One of my favorite stories about how not to sell sport psychology happened to a good colleague of mine some years ago. He openly shares this story to help others learn from his mistakes, and it goes like this:

One day, while he was working at a university, the head of the Institute of Psychology received a phone call from a German 2. Bundesliga football club. The club asked if someone from the institute could support the team with sport psychology. The club officials didn’t really know much about sport psychology, but from what they’d heard, they thought it might help. The head of the institute said yes, connected my colleague with the club, and they scheduled an initial session with the team.

My colleague had no idea what the team needed but thought, “Well, playing in front of tens of thousands of spectators must be really stressful. I’ll start with some relaxation techniques because relaxation is something everyone can benefit from.” He met with the team, introduced himself, and then asked them to lie down on mats, close their eyes, and guided them through some relaxation activities. He thought the session went really well. Unfortunately, he never heard back from the team afterward.

I believe this story illustrates a crucial point when it comes to selling our services: before we can start working with clients, we need to build a relationship with them, establish goals and expectations, analyze their needs, and—after thorough planning—begin the actual work. Essentially, we need to understand our audience and start connecting with them right away. But what does it take to create that connection, build relationships, and establish trust with clients? How can we approach this process effectively?

One common mistake people make when selling themselves or their services is starting with a suboptimal focus: themselves. They say things like, “Here’s what I can offer: goal setting, relaxation, activation, visualization, self-talk, and improving team cohesion.” This approach is all about what I can do rather than what the client or team in front of me needs. Presenting our services like a menu assumes clients can understand their needs and pick the right options. However, most clients don’t know what they need—they know what their desired outcomes are. Our role as experts is to help them achieve those outcomes.

Richard Keegan shared a great approach during—if I recall correctly—VASPS2023, which I’ve since adopted (thank you, Richard!). He suggested asking new clients how much they think the mind and mental side of their sport influence competition outcomes. Most people respond with numbers between 50% and 80%. Then, he asks them how much time they invest in mental training. Most people, somewhat sheepishly, admit they invest almost no time at all.

Richard illustrates this disparity visually, and I’ve found this approach very effective. Seeing the gap between what they believe (on the right side) and what they do (on the left side) creates a moment of cognitive dissonance, prompting the realization: “If I think it’s so important, maybe I should do something about it.” This might open the door to talking more about the benefits of sport psychology.

Telling stories is one way to demonstrate the value of sport psychology—whether from our own experiences or from well-known athletes, teams, and coaches. The key is to show how sport psychology can be helpful in various contexts and situations. For example, sharing how ​LeBron James uses slow-paced breathing​ during breaks or how the All Blacks transformed their team culture under expert guidance is far more engaging than giving a generic Sport Psychology 101 lecture. People connect with stories, not lists of information.

Another major task we have is to build trust and deepen the connection with potential clients. How do they know we’re the right professionals to work with? How do they decide to invest their limited resources in us? From my perspective, a key aspect of this process is involving the client. Coaches are experts in their sports and teams. They know their team’s strengths, weaknesses, and the nuances of training and competition. We bring our expertise in sport psychology, but it’s only through collaboration that we achieve the best outcomes. Respecting and involving coaches fosters trust, builds rapport, and strengthens mutual understanding.

To the best of my knowledge, there are only a few resources about selling sport psychology. ​Richard Keegan​ touches on marketing in his excellent book ​Being a Sport Psychologist​, and ​Speed, Andersen, and Simons (2005)​ discuss related topics in a book chapter. Beyond that, most of the literature focuses on the perceived benefits of sport psychology from various perspectives. If you know of any articles or chapters in this area, please let me know—I’m eager to learn more!

For now, I’ll leave it there. But I’m curious—what approaches do you use to talk about and sell your services in sport psychology? What challenges have you faced, and what have you learned about what works and what doesn’t?