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May 7, 2008
Finishing What You Start
Posted by Shawn Stewart | Filed under: E-mail Newsletter
There's Something To Be Said for Follow Through
Q: What do basketball and marketing have in common?
A: If you don't follow through, you won't do well.
Allow me to explain.
I remember basketball summer camp like it was yesterday. That's where Mr. Urcheck taught me the correct way to shoot a basketball. I learned how to position my legs—shoulder-width apart, body angled toward the basket. I learned how to hold the ball—shooting arm in a C-shape, palm facing up and ball resting on the fingertips.
I can still hear Mr. Urcheck barking out instructions: "Bend your knees, extend your arm, follow through!" I also remember having to run laps for not following through on my shot!
He was trying to make us realize that one of the most important factors for a shot's success happened after the ball was released—aka the "follow through." We were told that a correct follow through involved pretending we were sticking our fingers down into the hoop after we let go of the ball at the top of our shot. The purpose? To ensure the shot was as targeted as it could be and the rotation of the ball was correct. In short, it helped ensure the ball had everything it needed for its journey toward two points (or even three!).
The older I get the more I see the importance of follow through in every aspect of life. Your marketing is no different.
As the old saying goes—many start well, but few finish well. We see it fairly often; businesses put a lot of time, effort and money into careful planning but when it comes time to execute those plans—no follow through.
I'm convinced that businesses—and people for that matter—don't wake up thinking, "Today I want to make sure we don't follow through on our plans." Life happens, business happens! Invoices, customer service, purchase orders, payroll, kids' soccer games—you name it. You get caught up putting out fires leaving little to no time for executing your marketing strategy.
Planning without execution is pretty much useless. If you find yourself in this position, do yourself a favor. Ask for help—don't let your own busyness sabotage your progress. Help's available in many different ways depending on what you need. Great staffing agencies, freelancers and consultants like us can make sure you have the project management and creative guidance you need to accomplish tasks and follow through.
We like to call it peace of mind and it's yours if you need it.
Don't let "business" happen to you. We don't want to make you run laps, but we will if we have to.
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