Hustle + Awareness = Big Wins

I was there for the great finish between North Carolina and Duke. Here are my take aways...

I lucked out.

I came across (somewhat) affordable tickets to the North Carolina - Duke men’s basketball game, and decided to take my son. And, by chance, I happened to attend one of the games in that rivalry that they’re already calling one of the best ever. And, by chance, I happened to be sitting right in front of the basket where the game-winning shot took place.

Like I said, I lucked out.

But there were two big takeaways from the finish that have direct recruiting application for any coach, at any level. Lucky or unlucky.

Hustle won. There were no shortcuts to Duke’s comeback win. They were down by double digits most of the night, but there was no panic on the Duke bench. Coach Mike Krzyzewski had a plan, and stayed under control the whole time. On the court, however, there was non-stop hustle on the part of the Blue Devils. They just kept chipping away until they were within striking distance.

But on that last play, it was pure hustle. If you watch the video, you have to wonder how many teams would have just given up after the ball was tipped away back towards mid-court? Duke didn’t give up. The hustle didn’t stop.

Awareness won the game. The hustle put them in the position to win, but that’s not what resulted in the win. Awareness that the shot was going to be off, and being in a position to tip the ball in at the buzzer, got the win. How many times do you see players watching the ball go up, and being a spectator instead of being aware of how they can be a part of helping their team.

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Coach, hustle and awareness are two key pieces of dominant, Honey Badger Recruiting.

Hustle = consistent messaging, asking the right questions as the process with a prospect evolves, and playing the long game with next-level recruits. Hustle in recruiting doesn’t always mean dealing with the urgent things that come up on a daily basis, it involves jumping on opportunities to gain attention from recruits when your competition gets distracted by those same daily distractions.

Awareness = understanding where your prospect is at in his or her decision making process. Not where you are at, and what you want, but what the mindset of your prospect is. At the start, in the middle, after they visit your competitor’s campus, right before the deadline you’ve set for them…every stage. And as you become more aware of that mindset, also being aware of how to lead them to a final decision.

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In the next few posts, we’ll dig in deep to this whole idea of hustle and awareness in recruiting, and what that looks like from a practical standpoint.

I really hope you’re reading this as a client or a subscriber, because this daily training is for you. It’s what coaches have been asking for, and now we’re delivering it. You can scroll through our Twitter account and see the success stories that are resulting in the careers of the coaches who we work with on a regular basis, and I want that to be you, too.

At least give it a try. Coaches are always talking (complaining?) about the lack of training they get when it comes to effective recruiting, and we’ve found a way to deliver it to you for 95 cents a day. We can’t make it any more affordable, Coach…come find out what this whole Honey Badger Recruiting thing is all about.