to create his website (which I’m sure you realize I highly recommend):

“I would rather be surrounded by smart people than have a huge budget.  Smart people will get you there faster.”

Sorry, readers, but no new blogs until Tuesday.  Watching younger son, Alex, play a couple games in the Bay area.  

Kobe Bryant has such passion for the game of basketball in the way he plays (30,000 points is only one aspect of his greatness), speaks (to his teammates) and acts (he’s absolutely obsessed), it’s transparent that he wants to be known as the greatest of all-time (G.O.A.T.) but that moniker belongs to one Michael Jeffery Jordan.  He’d probably be thrilled to be referred to as the best of all-time but, alas, Pat Riley, the master of copyright (remember “Three-peat”?) has taken B.O.A.T. off the market, donning his superstar, LeBron James with that acronym.

So what’s left for Kobe?  First, getting Steve Nash on the floor has got to be his Christmas wishes #1 through 10.  Short of that, he needs to change his motivational speech to Pao Gasol.  Pau has been a part of a championship team so it’s not like he doesn’t know, or can’t handle, the feeling of winning it all.  Kobe’s verbal assaults, “You’ve got to put on your big boy pants,” being the latest, might have a reverse effect on the apparently ultra-sensitive Gasol.  How to reach Gasol in time to turn the season around is something beyond anyone not close to the Lakers and if anyone were to think otherwise, they would be foolish.  It’s just that Kobe wants desperately to win, Pau’s not getting it done and Kobe blitzing Pau with sharp words hasn’t been a solution.  Suggestion?  Try something else.

Next, downplay Dwight Howard’s poor foul shooting.  BUT, get him to make up for it at the defensive end.  Dwight was right when he said their loss to Orlando wasn’t due to his poor foul shooting.  It was the fact they continued to allow the Magic to score following his misses.

Finally, Kobe and Mike D’Antoni need to stay together during the tough times, e.g. until Nash comes back.  The coach can handle hostile fans and media considering where he’s been (and I’m not talking about Phoenix).

If Kobe can do all that, keep on scoring and doing whatever else it takes to win, someone will come up with an anagram for him.

What might work for Kobe is Goethe’s line:

“Treat people as they are and they’ll remain as they are.  Treat them as they can, and should, be and they’ll become that.”

Young coaches usually make the mistake of trying to coach each aspect of the game as passionately as the next, spending equal amounts of time on offense (man, zone, special), defense (man, zone, press, combination), special situations (OBs under and side, free throws, end of clock, end of game)  It’s an enviable strategy but, as coaches figure out all too soon, impossible to execute - the one exception being the coach has significantly better talent than all of his competitors.

Last night, Ohio State was outplaying Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first half - to the point the Blue Devils went ten minutes without a bucket.  Ten minutes!  Finally they got a put back basket off of another missed shot.  At that time, Duke was . . . down five.  Imagine going ten minutes without a basket and still being in the game, much less only down five points.  That’s why Coach K emphasizes defense and making more free throws than their opponents take. What kept the Blue Devils in the game was the fact they could still put points on the board even though they were ice cold.  Plus, of course, their defense.

Duke wound up winning the game and much of the reason is they it lit up from the three-point line.  The message to young coaches is if your staples stay strong, the rest of your game may just come around and you’ll always have a shot at winning.

Many people would say that Mike Krzyzewski became a head coach too early in his career.  When you rise to the “boss” level in your mid-20s, there’s bound to be a learning curve.  His Army teams mirrored his personality.  They were cadets - just like he was when he played for his mentor Bob Knight.

When he took the Duke job, it’s well-documented he was saved early on by his AD, Tom Butters, who shut out the complainers, independent of where they stood on the (booster) food chain.  Butters knew he had the right man and, unlike so many ADs, stood up to the pressure.  The Devils started winning and the rest . . .

Mike Krzyzewski’s greatest skill might be how he deals with people.  He’s gone from cadet to head coach to speaker to author to Olympic gold medal winner.  The greatest inspirational speaker of all time (in my opinion), Zig Ziglar, passed away yesterday at 86.  His signature line personifies Mike Krzyzewski:

“You can get whatever you want out of life if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.”

Much has been made recently over the number of 35+ year olds in the NBA.  While the other professional leagues also have a rise in average age on their rosters, too, we’ll just focus on hoopsters here.  Without going into a list of names, here are the reasons the dinosaurs have survived:

1) strength and conditioning coaches     These were non-existent years ago.  Way back when, lifting weights meant several sets of one pound (16 oz.) liquid weights - from the elbow.  Switching arms was optional.  As the years went by, more and more advances have been made and teams have hired legitimate, qualified people in the area who are, for example, isolating body parts in order to heal them  Types of treatments have advanced - like post game ice baths - to accelerate the healing process.  It’s like George Raveling says, “Some people don’t know - and others don’t know that they don’t know.”   Some of these guys were trying to figure it out.

2) nutritionists     It’s legendary how many promising players would actually eat themselves out of the league.  One guy, who somehow is still collecting a check, is known for his unusual diet of pancakes and Kool Aid.  A lot of each.  Players, other than the one just mentioned, realize their bodies are cathedrals and in order to show proper reverence, they hire their own personal nutritionists.

3) trainers     Every team always had a trainer.  In addition to taping guys, he had a ton of ancillary duties like: he made reservations for road trips - flights, room reservations, meals, maybe took care of complimentary tickets.  Many still do these chores but for every one who does, he has assistants to help with the athletic training duties.

4) charter flights     No one ever chartered in the early-mid NBA years.  Now, everybody does.  Heck, a great deal of college teams are chartering!  Think about that advantage on a body that has to go at it 82 times a year, 41 of them on the road.  No getting to the airport early, going through metal detectors, waiting, layovers - and fans requesting autographs and just wanting to chat it up.  Instead, drive up the tarmac, park your car, get on board a private jet with oversized seats (perfect for NBA sized players), partake of the meal on board and sleep - or watch game video that staff members put together for you.

5) guys are starting so young.     Immaturity runs rampant through the NBA with young guys who’ve had their butts kissed early in their basketball careers and it never stopped.  High school summer leagues are the major culprit.  For coaches, you have some guys (it used to be the majority of them had kids’ best interests at heart, then the greed factor entered into it and has never left) looking for a handout, or even more - a job.  In fact, the sleeze factor has become an unofficial trademark of summer hoops.  Wanted: veterans - who got it! - how to win and teach the next generation.

Teams drafting players long on super talent, short on knowing how to play the team game; kids ultra-skilled but with a less than stellar work ethic; youngsters with million bodies and nickel heads.  All these guys in desperate need of mentors - “good locker room guys.”

As Joshua Liebman said:

“Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.”

Politics in America today have turned into theater, which may be appealing to the performers but does little for many of us who would like to hear what they think of the real issues and how they plan on improving the country.  So, representing this brand of individual is none other than yours truly.  Here are the (my) rules:

1) The moderator is equipped with a taser to be used as soon as one candidate a) so much as mentions the other’s name, b) refers to what my opponent’s plan is or will be and c) talks over the other, out of turn.  In other words, tell Americans about you and what electing you would mean to us.  Note: If a taser is deemed to be overly excessive, the rule shall be amended, to, rather than tase the offender, mute his/her microphone.

2) Each candidate will be allowed to bring a special adviser, whomever he or she considers an expert on the subject being discussed and whose views reflect those of the candidate.  These advisers will or will not necessarily be a current or potential Cabinet member.  The reason for this rule is simple.  The job of president is entirely too difficult for one person to do by him or herself.  The candidate will answer the question but will be allowed to confer with his or her adviser before doing so.

The nation, if not the world, has become one of specialists.  No one ought to be expected to know everything.  It is now commonplace for an honest gaffe to be recorded and YouTubed forever.  A candidate may has changed his or her opinion from years ago, yet the former version is still out there for anyone and everyone to see, hear, email, text or tweet.  Everyone’s job - especially the POTUS - is infinitely more difficult since the invention of the Internet.

3)  There should be a gallery of people who have used dishonest methods in the past to attain personal fame, power or fortune.  Should candidates find it necessary to use any such person in their campaign, it should be duly noted and the candidate should disclose his or her reason for wanting to be associated with such an individual.  This is not negative campaigning as the agenda of each of these people has been exposed and we should see them for what they are - people who will win at any cost.  There shouldn’t be any room for such people in politics.  Examples are Michael Moore, Karl Rove and hundreds of others - on both sides.

4) Each candidate must explain how he or she plans to work with members of the opposing party.  Once again, there is to be no speaking over the opponent.  In this one case there will be an exception and each candidate will have a limited amount of time (two minutes?) to explain why his or her opponent’s “across-the-aisle” techniques won’t succeed but there needs to be evidence why the methods won’t work .

Why, you might ask, would I, someone who admittedly knows next-to-nothing about politics - and cares just a smidgen less - would decide to come up with something like the above?  The recent negativity in campaigning is, or at least out to be, embarrassing to all Americans - and outlawed.  Plus, it’s hard to blog on something every day!  Seriously, if selecting a leader is vital - and it is - how important is picking someone to lead the country for the next four years?  Seemingly, the overwhelming majority of our citizens aren’t happy with the direction our nation is headed in so many areas - educationally, economically, taking care of our seniors, younger folks being able to take care of themselves, the use of our military, . . .  whatever!   We have a chance to improve it but only if we change our attitudes.

As best selling author John Maxwell says:

“It’s not our conditions that determine our choices; it’s our choices that determine our conditions.”

The blog below is from exactly five years ago.  Over that time, the scenario has been played (as have I) numerous times.  Since that time, our older son, Andy, has completed both high school and college.  Fortunately, for him (and us), he secured employment shortly after his graduation from the University of California-Irvine selling software for IT and telecommunications systems.  Or something “techie” like that.  All I really know is the company is called GramercyOne and that it pays salary plus commission.  Yea!
What I also know is that it’s selling and throughout my years of college coaching, I did my share of recruiting which is the ultimate of selling.  We were asking kids and parents to buy us - for four years of the young man’s life.  Back then, guys were actually staying in college for four years.  I’ve been passing along to “Andy Boy” anything and everything I encountered, read or heard.  And he’s been a terrific student.  Read on.  

How many times have you gone into a store, either knowing what you wanted or just simply browsing, and walked out with a purchase you didn’t want, need or, at the very least, expected to have bought?

It happens to me all the time.  It’s certainly not because I have money to burn.  I doubt it’s due to an addiction (although I do have somewhat of an addictive personality).  Rather, I think there’s another reason.

Seldom have I found I made such a purchase without a salesperson being heavily involved.  Usually a gregarious individual, who I know has the job of selling me something, has played a major role in the encounter.

The situation begins when the salesperson asks if he or she can be of any help.  I’m wise to those motives and almost always casually reply, “No, just looking.”  What eventually happens is I do need to ask something or other and that’s when a wonderful dynamic takes place.  The truly great salesperson seizes the opportunity to explain, illustrate, model or demonstrate (notice the word “demon” in demonstrate) and if that person truly enjoys the job, will become enthusiastic to the point of sheer passion.  Finally, I see the light.  How could I have missed the obvious benefits and desperate need I have for this gizmo I had no intention of ever purchasing?

The lesson in all of this is one that every salesperson needs to have as his or her mantra:

“The key element in selling is enthusiasm.  The definition of a sale is the transfer of enthusiasm.”

Then, from speaker Brian Tracy, they need to burn into their memory:

“All outstanding salespeople have reached the point where they no longer fear rejection.”