What is Strategy anyway?
It’s one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in business. It’s often confused and intermixed with tactics, reduced to a buzzword, or worse, used to justify a haphazard collection of activities with no coherent direction.
This confusion is especially evident in sales where the line between strategy & tactics is frequently blurred. Let’s strip away the noise and clearly define strategy in a way that clarifies its purpose and elevates its practice.
What Strategy Is Not
Strategy is not a fixed plan, a list of objectives, or a set of tactics. While these elements can be part of a strategic framework, they do not constitute strategy itself. A fixed plan often crumbles under the weight of real-world conditions, and tactics—though vital—can be either random activity or part of a structured playbook. They are how you sell. Strategy is the who, what, when, where and why you sell. Tactics are fleeting actions that are always changing with the times. Strategy is timeless.
Strategy vs. Tactics
To be a high-performing sales professional and sales team you need to be good at both. They are two sides of the same coin. Unfortunately, there is a strategy gap in the market today. Most sales methodologies, processes, and tools today are focused on tactics or how you sell. That’s important but this strategy gap is the cause of a lot of failure in the sales profession. And AI will eliminate a lot of need for sales tactics, increasing the importance of strategy in B2B sales.
For sales professionals, this means understanding when to shift focus. Are you executing a tactic—a cold call, a product demo, or a pricing negotiation—without a clear strategic context? Or are your actions aligned with a broader strategy that positions you to win not just the deal but also the relationship and future opportunities?
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” - Sun Tzu in The Art of War.
A Clear Definition
“Strategy is the discipline of creating the power to navigate through uncertainty to achieve your objectives.”
That is my definition so let’s unpack it:
· Discipline: Strategy is not an ad-hoc activity; it requires intentionality, focus, and practice. It’s a skill honed over time, demanding consistent effort to master.
· Creating Power: Power is the ability to influence outcomes, shape decisions, and achieve goals. You need energy to create power, and that is generated by intentional activity. Strategy isn’t passive; it actively generates the momentum and leverage needed to succeed. You create the power to win deals by managing three strategic elements: time, velocity, and position. That’s it.
· Navigating Through Risk: If you have a certain, predictable outcome you don’t need a strategy. Just execute and move to the close. However, if your outcome is uncertain and has risks, you need a strategy to help you navigate through the uncertainty while managing risk as you move to a successful outcome. High-performing sales professionals who have mastered sales strategy thrive in uncertainty. It’s about recognizing risks, assessing variables, and being agile & responsive to rapidly changing business conditions. Following sales playbooks puts you at a competitive disadvantage. Learn to navigate with strategic intent to compete to win.
· Achieving Objectives: The aim of strategy is to achieve a successful outcome. Whether it’s closing a critical, must-win deal, making your number for the quarter or year, or hitting your earnings target, good strategy is outcome-oriented, designed to align resources, efforts, and decisions toward a defined goal. Every activity you take and every decision you make must be done in the context of creating the power to navigate your way to a successful outcome. You create power by compressing time, increasing velocity and improving your position.
Timeless and Simple
Sales tactics have a short shelf life and must adapt to changing times and conditions. Strategy is timeless and provides a long-term framework for decision-making and action.
And good strategy is simple. Just keep things untangled. But it’s not easy. You need focus, persistence and dedication.
An Example
When I was 8, I started playing little league baseball. My dad said I had a good arm for my age, so I told my manager I wanted to be a pitcher. I was excited until I stepped on the mound for the first time. Everyone was just staring at me except the other team, who was laughing that I was pitching. I was scared shitless. I hit the batter with my first pitch. Hit the umpire with my second. My strategy then became very simple: Don’t hurt anyone.
My strategy evolved over the next couple of games from not being dangerous to just getting the ball over the plate. I focused on tactics: my grip, windup, follow-through, etc. My strategy pretty much stayed that way until high school. At that point, I could throw my fastball in the mid-80s in the general direction of the strike zone. My strategy remained to just get the ball over the plate while I mastered the tactics of pitching.
Now look at major league baseball pitchers. They generally have command of 4-5 pitches. They work on their tactics—how they pitch—all the time. But they also work every day on preparing their game strategy. They study film, review stats on opposing hitters, etc. What pitch they throw depends on who the batter is, what inning it is, who is on base, what the pitch count is, the balls and strikes, and where their team is positioned in the field and so on. They practice because in the game, they have 5-10 seconds to determine what pitch to throw. That is strategy. How they throw the pitch is tactics, and that varies by pitcher.
A question: Are you still playing little league ball?
Navigation: This was written while listening to “Wild West End” by Dire Straights.
Artwork: Ranger. One of 9 J-Class Racing Yachts in the world today. Peace.