Follow Through
The Copywriter Column #117
“No, NO, NO!.” He walked over and grabbed the tennis racket from me. “You’re not following through. Watch.”
Coach nodded and my training partner hit another serve toward us. I watched as coach drew his arm back to swing and make perfect contact with the ball.
But unlike my attempts, once he hit the ball, he kept swinging. The ball sailed just over the top of the net and onto the other side.
“See?” He handed my racket back to me. “You can’t just hit the ball. You’ve got to hit it and keep going, otherwise, it’ll never do what you want it to. Now, you try.”
Once again, my partner served me a ball. But this time, instead of simply allowing my racket to make contact with it, I swung and kept swinging.
The ball flew just over the top of the net and straight toward the feet of my teammate.
“There ya go,” coach said.
—
The lesson here’s obvious: Follow through.
In tennis, hitting the ball is a part of the goal. But following through is the only way you’re going to get points.
The same is true in business.
You met your deliverables, theoretically fulfilling your contractual obligations? Great. So, you hit the ball. Any schmuck from UpWork can do that.
But what about the follow through?
What about nurturing the client relationship afterward? What about standing behind the quality of your work and the results? What about going above and beyond not just during your project, but after?
That’s the follow through.
Hitting the ball might get you paid.
Following through is guaranteed income.
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