Yes, business is a game that you will eventually win or lose.
FYI: Winning happens to be more fun than losing.
And just like golf, people will do just about anything to play only to soon find out that it is not always an enjoyable way to spend one’s time. Like golf, most “players” think they are better than they are. Most “players” do not see the need or take the time to practice. The one thing they do have in common is the thousands of excuses they manage to materialize as soon as the ball takes a funny bounce. As in golf, one usually faces a reality check before too many swings. “It could be a long day.”
It is interesting to me how many people enter the “game-of-business” and grow tired of the “game” all too soon. They forget why they decided to play in the first place, and they grow tired of playing by the rules, if they even bothered to learn the rules in the first place. They refuse to practice, and they find solace thinking that the game is simply unfair.
Make no mistake about it. The game of business has rules, and once you know how to play by the rules you will be in for an exciting experience.
Marketing can be analogous to getting to the green. Sales can be thought of as sinking that all-important money putt. If you are off the line by a “smidgeon,” you begin to ruin your day faster than a “duck-hook” on a short par three.
But miss that putt or not, you always manage to drag yourself over to the next hole to try again. Why? Because that next shot could be “THE” shot.
For you non-golfers who don’t know a Masters’ Green Jacket from an Oscars’ Red Carpet, let’s focus on the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The egg player knows those little colored embryos are out there. They are as excited as can to begin hunting them down at daybreak. They look behind the sofa. No egg. They don’t quit. They keep looking because they know those little guys are out there.
Looking for eggs is fun. Looking for business can be fun. As a kid you didn’t want the hunt to end. Similarly, you should not want the hunt for dollars to end. (Now that I think of it, after a day of beating yourself up on a golf course, you don’t want the 18 holes to end either. So, what do you do? You head for the 19th hole to recap your beating all over again.)
You know the customer is out there. They may not be out in plain sight, but you know they are out there. You just have to find them. And you should not want to quit until you find them. And just as in golf, that next “shot” could be the shot that makes it all worth while.
Mike Marchev freely shares his experiences, strategies and observations with travel professionals in an effort to keep them on top of their game. For a complimentary copy of his 12-Word Marketing Plan send him an email at mike@mikemarchev.com.
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