Marketing yourself to forward your career!

We all know that a great player like Nadal is surrounded by marketing men. He makes a lot of money from prize money. He makes even more from the corresponding advertising links.

You may think this shouldn't concern us. The publicity package around superstars is an unreal, often unique, package. Nadal tennis rackets carry an aura all of their own. You play with his rackets, so you know you can hit shots like him. Nadal can sell Acme shaving foam by simply appearing in an Acme TV spot having a wet shave. Is a young tennis player in the business of selling anything, or representing anything?

You know already that the answer is yes, of course!

Marketing package = Sponsorship

I was watching darts on the TV the other night, and one of the youngest, newest, most inexperienced, entrants was asked who his favourite player was. His answer was at the ready - "me"! That was a guy who understood self publicity.

The basis of self publicity, or understanding the marketing responsibility you have for yourself, is to assume already you are the the only thing that is important, you are the object of attention. What are you bringing to the show? You may not yet be a superstar, but identifying who you are should fill you with confidence, on and off court. It'll help you in all situations.

I didn't say you should suddenly be full of superstar pretentions, and develop some sort of superiority complex. Your qualities will make you a winner, without you becoming disagreeable.
 

Start with a small sponsor

Here's an example. A player in my son's group is a superb running athlete, aged 18, with an easy smile and a quick wit. Already I've started presenting an interesting package, and we haven't even started on the tennis yet!

In terms of tennis, he applies his running ability well. He gets balls back that other players don't. He's a very quick learner (I said he had a quick wit). He keeps things simple. He repeats well. He's a great practice partner, always doing his best, and generously giving compliments where they're due. He has a little madness too, a little fantasy. He loves nothing better than to win an outrageous point.

This is marketing speak. I have presented this player with all of these positive, desirable qualities as a person and as a player. Now it should be his business to sell himself, and wear these qualities with pride.

The fact is that not many players do this. Maybe they feel that they'll fall into a pretentiousness trap. Enjoying and distributing your qualities is somehow a bit unethical.

I still contest that it is important for a tennis player to do this. He will better see how his character needs to be managed on and off the court. A person who knows himself will take responsibility for all of his actions quicker, plan and act with maturity, contribute sagely to decisions that affect his life.
 

Marketing is communication too

We've talked about marketing, and we haven't mentioned business schools and the four Ps. I don't intend to. Marketing isn't just about some Coca Cola story. In tennis players, it's about understanding the intrinsic qualities of the product, and exploiting them to the full.