Success is a Team Effort
September 2004

We use sports metaphors all the time in business. Whether we’re discussing appropriate “block and tackle” sales techniques or stressing the value of teamwork to employees, the association between sports and business exists on many levels. This parallel is especially evident when it comes to a company’s sales, marketing and customer service efforts. In many ways, building a successful business is similar to building a winning baseball team.

Batters come to the plate one by one seeking to advance the cause of the team. Though each member contributes individually as the game progresses, their collective successes determine victory or failure. Each player has a role and his own statistics to reflect his performance, from simply reaching base to hammering high, arcing home runs.

But even a heroic effort from a single player will not guarantee team success. Consider these examples of individual success and team futility:

• In 1972, pitcher Steve Carlton won a league-leading 27 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, earning him a Cy Young award as the league’s best pitcher. However, the rest of the team won just 32 games; the 59-win, 97-loss Phillies finished in last place.
  
• Ernie Banks hit 512 home runs as a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Chicago Cubs in the 50’s and 60’s. Despite his accomplishments throughout a 19-season career, Banks and the Cubs never played in a World Series.
  
• Baltimore Orioles shortstop (and local favorite) Cal Ripken won the American League MVP award in 1991, even though the Orioles finished in last place. He is the only player in American League history to earn this highest individual achievement while playing for a last-place team.

Without an effective supporting cast, these brilliant seasons simply weren’t enough to compensate for the mediocre performances of their teammates. Hopefully, this doesn’t sound like your sales, marketing and customer service efforts. It’s essential to surround your top performers with the support they require to lead your company to victory. Keeping some measure of individual statistics can also track performance and reward employees for contributions to team success or hold them accountable for keeping the team from realizing its goals.

What Grow Sales, Inc. Can Do For You
Grow Sales, Inc., has been an all-star player for our graphic arts industry clients since 1996. With our help, your carefully-targeted customers and prospects will receive informative and accurate communications on a regular basis. Our services cover the whole playing field, from targeted marketing and public relations to web design and sales support coaching and leadership.

Back to E-Tips