Watch a professional pool player. Notice how they often bypass an easy shot in favor of one that positions the cue ball optimally for the next shot. While amateurs focus only on sinking the immediate shot, professionals think several moves ahead, understanding that the position of the cue ball determines future possibilities.
This fundamental difference perfectly illustrates what separates average salespeople from high-performing professionals.
Strategic Positioning in Sales
Sales strategy is the discipline of creating the power to achieve your objectives in uncertain and dynamic environments. The foundation of good strategy is positioning—every move should be executed to improve your position and increase your velocity to achieve a successful outcome.
High-performing sales professionals possess what I call "dual-vision." They simultaneously:
See the ultimate objective of winning the business. They always keep their head up to see the big picture.
Narrow their focus to execute immediate tasks with precision while ensuring each move creates optimal positioning for future steps.
Like the pool master, elite salespeople understand that making the right move now—even if it's more challenging—creates better positioning that makes future success almost inevitable.
The Positioning Trap
Here's a scenario we've all experienced: You finally break through at a strategic account and deliver a successful demo to a technical buyer. The meeting goes well, and you eagerly plan follow-up activities with this contact while optimistically forecasting your opportunity.
But have you left your cue ball in a poor position?
If you're single-threaded with just one contact, you've essentially trapped yourself in the corner of the table. What happens if that person leaves the company? What if they lack decision-making authority? What if organizational priorities shift beyond their control?
By taking the easy shot (focusing solely on your initial contact), you've limited your future options. Once established in this pattern, attempting to engage with others in the account might upset your primary contact. Then what?
Creating Powerful Position
High performers approach sales differently. Each activity they undertake creates progressively better positioning until closing the deal becomes almost inevitable. They:
Prioritize difficult activities upfront if they improve long-term position
Expand engagement across multiple stakeholders within an account
Focus on the buyer's value first, building trust through authentic execution
Make what appear to be modest, low-pressure moves that gradually increase deal velocity
Position Through Trust
Your buyers can generally distinguish between high-performing professionals and average salespeople. What they recognize and respect is a strategic approach with depth and breadth.
When you focus on positioning—conducting rigorous discovery, understanding their business deeply, and identifying how to add maximum value—buyers begin to trust that you have their best interests in mind.
Trust:
Compresses the sales cycle
Increases deal velocity
Improves your position to win the business
Creates certainty for both you and the buyer
In contrast, operating purely on a tactical basis—trying to manipulate buyers into making fast decisions—prevents trust from developing. You may be able to make a sale, but the deal risks are significantly higher. Focusing on the strategic advantages that come from a position of trust mitigates these risks while creating sustainable long-term value.
High-performing sales professionals often collaborate with their buyers on strategy. By transparently mapping out next steps together, buyers become partners rather than targets. This shared approach strengthens your position as buyers now have a stake in the path you've jointly created.
While trust takes time to establish initially, once built creates a foundation where deals move faster and with greater certainty. Each demonstration of strategic thinking compounds your position of trust, creating a virtuous cycle that makes future positioning moves even more effective.
Strategy vs. Tactics
Sales professionals need tactical skills—how to sell effectively. But relying on tactics alone puts trust at risk. Buyers are smart. They know when they're being sold and pressured to make a buying decision before the value is clear.
High-performing sales professionals excel at both tactics and strategy. They are two sides of the same coin. These professionals operate with breadth and depth in their opportunities, focusing on establishing trust as their vehicle to a successful outcome.
Those who establish a position of trust with their buyers generate velocity—doors open, introductions happen effortlessly, and they receive the benefit of the doubt. Meanwhile, those operating only with sales tactics find themselves perpetually fighting against mistrust, which is exhausting and leaves them in a weak position to compete for business.
The difference isn't capability but positioning.
Consistency Strengthens Position
A pool champion plays all shots with the same consistent approach. Similarly, your professional success depends on the same discipline. You can't show up some days focused and other days not.
Every sales interaction is a positioning move. Every email, call, meeting, and proposal either strengthens or weakens your position. The high performer recognizes this and approaches each interaction strategically, understanding that today's position determines tomorrow's options.
The most successful sales professionals plan 3-4 moves in advance. They visualize how each action positions them for successful execution of the next move, and how this sequence creates the momentum and velocity needed to reach a successful outcome. Like master pool players, they don't just make good individual shots—they create a strategic sequence where each position builds upon the previous one, accelerating them toward an almost inevitable close.
So, ask yourself: Are you focused on putting your cue ball in a good position for your next shots or are you trapping it in a corner?
Improve your Position. Master sales strategy!
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This was written by me with only the final edits by AI. Here is my process:
I first sketch my outline with pen & paper in my Black n' Red 8 1/4 x 11 ¾ Notebooks (high-quality paper for writing). That outline gets transferred to a .doc where I write out the content. My v1.0 gets uploaded to my Notion database where it gets accessed by both Claude & ChatGPT through n8n. I run it through both as they each come back with unique edits and context. I compare those side by side and then write v2.0. That goes through Notion again back through either Claude or ChatGPT for final edits. This long-form essay is what then gets published on Substack with the short-form version published on LinkedIn.
The primary use case for this content is to train the Compass sales strategy system and the SAM Co-Pilot. I run these on both ChatGPT and Claude. Perplexity Pro is my R&D AI which feeds ChatGPT Teams & Claude Pro through n8n. I like having each as it is like having a team. The secondary use case is for sharing with my followers & clients. It's worth paying the premium AI fees for performance. This process takes me 3-4 hours. I'm very deliberate as I need to make sure my AIs' are trained properly.
There are some cases where the AI is the primary generator of the content. I will call these out.
I train sales professionals, business leaders, and their AI agents on Sales and Deal strategies using the Compass AI Sales Strategy system. This training acts as a force multiplier, empowering you and your AI agents to work in alignment to win business and exceed your number in competitive environments.
I always listen to music when I write or create. Whatever song is playing from my playlist when I finish is what gets called out here. This can be some random piece that I'm hearing for the first time or an old favorite. It's all good. The artwork is from the house and pictures from the neighborhood.
This was written while listening to 'Divenire' by Ludovico Einaudi.
Artwork: CT Home
