Sometimes, you only get one chance to get it right.

Ask Minnesota Viking Blair Walsh. Or David Hasselhoff, who tried to parlay a successful career in Hollywood into a career as a singer. And then there are the marketers behind "New Coke." They all found out how important it is to get it right when it comes to kicking game-winning field goals, making positive first impressions, and launching new products.

 But this post isn't about pushing a kick wide left or how "The Hoff" failed to impress with "Night Rocker." It's not even about the well-documented shortcomings of New Coke.

No, this post is about making sure your new product launch is a success, which isn't always easy.

The list of failed new product launches is long and not-so-illustrious.

New Coke is the poster child of products that crashed in burned during launch. But Ben-Gay aspirin, Smith and Wesson Mountain Bikes, Colgate Kitchen Entrees, Microsoft WebTV, and Life Savers Soda are also worth noting. You can learn a lot from failed launches. Mostly, what not to do.

Each of these products quickly went the way of the DeLorean because their manufacturers and marketers didn't do things right. Some didn't invest enough into research. Others had the wrong team around the table when they were developing their sales strategy template. Others simply had no launch plan at all.

Here is a look at three ways you can avoid these mistakes and makes sure your launch is a success:

1) Pay attention to positioning

If you don't know your new product's benefits, value proposition, or how it stacks up against the competition, your launch will likely fail.

To have a successful launch, you have to know (with precision) your customer – and why they will likely buy your product instead of the myriad other similar products.

Make sure that there is a need in the marketplace for your product. Understand what separates your product from the competition. And be sure it is priced right.

2) Tailor your team

It's amazing how many new product launches fail simply because the right people are not around the table.

Be sure to diversify your team by including individuals who process information differently. You want the rational thinkers, the intellectual thinkers, the intuitive thinkers, and the instinctive thinkers at the table.

By including a broad range of personality types and thought processes at the table, you are improving the likelihood that your product will appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

Don't know who thinks how? Look into whole brain thinking.

3) Stick to a schedule and create a rock-solid sales strategy template

Successfully launching a new product is part art, part science. But it's all about the schedule.

Accountability is key to successfully launching a new product. There are so many moving parts that it can be difficult to keep track of everyone – and everything.

This is where having a plan comes into play. You need to start with a proposed target launch date and then work backwards from there. Make sure your designers and engineers can tell you exactly when the product will be ready to go. Get your marketing team to commit to a detailed marketing plan that includes advertising, earned media, and social media. And make sure your sales team is working with a detailed sales strategy template.

These are the components of a successful new product launch – but only if you stick to them and hold your team members accountable to firm deadlines.

You only get one chance to get it right when it comes to a new product launch. So do it.