I have been lazy about blogging in the past, but for once, I have a real excuse. We had a baby! Advika, our little Christmas baby has added a whole new dimension to my life and blogging had to take a back seat. Now that things are  little more settled, I will try to be regular going forward.

Here's a pic.

PS: Added excuse- I also made a job switch. Same company, similar role, but a different place.

I have been following this campaign closely over the last year or so. It has been as educative as it has been entertaining. Although the American political system is identity based, it is interesting that the character, track record and public perceptions of the candidates themselves are considered extremely important. The candidates need to sell themselves to the electorate. Just like clients in our world examine contracts and ask probing questions, presidential candidates are put through the fire by the media. They are forced to explain their strengths and weaknesses and need to answer questions about their abilities just like we field objections about our services. BO has proven himself to be not just a great leader but also a super salesman. Here are the top five sales leadership attributes that I learnt from BO:

Mapping your strengths against customer needs: The most explicit 'need' in this election has been the need for change at a time of turbulence. Both the candidates realized this. Both campaigns focused their fire to varying degrees on President Bush. The crucial difference was how the candidate's demonstrated strengths measured up against explicit need. BO's perceived strengths were a). Sharp intellect b).Calmness under pressure c). Self made man who has middle class values d). Ability to unite people e).Great oration. These strengths, when put together, positioned BO as the candidate best equipped to bring change at a turbulent time. BO showcased these strengths repeatedly and consistently throughout the campaign lending credibility to his candidacy.
Sales lesson: Consistently and repeatedly showcase those strengths that address client needs directly. 

Predicting client objections and turning them around into needs: Several times during the campaign objections were raised on the BO ticket. Lack of experience, the race card, the fact that his father belonged to a minority religion are some examples of these objections. BO masterfully predicted these in advance and turned them into 'needs'. His 'inexperience' got transformed into a necessary attribute for bringing about the much needed departure from 'business as usual' in Washington. The fact that he belonged to a minority race was repositioned as something that can help him unify the country by cutting across demographics at a time where unification is clearly needed. The fact that his father practiced a different religion was positioned as something that would help him 'understand those people better'.
Sales Lesson: Predict customer objections and weave your story proactively to turn these into needs.

Really, really understanding the customer: BO really understood the electorate. Not just from a needs perspective but also from a more strategic demographics perspective. He realized that the American electorate had become too diverse for traditional republican versus democrat, left versus right segmentation. He segmented his electorate differently. Realizing the latent potential in younger voters and the crucial nature of independents, he crafted a message that attracted these segments in droves and in doing so has built a foundation for 2012. Brilliant!
Sales Lesson: Be prepared to think about your customer differently. Understand the changes her organization is undergoing and craft your message accordingly. 

The urgency factor:  How many times have we faced a situation where the client loves a solution but thinks it can wait? This happens when the problem has not been built up to the point where the urgency of the problem has become an issue in itself. Some people hinted that BO was too young and that he needs to wait. The message was "Great guy, great candidate but it's not yet time". BO handled this by falling back on not just the importance of change but the urgency of bringing about change. "I can take four more weeks of attacks but you can't take four more years of the same" was his masterly retort.
Sales lesson: Don't just focus on the value in your solution, also focus on the cost of NOT having your solution NOW.

One consistent message instead of several: Too many dimensions to your value proposition and lurching from one message to the other can confuse the customer. The republican campaign did precisely that. It started with a message centered on superior experience, shifted to a message of maverick change, degenerated into attacks and finally ended up confusing the electorate. The BO campaign always had one consistent message, the message of change. Virtually every single ad and campaign tactic centered around change and why BO is best equipped to bring about change. This consistent message centered on the most important need ultimately carried the day.
Sales lesson: Focus on one or two critical value messages and build your brand around these messages. Make sure whatever you do is consistent with this message.

This site reached a thousand unique visitors in a month for the first time since it started. Nothing to boast off compared to the zillions of better blogs that enjoy much better numbers. But hey, someone said  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step".

Thanks to all of you who made this possible.

CNN carries an excellent write up on Vivek Gupta, a sales superstar at IBM. His customer says about him "Sometimes even we are not sure if his name badge says 'Vodafone' or 'IBM.'". Some pointers from Mr.Gupta's success:
 

• Take pains to understand the customer's business as well as he does. Vivek Gupta(VG) knows of a customer issue at the same time that the MD of that company. How many salesmen can say that?
• Understand your own company's products and services well and tailor them to suit the customer. 
  VG invents new combination of products and services by analyzing IBM's vast product stack.
• Go out of the way to understand your customer's pain points.
  VG took the initiative (after getting rejected) to walk the corridors and identify pain areas ending up with a $100 M account.
• Know when to go for the kill and when to back off.
• Be nice to the customer.
  "He looks very polite. He tends to agree with whatever the customer asks. But then he gives what he has to give. That's the trick. It will not appear to the customer that he has not given."
• Enlist your backend folks in proactive discussions on what the customer can use.

We took off for a short break in the hills a while back and the impending long weekend brought back those memories. Here are some pics. No, that's not a bison burger but a venison burger. It's amazing what being in touch with nature can do!

 

Dhirubhai Ambani is argurably one of the greatest business men in history. I chanced on his

"He would often explain that we are all born into an orbit. It is up to us to progress to the next. We could choose to live and die in the orbit that we are born in. But that would be a criminal waste of potential. When we push ourselves into the next orbit, we benefit not only ourselves but everyone connected with us.

Take India's push for development. There was once a time our country's growth rate was just 4 per cent, sarcastically referred to as the "Hindu growth rate." Look at us today, galloping along at a healthy 7-8 per cent.

However, when you change orbits, you will create friction. The good news is that your enemies from your previous orbit will never be able to reach you in your new one. By the time resentment builds up in your new orbit, you should move to the next level. And so on. "

Here's wishing a great independence day to all American readers. It's time we get independence from a). High gas prices b). Lower IT budgets  

Here are some fonts and pictures that you can use if you want to send your clients a custom email greeting.

Found this at Zfacts.com. We all are feeling the pinch, but I can't imagine anyone paying $3.34 in March 1981 driving the gas guzzlers of that day.