Picture this. It’s the bottom of the 7th inning, we’re tied, you’re up to bat, and we need a run scored from second base. Now, fast-forward to today, when you have a meeting with a prospective client in 30 minutes, and you need to nail it so we can start onboarding.
As a former athlete, there are far more parallels from sports to marketing than I realized. Here are the top 6 transferable skills that have helped me so far as a marketing coordinator.
Key Takeaways
- Time management from athletics carries over to managing campaigns and deadlines.
- Team success in marketing relies on trust, collaboration and shared goals.
- Repetition and practice improve campaign setup, strategy and communication.
- Performance metrics guide adjustments and help campaigns improve over time.
#1. Time Management
When you have been balancing:
- School
- Softball games
- Practice
- Workouts
- And maintaining a social life with hobbies
Time management gets a whole lot easier.
In marketing, you are balancing
- Campaigns
- Client deadlines
- Content calendars
- Team meetings
- And more.
You’ve already put in the work from your previous experience of keeping track of everything from an athlete’s standpoint. Therefore, it’s much easier to keep moving when you’re in the marketing world because things move slowly until they don’t!
#2. Teamwork
Without teamwork, how do you expect to win?
Being part of a digital marketing team, we all have an overall goal. In order to accomplish that, we have to do our part of the process and come together. We require trust to hand off what needs to be done over to whichever team, which is similar to looking at sports.
Celebrating wins is a necessity when you’re a part of a team. Hyping each other up when someone makes a crazy play is synonymous with hyping up a team member for being prosponsive.
#3. Practice Makes Almost Perfect
An unpopular opinion when it comes to hitting a softball is that I loved tee work. Getting to focus on the little details and practicing something over and over until it translates to a game was the most fun part.
In marketing, the more you practice campaign setups, onboarding, client communication, etc., the better/more comfortable you become. Attention to the process also leads to more success rather than just focusing on the desired outcome. In order to get to that point, every little detail has to be on point.
#4. Adjusting
Playing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, adjusting to the cold weather was one of the least favorite things to do, but you had to figure it out in order to beat the other team. Adapting to pitches, umpires, how the field bounces, etc., there were a ton of things that needed to be adjusted each game.
It’s the same with digital advertising. If a campaign is underperforming, we adjust targeting, creative assets, which platforms we’re using, etc. If a client doesn’t like using email as communication, we adjust to calling them instead.
#5. Communication
Communication is everything, whether it’s making a play or making sure each team knows exactly what the next steps are. If there’s a lack of communication, there’s a higher risk of errors being made.
Details are also important because if you’re going in without a thorough plan and others don’t fully understand, it’ll be harder for the team to reach its goals. The same goes for the rule of overcommunicating versus undercommunicating. It’s better to confirm everyone’s on the same page than to run the wrong play.
Giving and receiving feedback is another important pillar of communication. In sports, coaches review film and let you know what you need to improve on. In marketing, you have performance metrics to run through to make the next campaign even better, which leads me to my next topic.
#6. Performance Metrics
Most athletes track how well they’re doing based on their stats. Throughout a marketing campaign, you are making sure the metrics are making sense and getting closer to the goal for the client.
You use performance metrics for both to gauge performance and figure out ways to improve!
Game On.
Whether you’re a former athlete or just someone who loves a good game plan, these skills translate. And if you’re looking for a team that plays to win? You know where to find us.