Ex-Liverpool Women’s Super League (WSL) boss Matt Beard has revealed how he started his working life as an estate agent with YouMove and Barnard Marcus and has talked about the similarities between estate agencies and elite football.
Beard is one of the most successful managers in women’s football and has won everything from league titles to the FA Cup and was one of its first full-time coaches.
During an interview with Keycoach ‘s Rob Graves, Beard admits that his early career as a player with Brentford and Fulham never really took off, and after drifting into non-league football, he decided it was time to find a proper job.
Not long after, whilst watching a TV series about estate agency, he realised he had found his new calling. As a ‘good people person,’ he says, it was something he knew he could do.
His first job was with GA Property, which became YourMove, later moving to Barnard Marcus, at which point, he also began working as a part-time coach.
It wasn’t until he was appointed Liverpool’s WSL coach in 2012 that he went full-time. Beard says, though that he enjoyed working as an estate agent and used his sporting lessons to good advantage
Scoring a goal and closing a sale both give you that adrenaline rush and sense of achievement.”
He says: “Scoring a goal and closing a sale both give you that adrenaline rush and sense of achievement.”
He adds that there are ‘a lot of crossover and similarities’ and as an ex-defender, he gives the example of hitting the phone to drum up business as being like an early marker tackle on a tricky winger.
But as a coach, the similarities became even more apparent. At the top of that list is creating environments/cultures where people want to go to work.
Benchmarks and targets
That’s one, he says, where people understand their roles and responsibilities, where there are benchmarks and targets to be attained. And, he advises, you need to recruit the staff/players that fit the culture.
He also highlights the importance of being yourself, which builds a rapport with players and will win instructions from sellers.
And, he concludes: “If you focus on getting the basics right, everything else falls into place.”
Beard has now parted company with Liverpool and has not ruled out going back to estate agency in some capacity in the future.