You probably know by now that I’m a baseball fan. (Go GIANTS!) And beyond the beauty of the sport itself, there are business lessons to be learned from baseball.
For today’s marketing tip, let’s look at the strategy of using a Designated Hitter …
The American League rules allow a designated hitter to bat in the pitcher’s spot in the team’s lineup. The American League started using this rule in the 1970s in order to get more fans out to watch games. See, pitchers tend to be lousy hitters, and fans generally get more excited about hits rather than pitches (even if they’re thrown extremely well).
So they thought it would make the game more exciting if there were a better chance to see more great hits.
With the Designated Hitter rule, the players could specialize and get really good at doing their specific task — pitchers could focus on pitching … the designated hitters could focus hitting — and everyone would benefit.
This strategy of using specialists applies to business as well.
You’ve heard the phrase, “The jack of all trades is master of none”? It’s true …
You’ll get the most effective results from someone who specializes in a specific task.
If you don’t have a specialist on staff in your business, you may need to outsource the task (bookkeeping, accounting, and marketing are commonly outsourced, for example). Or you need to train someone in the specialized skill sets that you need …
However you find them, these specialists can be a tremendous asset to your business.
They can free up your time and allow you to focus on what YOU do best. And because they’re really good at what they do, they’ll end up getting better results, too!
Your turn … What specialists do you have on staff in your business? What tasks do you outsource to an outside expert? How have these specialists impacted your success? Share your story in a comment below!
