Sales Campaigns Require Perpetual “Grip”

I have been reading Tony Blair’s book, A Journey. In the chapter on reaching peace in Northern Ireland, he gives a master class on conflict resolution. While a sales campaign is not a conflict per se, there are many parallels.

Blair’s quote goes like this: “…to proceed to resolution, the thing (the problem or conflict) needs to be gripped and focused on. Continually. Inexhaustibly. Relentlessly. Day by day by day by day. If the gripping is intermittent, intermittent won't do. It doesn't work. If it (is) gripped, it (will) be solved.”

What Blair is saying is that solving a complex problem requires focus and full time attention. In a major sale, a sales team is solving a problem for the customer (which is hard enough) but there are also multiple competitors trying to do you in along the way! Each of them had a different solution/product to sell. You have to out hustle the competition.

To win, a perpetual grip and full attention to detail is required. Here are some examples of GRIP.

• Spend time in many departments. Learn the account inside and out. Know the customer better then they know themselves
• Get to know the key people personally. Be their best friend and the one they want to spend time with …be part of the family. Make sure they are always happy to see you.
• “Hang around their in-box” when you can’t be physically present
• Put out any embers before they become raging brush fires (this is usually an arson job by one of your friendly competitors).
• Give much more then they expect…in everything you do for them
• If you are not there, your competition is! Monopolize their time, box-out the competition, but create value for the customer when you do.
• Remember birthdays, anniversaries, name days, etc. Amaze them with your memory for their personal details.

We had a Sales VP at Boeing, a legendary salesman named Larry Dickenson. Larry was a veteran of the Asian airplane wars, and was largely responsible for persuading Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. build their fleets around the 787, 777, and 737 airplanes. He was one guy that could play hardball with John Leahy and usually win. Larry was a quote machine and he used to tell us one thing that really stuck with me. “Overwhelm the competition”. Sound advice. Grip the campaign and never let go!

By the way, here are all the Tony Blair’s tips.

1. Find the core principles around which agreement and a framework can be built
2. Never loosen your GRIP
3. Don’t treat as small what is important to others (‘small things can be big things’)
4. Be creative
5. Conflict needs outside helpers
6. Conflict is a journey not an event
7. Disruptions are inevitable from those who see benefits in maintaining the conflict
8. Leaders matter but leadership can be tough and lonely
9. Success requires external conditions to favour peace
10. Never give up.


I like that last one!

Good selling!