Why Sales Management is a Lot Like War Strategy

The legendary Chinese military general, Sun Tzu stated that “opportunities multiply as they are seized”. Any good salesperson will know that feeling at the beginning of a steamrolling month that leads onto many more sales and referrals later down the line. How many more parallels could be found between sales and war?
Most of us would be willing to fight for something we believe in. Such belief can spur motivation into dedicated action and, assuming they’re in the right industry, a salesperson has a powerful belief in the product or service they’re selling and making plenty of cash in the process. Welcome to the battleground…
A motivated army of sales lieutenants means the difference between driving your micronation from a struggling business of unhappy sales professionals to an unstoppable force. Framing the profession of sales in one of war is not only fun, it’s downright accurate. Here’s an overview of why sales and sales management is a lot like war strategy.

Your Salespeople Are Your Soldiers

Your lieutenants on the front lines of the battlefield are your salespeople. They’re the ones following your orders to the letter so they continue getting the results that matter.

Your Sales Managers Are Your Captains

A good captain of any squad is an inspiring leader in his or her own right. They should have a history of generating strong results of their own and possess the necessary strategic knowledge, creativity and charisma to get the soldiers fired up to carry out the plans filtering down from the command tent at the top of the hierarchy. By command tent, we mean glass-partitioned managers office…

Your Competitors Are the Enemy

The enemy is, of course, your competition. They seek to thwart your plans for global domination at every step. As Sun Tzu said, you must “know thy enemy” if you’re to outmaneuver them on the battlefield with a view to winning the valuable market share available from victory on the front lines.
The Solution Solved by Your Product or Service is the Battleground
Your product or service is the solution that liberates us all, providing freedom from whatever problem is plaguing the everyday lives of your prospects. During the course of battle with the enemy, you must ensure your solution is implemented as widely as possible, changing as many lives as possible and granting them the freedom they so rightly deserve.

To Win a Battle, You Must Prepare for the Fight

With the pieces in place like some highly profitable Risk board, it’s time to prepare strategies and have them filtered down the chain of command. To secure new territories, you must assign the right enemy combatants and regions to the right soldiers, maintaining a view to beat your enemy and win the land they would otherwise conquer from you.
One of the coolest parts of this strategy is that it can really bring everyone together with a common purpose. Rather than seeing a jealous response when it’s announced that “Sally has closed a sale!”, things have been reframed. Now, it’s “Lieutenant Sally has secured a new territory, winning greater ground for our army, moving us forward and multiplying our opportunities!”
Don’t be afraid to take things to the next level. Head down to a fancy dress store for a suitable uniform, get some camouflage up on the walls and surprise your troops when they arrive in the morning to begin plotting war against your enemies and bring freedom with your solution. And remember:
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
-Sun Tzu