It’s the Strategy, Stupid

I’ve been involved in sales for many years, but still seek advice from the “Strategy Masters.” Let me boil strategy down to its core. Here it is:

Strategy is what we use to do more smart stuff and do less stupid stuff.

We make decisions everyday and support our competitive advantage in the market, but then we do the stupid stuff like activities that can erode our competitive or sustainable advantage. Many will say that it is strategically impossible to do everything right, that 50 percent of hitting your sales target is not bad, that not calling your prospects in a timely manner is acceptable, not looking at your sales activity or pipeline is OK, not knowing how to align your sales to the markets available to you is common practice, that salespeople don’t need to do a good job, etc. They often ask “How do we really know that we are not doing a good job as a company, anyway?”

If you are in the business of looking into organizations you quickly discover the mistakes these companies are making and what change is required. They need a strategy, a vision, a decision filter…the tools may be there, but they’re just not using them correctly.

Ask the question yourself, “What can I do to make more smart stuff and less stupid stuff.” If you can’t answer this question, seek help! You might even find that by getting help you improve on the smart stuff you are already doing.