Ted Williams once said in order to be a successful hitter in the Major League, you had to pick a good pitch to hit. He didn’t say this lightly. The man had data. He analyzed the science of hitting a baseball, and then perfected it as an art. The result? He knew if he only hit pitches that landed in a certain area of the strike zone, he’d have a higher batting average. It’s a beautiful thing.
Photo Courtesy of the Sons of Sam Horn
My friend Tim Walker wrote a brilliant post a while back that introduced me to this telling infographic demonstrating Williams’ point (if you look closely, or enlarge the image by clicking through, you’ll see the higher batting averages coincide with his identified area of the strike zone). With the picture so clear, it’s easy to see what pitches to focus on and which to avoid, right? So, can we apply this to the business we pursue and how we pursue it?
Throwing vs. pitching
I’m amazed at the number of cold calls I still receive. I’m also amazed that I somehow feel guilty for not returning them. As a business owner and a former agency flack, I can relate to the need to generate new clients, so I guess that part of me feels bad for leaving them hanging. But then I realize why I’m not returning the call. There’s no relationship there. There’s no real connection to who I am, what I need and how I do business. My world is public enough that virtually anyone trying to secure me as a client can learn what makes me tick, and even what I might be looking for in a new partner or vendor. So, my expectations are higher, and they need to realize that they can no longer just throw at me what they’ve got, but rather craft a pitch that’s tailored to what I need.
The pitch has forever changed. There’s no longer any room for throwing something up against the wall to see if it sticks. We know now, of course, that you need to be there way before the sell. That means the dialogue can no longer start with the ask, unless (maybe) what you’re asking is, “What do you need, and how can I help?” In today’s socially-driven marketplace (and really, everything in business is social…we’re not just talking platforms here), you need to give and share, and prove your value to the process, before you can take or expect anything in return. So, get out there and make it clear EVERYDAY the type of work that drives you, that you’re uniquely qualified to tackle, that will make others successful for having chosen you.
Getting off the bench
But, what are you to do if there’s a project staring you in the face TODAY that excites you, but you have no previous connection with which to pursue it? Ask yourself some questions. what’s lighting that fire? If you’ve been in your field for ten minutes or ten years, what got you there? Why do you want a seat at that table today, and what makes you deserve it? Do you know the answer? Well, put it to good use. If you understand your passion, share it with your prospective customer. Let them know you care, why you care, how much you care. I guarantee they’ll be ten times more interested in working with you if they know you share their passion and demonstrate how you much you’d care to help them meet their goals. But, fair warning. Don’t fake it. You have to be real. If the passion isn’t y there, just stop. Because if you don’t have passion, or worse, you attempt to fake it, you’ll be found out. Your customers are savvy. They might not see it immediately, but they WILL see it and when they do, it’ll knock you so far back, your head will spin. And you’ll have deserved it.
Standing in the box
You know what you want. In the meantime, can you go about your business, confident in your ability to do good work, prove your value, stare down the right pitch when you see it, and know you can hit it out of the park? If not, what will it take to get you there? Williams might have told you to first try getting the bat on the ball. Find a good pitch and take a swing. You might hit a grounder or line-drive or two, but those will only prepare you for the big hit. So, don’t let perfection paralysis stifle you. Get in the game.
What’s a good pitch to hit in your world? What pitches would you rather let sail by?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
SO much to like about this post, Carissa — and not just because you paid me such flattering compliments with it.
A couple of months ago I abandoned the draft of a post called “Throwing versus Pitching.” I was trying to get at exactly the issues you’re exploring here, but (a) my thoughts were going in too many directions, and (b) I lost heart from knowing that the people who *most* need to hear this kind of advice/feedback are exactly the ones who won’t hear it. If they were clued in, they wouldn’t be sending me those lame-brained P.R. blasts in the first place, right?
But . . . there’s always somebody out there — a greenhorn kid or a grizzled veteran — who’s on the verge of making a breakthrough discovery. What seems obvious to you and me is new news for them. And this post could be just the kick in the pants they need.
So keep spreading the good word. I’ll help.
Thanks, Tim. And, as usual, you’re quite right. While I know I’m certainly preaching to the choir with you and most of the folks who are likely to read and appreciate this post, my goals for this were simple.
1. I thought it could serve as a reminder to those already fighting the good fight that we still need to persevere in order to effect the change we want to see.
2. I hoped it would encourage some to recognize the teachable moments. Next time we receive an off-base pitch, we could do more than roll our eyes, even if it’s simply sharing a link that they might read to help them improve their approach.
We do what we can. I’m no Williams, but I’ll step up to the plate with his confidence from time to time.
Thanks for the reminder to those of us in the trenches that it’s all about the relationships & taking the time to cultivate and develop them. It’s why I love what I’m doing & that helps me stay passionate. Great baseball/sports metaphors as well!