“You’re legit,” he said as we were about to hang up after a lengthy conversation about using TourneyCentral to manage his first-year soccer tournament.
“Thanks,” I replied back as I thought to myself ‘what an odd thing to say.’ But as I was hanging up, I realized it may not have been an entirely odd thing to say from his point of view.
He was tasked with starting up a brand new soccer tournament. He had never managed a soccer tournament and during our conversation, he quickly realized this was not just a “throw a few teams together and play some games” venture he may have assumed early on. His questions during our conversation led me to believe that TourneyCentral was not his first phone call, but we may have been his most informative, the one he felt most comfortable with. In short, the one that wasn’t lying to him to get his business.
“You’re legit,” he felt compelled to say as we said our goodbyes.
I think people in general, have a fear of being lied to. But they also want to trust you. They want to feel you respect their needs, their “kerosene pickle” so to speak. The astute client or coach is constantly looking for clues to not trust you but they are also looking for clues to make them feel comfortable that they are making the right choice. But throughout the process, in the back of their minds, they think, “How easy is it to back out of this if I say ‘yes?’”
I don’t know whether or not my caller will sign with TourneyCentral or if he will launch his soccer tournament at all. I hope he does, but if not, at least he will have gone into the event (or not) with his eyes wide open and asking the right questions. A modern soccer tournament has a lot of moving parts and is no longer just the fun, friendly gathering of a few teams on a weekend it was thirty years ago. A lot of people enter into a soccer tournament with basic expectations that must be met for the event to be successful. At least he will know that much and TourneyCentral will have been the one that set him on the path.
Our advice: When establishing your soccer tournament online, build trust through the depth of your content and the straightforward presentation of information. In short, be legit.
Write a lot of content and post a ton of photos, on your social media channels, your front news page and/or a tournament blog on Medium or WordPress. Don’t be afraid to show the soccer tournament community and your community at large who you are. Be discoverable.
Be honest and straightforward. Let other decide for themselves if your tournament is the right fit for them. Don’t sell something you are not just to get them to participate in your event. In the end, neither of you will be very happy.
If you are a first-year tournament, we put together a quick guide for first year tournaments as well as a short video.