A Fourth Quarter Comeback
I am a football junkie and more specifically a Denver Bronco's football junkie. I live to watch the Bronco's during football season. In my opinion there is no better use of a Sunday afternoon than to watch my Bronco's on the field.
Football and specifically Bronco's football fans can tell you that any lead is suspect until the 4th quarter is officially over. I can recall time after time I have seen Bronco's teams who were hopelessly behind in the 3rd quarter come roaring back in the 4th quarter with determination, football brilliance, and inspired play and was always wrapped up in a jersey with the number 7 on it.
That's right; I am invoking the name of John Elway for a business blog! Why you ask? Isn't he old and retired? Can't we get past the specter of his buck toothed smile as he dashed the hopes of teams around the NFL (particularly you Cleveland and Green Bay fans), can't we just call it a career here and find something else to talk about?
Well, no not really and here is why. Just like Elway, the 4th quarter can still lead to victory for you in business even if you are behind if you have the right plays and inspiration in your play book. Having been in conversation with many of you as recently as VMWorld, I tell you honestly, your play book is thin, you have nothing new to introduce from a content standpoint, and you are setting yourself up for defeat.
For many of you, 2011 has been a battle business wise. We have briefed with many of you who say you are not losing ground, but not gaining it either. In an ever changing playing field like we are on, it is my honest assessment that if you have not grown in 2011, you are losing.
I have sat in on many briefings where we have been told that you have new and innovative updates to your products or indeed whole new product lines altogether. For some, I have come away with the thought that I just sat through a session on how to put lipstick on a pig.
There was no innovation. There were no new play book pages to add. There was merely a repackaging of existing and sometimes dated technology with fancy new names, and often the description of the new product as "Our Cloud solution!"
How can you expect to sell anything with nothing to help tell the story??? The people who need this information on your new product are Channel Partners, Resellers, or even field sales folks who are trying to sell new product with old content. Or are you committing an even more egregious sin of having NO content at all!?
For others though there is an equally serious problem in the play book. You have indeed innovated or created something special, but have forgotten that you need to get the message out to the masses in the form of a new play sheet for the play book.
At DCIG we create the "Playbook Pages" or content for our clients. Those clients put that material into the field; use it for lead generation, customer education, and thought leadership. We bring an unbiased 3rd party viewpoint to scrutinize your new products and will deliver back to you some quality new content that you can put into play.
Our clients depend on us to help them win, and we do just that. From case studies, white papers, blogs, and executive white papers all the way to our licensed product the DCIG Buyer's Guides, we are creating content that is read by the end user and respected for our voice far more than the home made internally written work you and your SE's create.
The content we create is honest, relevant, and not littered with Kool Aid stains that inevitably make their way onto content you write yourself. Our work is written by analysts who are previous end users, and have a wide market viewpoint that your own internal folks just can't achieve.
In 1986 football history was made when John Elway showed that 5:00 minutes on the game clock was enough time to score after a really long drive and dash the hopes of an opposing team. In those 5:00 minutes he rallied the Bronco's to play above themselves, reaching deep into the playbook and demonstrating what he did no less than 34 times; making a 4th quarter comeback for a win.
Are you equipped for a 4th quarter come from behind? Are you ready to make Q4 2011 something memorable or will you leave the field dejected after having another mediocre year in business? We at DCIG would love to help you come roaring out onto the field for an inspired come from behind victory.
Football and specifically Bronco's football fans can tell you that any lead is suspect until the 4th quarter is officially over. I can recall time after time I have seen Bronco's teams who were hopelessly behind in the 3rd quarter come roaring back in the 4th quarter with determination, football brilliance, and inspired play and was always wrapped up in a jersey with the number 7 on it.
That's right; I am invoking the name of John Elway for a business blog! Why you ask? Isn't he old and retired? Can't we get past the specter of his buck toothed smile as he dashed the hopes of teams around the NFL (particularly you Cleveland and Green Bay fans), can't we just call it a career here and find something else to talk about? Well, no not really and here is why. Just like Elway, the 4th quarter can still lead to victory for you in business even if you are behind if you have the right plays and inspiration in your play book. Having been in conversation with many of you as recently as VMWorld, I tell you honestly, your play book is thin, you have nothing new to introduce from a content standpoint, and you are setting yourself up for defeat.
For many of you, 2011 has been a battle business wise. We have briefed with many of you who say you are not losing ground, but not gaining it either. In an ever changing playing field like we are on, it is my honest assessment that if you have not grown in 2011, you are losing.
I have sat in on many briefings where we have been told that you have new and innovative updates to your products or indeed whole new product lines altogether. For some, I have come away with the thought that I just sat through a session on how to put lipstick on a pig.
There was no innovation. There were no new play book pages to add. There was merely a repackaging of existing and sometimes dated technology with fancy new names, and often the description of the new product as "Our Cloud solution!"
How can you expect to sell anything with nothing to help tell the story??? The people who need this information on your new product are Channel Partners, Resellers, or even field sales folks who are trying to sell new product with old content. Or are you committing an even more egregious sin of having NO content at all!?
For others though there is an equally serious problem in the play book. You have indeed innovated or created something special, but have forgotten that you need to get the message out to the masses in the form of a new play sheet for the play book.
At DCIG we create the "Playbook Pages" or content for our clients. Those clients put that material into the field; use it for lead generation, customer education, and thought leadership. We bring an unbiased 3rd party viewpoint to scrutinize your new products and will deliver back to you some quality new content that you can put into play.
Our clients depend on us to help them win, and we do just that. From case studies, white papers, blogs, and executive white papers all the way to our licensed product the DCIG Buyer's Guides, we are creating content that is read by the end user and respected for our voice far more than the home made internally written work you and your SE's create.
The content we create is honest, relevant, and not littered with Kool Aid stains that inevitably make their way onto content you write yourself. Our work is written by analysts who are previous end users, and have a wide market viewpoint that your own internal folks just can't achieve.
In 1986 football history was made when John Elway showed that 5:00 minutes on the game clock was enough time to score after a really long drive and dash the hopes of an opposing team. In those 5:00 minutes he rallied the Bronco's to play above themselves, reaching deep into the playbook and demonstrating what he did no less than 34 times; making a 4th quarter comeback for a win.
Are you equipped for a 4th quarter come from behind? Are you ready to make Q4 2011 something memorable or will you leave the field dejected after having another mediocre year in business? We at DCIG would love to help you come roaring out onto the field for an inspired come from behind victory.
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