Sales Soldiers, The Art of War and other musings…

By Sue Hornblow

Recently I’ve been re reading “The Art of War for Executives”.  Many people are saying they feel they are on a battlefield, faced with uncertainty, rapid change and unexpected threats.

Sun Tzu’s wisdom has long been used by business leaders.  I believe that particularly pertinent today are the principals of; Show the Way, Know the Facts, Seize the Day and Pull Together. 

That is, we need to have strong decisive leadership, gathering of market information on which to base decisions, making decisions and working as unified cohesive teams.

Sales people are like the soldiers out on the battle field. They have vital market knowledge and can make valuable contributions to decision making. Sadly they are often not involved or their opinions are less valued than Management. 

Sales people are the life blood of our organisations, they require on going support to enable them to perform well and deliver results that will ensure the success and even the continued existence of our organisations.

Sometime creating space for sales people to share their market knowledge can be invaluable.  One way this can be achieved is through “Strategy to Action” sessions which enables sharing of facts and pulling together to agree actions.  Equally importantly just by pulling the team together and including them in decision making tends to help people feel more included.  They are more likely to buy into decisions and commit to actions and change behaviors.  Feedback from one of our recent sessions was that every one had greater clarity about the actions they needed to take.  Responsibility and accountability is now clear and visible. 

Strong leadership will ensure this momentum is continued. 

As Sun Tzu said “Only a general who is flexible and knows how to adapt his strategy to changing circumstances can command victorious troops”.  Wise words, just as pertinent for today’s business leaders as when they were written 2,500 years ago.

Please feel free to contact me if you wish to explore “Strategy to Action” sessions to increase your sales team results.

Sue Hornblow, Director
021 884 366
Key Performance Group: “unlocking potential”