terdferguson
Junior
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2012
- Messages
- 1,536
In sales there is a closing technique called "assumptive sale" or "assuming the close." It's a common tactic where you already assume the the customer has said yes to the sale and you start talking about the next steps. I wish that we would do that with regards to our team's psychology with big games. Instead our coaches did the opposite. They took the approach of talking to our players and trying to convince them that they belong. Herbstreit and Fowler talked about it during the broadcast. This assumes that our players are thinking they don't belong and it's something that needs to be addressed and fixed.
Why is that bad? I strongly believe that this team had plenty of confidence heading into this game. You start having long talks trying to convince them that they belong and now you're planting a seed of doubt that may not have existed at all. Wait a minute, maybe I don't belong? Maybe this is too big for me? Maybe Clemson is too good for us? Wrong tactic. Assume the close. Assume that we are ready mentally and the kids will feed off of that.
I think this mistake manifested itself with all the penalties and mental errors that we made. It sure can't be attributed to crowd noise or an intimidating environment. Clemson played with confidence, we did not.
Why is that bad? I strongly believe that this team had plenty of confidence heading into this game. You start having long talks trying to convince them that they belong and now you're planting a seed of doubt that may not have existed at all. Wait a minute, maybe I don't belong? Maybe this is too big for me? Maybe Clemson is too good for us? Wrong tactic. Assume the close. Assume that we are ready mentally and the kids will feed off of that.
I think this mistake manifested itself with all the penalties and mental errors that we made. It sure can't be attributed to crowd noise or an intimidating environment. Clemson played with confidence, we did not.