People who know me, know that I love football. I went to Eagles games as a kid with my grandfather and father. I still support my Eagles. I supported them when they didn't win games, and now, they head to divisional playoff round. However, I think we can pull some ideas from football to improve your business marketing and your writing.
1. Get First Downs -- In football, the goal is to get into the End Zone for a touchdown, but before that, you need to march down field 10 yards at a time. This relates to business. You have keep moving, being consistent with your marketing and being patient to trust your marketing will work in the long-term. Nothing happens overnight. Many people think they can get a quick score. Sometimes, in football, that happens, but usually it doesn't. Same is true in business. You can't expect people to know you and buy from you immediately. This is also true in writing. Your main goal is to finish a book, but you need to remember to break down the book into manageable chunks.
2. Rely on Defense -- The defense in football fights to keep the opposing team from scoring. You need to keep an eye on your competitors and what they are doing. Your defense would be coming up with a different way to do the same thing as your competitors. You want to do it better. You want to know up front how you are different from competitors. Sometimes, you have to defend your writing. You might have to defend your story to literary agents, publishers and readers.
3. Kick a Field Goal -- When you kick a field goal, you get three points and have accomplished something. In business, your field goal would be when you win a new client or finish a project with doing a great job. In writing, a field goal would be when you have finished a draft and begin editing. Field goals give you points but not many. Get those drafts done. Finish your projects. Win the clients. The more field goals you win, the higher your total is.
4. Score a Touchdown -- The touchdown is best score in football. You win seven or eight points. The more touchdowns you have, the better your chances are to win the game. In writing, the touchdown relates to a finished book, which is published and begins to sell. The increasing touchdowns would be publishing more books or getting tremendous sales for your book. For companies, a touchdown would be getting a big contract that sustains your business for months to come. You also win touchdowns when you create a campaign that gets noticed.
5. Punting Might Happen -- A punt happens when the offensive team does not get the first down and is sitting in its own territory. In writing, a punt should occur when a scene is not working. Get rid of that scene. It would make your book better in the long run. A punt in your writing also might stop the writer's block that you might be having. In business, getting rid of a client that is not working well. Keeping a client for the money is not always the best choice to make. You also might have to punt if a project is not turning out well or the marketing you are doing is not working. Get rid of the ball in all of these cases even if you become strained financially.
Keep these things in mind as you go through your business and write this year. Go Eagles! Beat those Giants.
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