RJM posted:floridaguy posted:The term salesman may or may not be derogatory. It depends on your point of view and the role you have in the transaction. To an AD a coach/salesman is exactly what he wants for example. To the player you need to realize what they he salesman's goals are as it pertains to you
I don’t think you understand what a profession salesman’s goals are. They are for both sides to win. You’re confusing some people who are unprofessional sales people with professional sales people. When sales people misrepresent the situation they are unprofessional.
People who sell like used car dealers are a small minority. But they create an impression sales people are sleazy. It makes people run from the word. Even when i was a VP of Sales and Marketing when i asked what i did i responded i was in sales. I wasn't going to run from the word. I considered myself a professional who could help. If you operate in good faith there’s nothing to run from.
The same works in recruiting. Over time you will hear which coaches are honest and which ones aren’t. Like any area of sales the coach who misleads prospects ultimately has trouble recruiting and loses his job because he’s losing.
Conversely bubble prospects will take risks and hear what they want to hear from a coach and tune out the red flags. When the situation goes south the kid and his parents blame the coach when they should be looking in the mirror.
Is Wells Fargo a professional enough institution to have honest salespeople. I would think so, yet the pressures the sales professionals were under to meet quotas and to "win" or be fired were so great that thousands of them sold unethical products to unsuspecting customers. They were just fined $1 billion for that bit of "professionalism.
It may be nice to think that a coach is any different and has players best interests at heart. I think that is pie in the sky hoping for something better than the truth. I personal know of a situation that a coach told 10 hitters on a D1 team that they would be starting come the beginning of the season. There is no ethical explanation for that. The same coach when confronted by a player that would be his backup SS that he was thinking of leaving if he wouldn't be starting was told "with the way you have been doing in scrimmages I don't see how I wouldn't be playing you". The player was a senior and didn't want to waste his last year of eligibility and had been a starter the previous year. His senior year he had minimal playing time but the coach got to keep his backup SS regardless of what was best for the player. (BTW, this was NOT my son but was on my son's team). You may think of coaches anyway you chose but I have too many examples of unethical behavior to believe that most of them are professional altruistic "salesman".
It is nice to hear both opinions however and I am glad you have given us the benefit of your viewpoints. I respect your thoughts and hope you respect mine as much.