Success is a Team Effort
By:TJ Tedesco, President, Grow Sales, Inc.
For: High Volume Printing
Published: November, 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. In many ways, building a successful business is similar to building a winning baseball team.

The parallel between baseball and business is especially evident when it comes to a company's sales, marketing and customer service efforts. Sales and marketing professionals often operate independently, similar to the way 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 performance. This is true for measuring all levels of success, 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 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 the game's highest individual achievement while playing for a last-place team.
• This past season, Seattle Mariners star and Japanese transplant Ichiro Suzuki broke George Sisler's 84-year old record for hits in a season, finishing with 262, five ahead of the mark set by the St. Louis Browns' Hall of Famer in 1920. However, his performance did little to improve the fortunes of this year's Mariners team, which finished in last place.

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. Here are a few tips to help your team maximize its performance:

Get Your Team in Order - I As customer demands increase and turnaround times get shorter, it can be tempting for graphic arts sales professionals to over-promise to win work. However, blown deadlines and lost trust in the eyes of customers and prospects is far more detrimental to your business than a lost job.

There's no point in talking a big game if you can't back it up with on-time deliveries, friendly communication and consistent quality. Before you set out to win new business, make sure you're able to keep the commitments you make to the clients you currently have. Be honest about your company's production capabilities and ability to meet their demands. Over-promising and under-performing is a sure way to damage the trust customers have placed in you and can be a serious impediment to growth and profitability.

Define Your USP, Then Articulate It - Every company has a unique selling proposition, or USP. These are the key advantages that differentiate your company from your competitors and position you as indispensable in the eyes of customers and prospects. Or, more directly, it's the answer to the question, "Why do our customers buy from us?"

Keep in mind that, in the eyes of your customers, quality and service levels are increasingly transparent among printing and postpress services providers. Instead, think of aspects of your business that are truly different from your competitors. Perhaps your company offers a mix of services that are truly unique to your area; long-tenured employees with a wealth of expertise; or capabilities geared toward a specific industry or business segment.

Determining your company's unique strengths is only half the battle; you must then be able to articulate them. Your USP won't be an all-inclusive, detailed explanation of everything your company can do. Ideally, your unique selling proposition should be boiled down into a few sentences that clearly explain what your company can do for prospects.

Don't be Afraid to be Geeky! - Winning teams generate success by developing a winning attitude. Fanatical enthusiasm for your business is infectious, and can help create a buzz among prospects and customers. There's no shame in being known as the "geeky" printer with an obsession for all things ink on paper, or the post press company with an almost unhealthy interest in their work. The result is top-of-mind positioning that will continue to spread as satisfied customers mingle with curious prospects.

With the proper focus, clearly-articulated unique selling proposition and a positive, buzz-creating attitude, your company will be positioned to grow profitably. The prize isn't a large trophy or a shiny ring, but a thriving, successful business chock full of happy customers.

T.J. Tedesco is a “hands-on” marketing, sales, coaching and training consultant to the post press industry. He is the author of Binding, Finishing & Mailing: The Final Word, and Win Top-of-Mind Positioning, both published by GATFPress and available at Amazon.com. T.J. can be reached at (301) 294-9900 or tj@growsales.com.