@More Glue Than Wood - like Tom says it varies between pros with regards to their bats, some are quite happy using whatever they're given whereas some are VERY particular and only interested if their bat comes from a certain source - which I can totally respect as we all know cricket is a very mental game and you've got to be comfortable with your kit. Regardless of whether they'd want my own bats or want bats from their preferred source I'd still be footing the bill just to add (although ironically to buy a "pro grade" Keeley of this nature works out cheaper than providing my own pro players grade bats, but for the reasons Tom has given it just isn't something I'm comfortable with).
Unfortunately dealing with pros is getting harder and harder. Whilst I've had some really good discussions directly with the players (guys who have either approached me directly or been referred by mutual contacts), the second their agent steps in things just go rapidly downhill - most of these guys deal in multiple sports and have numerous sports men/women on their books, so they're only really interested in bleeding every penny out of you which just isn't my approach. Having worked in sales previously I'm very much clued up on the various sales tactics of these guys and they're certainly reading out the old textbook when it comes to negotiation.
I've had the same conversation with a lot of agents now, ultimately someone batting lower than 6/7 in the County Championship/T20 Blast is going to bring very little in way of exposure. If these guys were just looking for a reasonable amount of free kit then I'd more than likely invest in a couple just for the sake of saying you've got a few pros, but when they're seeking decent 4 figure sums it just doesn't make good business sense - ultimately I know I can invest that money into the strategy I've been following over the past few years and achieve a significantly higher return, both in terms of exposure and financials.
If the bigger brands want to spend their hard earned cash on someone who's going to be at the crease in less than 30% of T20 Blast games then be my guest
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Topic: RORY BURNS MOVES AGAIN (Read 4092 times)