Sales Strategy Ideas from the Presidential Campaign

While every sale is competitive, in the most important deals it will boil down to just you and your arch-rival. These are the big deals. These are the most important deals that will decide whether you make your quarterly number, receive your annual bonus, and ultimately determine whether or not you will keep your job. Therefore, before you bolt into action you need a strategy to win the business. But the question to ask yourself is, “What kind of strategy?”

   

Since the beginning of mankind, arch-rivals have fought for dominance. Competing clans, tribes, and countries battled one another for supremacy. In 1954, famous war historian Lidell Hart detailed the indirect and direct approach to war in his classic book, Strategy. The direct strategy is a brute force full-frontal attack intended to overwhelm the enemy. Conversely, the indirect strategy employs psychology, finesse, and most importantly, the element of surprise. The indirect strategy is based upon out-of-the-box thinking that is intended to be a game changer. As a result, it confounds the enemy, creates confusion, and makes them unsure of what they should do next.

   

In painstaking detail, Hart described the superiority of the indirect strategy over the direct strategy using examples throughout the history of warfare. He theorized that the outcome of every major war from Roman times through World War II could be attributed to the grand strategy the parties selected. The victors always chose to battle indirectly.

   

When you are competing head-to-head against your arch-rival for an account you have to choose between using a direct or indirect strategy. And, over the past several weeks we have witnessed great examples of both strategies in action on the Presidential campaign. Putting political preferences aside, here’s my interpretation of what Lidell Hart would have to say about it.

   

Direct Strategy: McCain challenges Obama to visit Iraq.

In an attempt to highlight his foreign affairs expertise and stance on Iraq, McCain challenges Obama to visit Iraq and see for himself the success of the “surge” which he had supported. In a frontal assault McCain chided his nemesis, "It's been 871 days since he was there. It's long overdue.”

   

Indirect Strategy: Obama turns McCain’s challenge into a victory tour.

Instead of limiting his Iraq trip to an in-and-out fact finding mission, he used the trip to hob-nob with the foreign leaders of Germany, France, the U.K. and was treated like a superstar by 200,000 Berliners. He took McCain’s challenge and turned it into his advantage by showing he was “presidential.”

   

Indirect Strategy: McCain frames Obama trip as a celebrity lollapalooza.

Faced with the non-stop press coverage of Obama adulation, McCain’s camp needed a strategy that would turn lemons into lemonade. They ended up making lemon-drop martinis by capitalizing on the media’s swooning over Obama’s trip and celebrity comments like George Clooney’s, “Obama is like a rock star.” They took Obama’s strength and turned into a liability by framing him not as a leader, but a Brittany Spears/Paris-Hilton type pop-star. Shortly thereafter, most polls showed the race between McCain and Obama was tied.

   

Direct Strategy: Obama picks Senator Biden as his vice presidential running mate.

The direct strategy is a more predictable, safer course of tactical execution. A week before Obama announced his running mate the press said Senator Biden was on the top of the list. The candidate who based his entire premise for running for office on change, had chosen a 35 year Washington insider thus acknowledging he couldn't beat his Republican rival without help from a seasoned politician. News analysts agreed, this was a safe choice.

    

Indirect Strategy: McCain picks Governor Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

At the foundation of the indirect strategy is the element of surprise, unpredictability, and audacity. No one predicted McCain would tap Governor Palin to be his running mate. It was a bold move that blindsided the Obama camp. ``It's either a grand-slam home run or it'll turn out to be a bust,'' said Stu Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report in Washington.

   

Time will tell who will be the next President. However, the winner will most assuredly be the one who employed the indirect strategy most effectively. The same holds true for your important deals. Your strategy should be based upon finesse and the element of surprise, rather than frontal assault. Above all, the indirect strategy truly appreciates the importance of momentum in determining the winner. In the words of World War II general George Patton, a famous devotee of the indirect strategy, “Audacity, audacity, always audacity.” Because, “When everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.”

   

Want to learn more about the indirect strategy, I recommend reading Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom: Proven Sales Warfare Strategies, Secrets of Persuasion, and Common Sense Tips for Success. Visit www.heavyhitterwisdom.com for more strategy articles.

Comments

[sex datng]

speaking of strategies, can someone please come up with a reasonable plan to fix our damn economy.

[divorce]

very interesting read, thanks for posting