Do you know the feeling when you know you should go to the gym after a long week of work travel but really can’t convince yourself? That’s how we experience many sales and marketing professionals feel with that one S******* word.
It’s that thing we all know we should do, but often dread like a visit to the dentist.
Long meetings, endless debates, and the nagging feeling that we’re missing something important – sound familiar?
If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at the mention of a “strategy session,” you’re not alone. When working with clients from numerous industries, SMEs or Start Ups, most peers don’t see strategy as the main motivator to start into revamping their sales partner approach.
But here’s the kicker.
We all know where we want to be in a couple weeks, months, years or even decades. The goals are (hopefully) clear but how do we get there? Bingo. It is the strategy.
Whether it is for personal professional development, business organizations as a whole or for singular projects, markets or new products need to have a gameplay in place to guide on the road to success. For now, let’s have fun and only speak of the s-word – you know which one ;).
As much as we groan about it, the s-word is the unsung hero of business success. It’s the GPS for your business road trip, helping you navigate from where you are to where you want to be.
If you are more like a sports fanatic, think of the strategy as your gameplay or power-play to win against your opponent on the soccer field.
When encountering the s-word in the business world, it may look like a monstrous construct of things designed by people and staff that are far from being on the operational side of the day-to-day business. It is more than important to focus on keeping strategy work packages simple and relatable to the organization while keeping customers in mind.
Secondly, the scope of such strategy meetings, workshops (even over multiple days) create a very time consuming and mentally draining process. Try to make it shorter and meet for an after work drink or morning coffee to create a strategy roadmap for your organization one step at a time.
A lot of times we hear: “Is the s-word really necessary? I just want to sell.” YES IT IS! Because when there is moments of doubt – and there will be, a proper game plan and route to success help you make hard decisions on your daily business life.
Make the s-word your gameplay to success and your map to the destination you have in mind.
Remember, strategy doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, an imperfect strategy that’s actually implemented is far better than a perfect strategy that never leaves the drawing board.
So the next time you feel that familiar dread creeping in at the mention of strategy, take a deep breath and give it a funny name.
Yes, it can be a bit of a pain to convince peers in your company, but it’s also your ticket to turning your business vision into reality. Embrace the process, keep it practical, and watch as your strategic thinking transforms into tangible results.
After all, in the words of Sun Tzu, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.“
Let’s aim for victory and get the StateMinded as we will explore some of the crucial elements for a successful channel sales strategy as we tag along.