Those of us who sell cutting-edge marketing solutions are not always aligned with executives who fund and managers who use new methods and technologies.
We think impacting financial performance and solving business problems should close the deal. It is not always the case. There are all kinds of reasons why people buy or don't buy something that works better. Maybe the person who has to run or implement the test is perceived as barely competent. Or the manager is afraid of looking better than his boss.
The lesson is to find out what matters early in the sales cycle. We need to know not only how to solve business problems but align ourselves with hidden personal and political issues.
In Russia during communism expensive champagne was served during intermission at the ballet. The bartender moved so slowly that not everybody got some. The American visitor asked his Russian friend if servers were always lazy in his country. The Russian said that there was not enough to go around and to save face the theater asked them to go slow.
I read this somewhere and always remember when a potential client engagement makes no sense to me. People always have a reason for doing what they are doing.
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