Industry Magazine Get JACK'D Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 6

SWIM COACH
Who Is Your
Swim Coach?
BY: JACK DALY
WHERE I am going to take you in this article
could very well be a game changer for you, whether
you are the sales professional, the sales manager,
or the business owner. In fact, several of my clients
and workshop attendees have reported generating
more business with less work as a result of the
Swim Coach approach to business generation.
Hopefully I have sufficiently piqued your interest.
Now for the warning: if it were easy, everyone
would be capably doing it. So, once you understand
the concept, I’d suggest a brainstorm effort among
your associates. Be sure to “dig deep.” I’ve led
sessions that have lasted several hours before we
truly discovered the gold.
Here’s the story. Ten years ago, I decided to
seriously take on the Ironman. That race entails a
2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and
finishes with a 26.2-mile run. That’s 140.6 miles in
total, each segment on the clock with cutoffs; in
other words, a long day at the office! My biggest
problem was that at the time, 58 years young, I
didn’t know how to swim. One way to cure that
would be to jump into the water and muscle my
way from one end of the pool to the other. Another
choice was to hire a coach, learn proper technique,
and practice. For those who know me, the coach
choice was the no-brainer. (As an aside, too many
salespeople get into the sales profession and just
jump in the water—no wonder so many prospects
avoid our calls!)
Well, Steve did an incredible job with me.
I’ve now completed 15 full Ironmans along with
many more Half-Ironmans and Olympic-distance
races. Additionally, I’ve qualified and raced the
Half-Ironman World Championship, the USA
Olympic Triathlon National Championship, the full
Ironman World Championship in Kona, and proudly
represented TEAM USA in the World Long-Course
Triathlon Championship in Spain.
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I vividly remember taking Steve to lunch in the
first year of training and thanking him for all the
progress we were making. During lunch, I also
informed Steve that I would be cutting back some
of the time I was investing in the swim as I needed
to get prepared for that 112-mile bike leg. Steve
easily understood and asked what type of bike I
rode. Too funny, as I hadn’t been on a bike since high
school days. He then went on to highly recommend
I buy my bike from a guy named Hank, who Steve
said was the best bike shop owner in the area
when it came to triathletes. Good thing he made
that recommendation as Hank’s shop was buried
deep in a nondescript industrial park with limited
signage. (By the way, I’m still riding that same bike
10 years later!)
Funny anecdote: I’m often asked how sore my
butt is after logging 100-plus miles on my bike.
Truth be known, I hardly know the seat is there. You
see, in my opinion, just as important as the bike is
the “bike fit.” Well, Steve once again comes to the
rescue and introduces me to Matt, who is known
worldwide as one of the top bike-fit professionals
out there. If you’ve ever noticed cyclists riding a
tri-bike, more often than not they are riding low in
their aero bars, which are the handlebars tucked
in between the standard bars. When you are riding
for hours in such an aero position and keeping
your eyes on the road, the pressure on your neck
is significant. In fact, if you don’t train and prepare
various and specific muscles, the likelihood is you
may not even finish the bike portion of the Ironman,
let alone run 26.2 miles. Swim coach Steve to the
rescue as he recommended me to my strength
trainer. The list of referrals from Steve goes on and
on, but let’s pause here.
At that lunch with Steve, I happened to ask
him how many bikes he had bought from Hank.
I was blown away when he said zero! “Hey, you