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Deb Levy | Coaching Is Good

Deb Levy, M.Ed., PCC

Certified Business and Life Coach

March Madness Bracketology -- Your Template for Success!

March Madness Bracketology -- Your Template for Success!

For us college basketball fans, March is an exciting month of cheering for our favorite teams and watching underdogs win big games. Imagine how much better our spring might be if we invested this type of obsessive attention to our professional goals, love life or tax returns?

Welcome to March Madness Business Bracketology!

In order to help one of my basketball-loving clients capitalize on March Madness (and not fall behind from late night game-watching), I came up with a "business bracketology strategy" to help him exceed his spring sales goals. Instead of just making a list of his potential sales prospects for the next week, he listed sixteen  contacts in his “business bracket,” with the goal of meeting with eight people by the end of the week, and making four sales by the end of March (or, by the N.C.A.A. Finals on April 6th and 7th). By posting his business bracket next to his basketball bracket, his sales goals will be front and center, and his competitive spirit will push him to work harder at his sales game.  Click here to download your bracket.

March Madness captivates our attention (40 million people filled out brackets this year  – more than who voted for either Obama or Romney in 2012) and has the best of us – even the President, I bet – sneaking peaks at our phones during meals and meetings. As of March 22nd, NOT ONE of the 11.6 million brackets entered into the ESPN Tournament Challenge was still perfect but the March Madness Business Bracketology is a tournament you can win!

Today is the perfect day to select your “sweet sixteen” business bracket and get busy! Use it to challenge yourself to meet your sales, networking or interview goals!  Be creative -- use it for your blog-writing goals (I’m considering sixteen ideas and expect to complete four blogs) or even your dating goals (one client listed sixteen  people, with the goal of going out on four dates by April!).  

Share it with your team and colleagues. Start a March Madness Business Bracketology Work Pool, and donate the money you collect to a youth sports program.   For 2016, let’s organize a campaign to get half of the $2 billion bet on this year’s tournament donated to programs to increase college access and college graduation rates !!

Now that would really be some March Madness!