December 10, 2007
Get Clients Attention With Print
Coaching Your Team
Key tips to winning your clients attention with print
There are 12 seconds left on the clock. It is third and goal and the quarterback, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, called a time out. The team hurries over to the sideline to talk it over. The goal is obvious; the plan of attack is not. Creating a successful print campaign is much like coaching a team to victory. If everything falls into place, you win, and in some cases, you win big.
Start with a clear approach. When planning for victory over the undefeated team in the league, you start with a clear set of goals. The coach will create plays for both the offense and defense and practice them until they are flawless. In a print campaign, you create new procedures and processes to ensure they will work as planned according to the allocated budget and time.
Make everyone aware of your goals. There may be nothing worse than a few key players not knowing the goal of a play. Let’s say the quarterback knows the play, he needs to pass the ball once the running back is in position, yet the running back doesn’t know where that position is. Timing and communication mean everything in a play, much like in your project. Make everyone on the team, even those with small roles, aware of your goal.
Put me in coach! The coach of a football team most likely will not know how to play every position on the field, so he has to trust his players best judgment. Trusting the people in the print project’s process will allow people to do what they do best, that is after all why you hired them.
Practice makes perfect. To avoid embarrassment, or even losing, with an interception, fumble or sack, the coach runs plays over and over. Think of proofing your print campaign like practicing plays. You don’t want your client to find something that you should have already found. Do press checks, have designated proofreaders, and give everything in your print campaign a fresh set of eyes.
