What professional football taught me about sales and recruitment

I've been out of professional football (soccer..!) for almost seven years now but there's a certain feeling I sometimes get (...and those of you in recruitment or sales will know it) that transcends me back to my very first day walking in to the changing rooms at Bradford City FC (my home town club). It's the feeling of nervous energy in your stomach awaiting a deal outcome, the rush of adrenaline of a new acquisition and the the dulling dread at the prospect of missing target.

I'd spent seven years in the academy prior (Sales Development) and faced a YOY 'cull' of players which right sized a talent pool from a funnel of around 10,000 players down to 10 of us (Pipeline generation). Before the decision was made it had been a couple of months of agony waiting upon what I'd come to see as the biggest deal of my life (I was 16...). I was greeted by the manager, an international and domestic legend who shook my hand and told me he saw a great future for me - I was on cloud nine (C-Level sponsor). The very same afternoon the 10 of us graduates were pulled in to the club press room and in no uncertain terms told that despite coming this far only two of us would be in professional football in 10 years time (Market saturation and increasing competitor landscape...).

The next five years consisted of the most pressured, difficult, frustrating, nervous, and euphoric moments of my life. It's easy to think back to the glamorous parts of my time in football, playing at Old Trafford, captaining my team against Barcelona, and lining up against some of my boyhood heroes (Insert blue chip wins here!). But it's not those moments that I recall as having the greatest impact upon me.

It's the daily pursuits and hardships that I remember. I wasn't the most talented player in the squad and I knew that. I knew I had to do something different because I wasn't going to be the top performer on natural talent. For me that meant getting to the training ground 30 minutes before anybody else arrived every single day; starting pre-season training two weeks before my team mates to have a performance edge on more talented players; being obsessively organised on and off the pitch; taking criticism on board and having thick skin when ripped in to by heroes and the decision makers; extra running and gym sessions in the evening after training; researching and studying the game and other pros in my position; acting professionally at all times and taking every piece of advice I could get on board.

After five years of blood sweat and tears I was to be told that my contract wasn't to be renewed (Closed deal lost). Though it was heartbreaking I was absolutely content with the work I'd put in and the success achieved in those years. In those hardships I learnt more about competition, resilience, professionalism, teamwork and myself than I ever could have through the matches we won (Deals booked) and the accolades I recieved (Exceeded budget performance). It was the nerves I felt before every match, the mistakes I made which cost us the game (Deals lost), the cold shoulder from players and staff when I was out of favour or selection (Disgruntled Sales Director), the daily rejection and peer competition (Just another day in sales..).

Winning the big deal is great. Would I have loved to have won the deal and landed a new contract? Of course! But what I've come to learn is deals will come and go. If I'd had the greatest natural footballing talent (an Atlassian type product) then I would have probably won the deal without having to face any hardship or struggle but where's the fun in that? I'd also be much less equipped for when the time came when I no longer had the greatest talent or product and soon be left behind. If you're not putting yourself in a position to face hardship and test your resilience daily then you'll forever be the same player. Remember you're only as good as your last game.

Good luck!