Every pitch in baseball is a battle. Every contest between a pitcher and a batter is a skirmish that bears on who will win the game. Although baseball is a team sport, each individual must fulfill their role for the team to win. If a batter gets lazy, he may miss the pitch that he could launch for a game-winning home run. If an infielder makes a throwing error, he may be throwing away the game.

The closest baseball parallel to business is the battle between the pitcher and batter. The pitcher must fight for every pitch, and the batter must contend with every pitch. If either let up for just one pitch, the end result of the game could be in jeopardy.

The pitcher must know the batter well enough to decide which pitch to throw. Every pitch is crucial. If the pitcher throws too many balls and falls behind in the count, it becomes a hitter's count. If the pitcher challenges the batter with strikes and moves ahead in the count, it becomes a pitcher's count and the pitcher has more flexibility in how he can pitch to the batter.

The batter must know the pitcher well enough to guess at the pitches he will be thrown. He must protect the plate. He must know his own best hitting zones, and foul off pitches that might be strikes so he is not called out on strikes.

If either blows even one pitch" ?either the pitcher hangs one over the middle of the plate or the batter is called out on a solid strike" ?the result of the game could hang in the balance. Each must challenge for every pitch.

You must fight for every pitch in your business. You are the pitcher for your team. Don't get lazy and think you know how to pitch out of a jam. Plan your pitches according to your market research or your advertising or business plan. Fight for each pitch. Fighting for every pitch is a metaphor for deliberate and proactive action in your business.

You can fight for every pitch in your business in many ways:

- Place one more ezine ad

- Write one more article

- Find one more distributor for your article

- Write a rebrandable ebook or an autoresponder course that promotes your products or programs

- Contact a website owner about a joint venture possibility

- Comment in five forums, promoting your business in your signature

- Contact old customers to see how they like and use your product, and how you can keep serving them

Fighting for every pitch means you see every marketing activity as a battle that bears on the success or failure of your business. So go out and throw strikes!