“The tides do not command the ship. The sailor does.”
― Ogwo David Emenike
For the sales and marketing teams that execute well, they are outpacing industry growth. They are doing so more productively and profitably due to the flywheel effect – and according to author Jim Collins, that’s when a company goes from good to great. These organizations often outpace competitors when economic activity is less buoyant.
With demand robust, sales and marketing teams will achieve the best results in years. When sales results are strong, sales and marketing leaders credit themselves for hard work and execution. Still, when results are weak, it’s the fault of the economy or external macroeconomic factors.
This economic “incoming tide” will eventually recede, so now is the time for business leaders to position their organizations to outpace competitors as the economy normalizes.
The time to invest is, now, when business is strong. When the economy or industry hits a downturn, investments in sales and marketing execution may not make it through the budget process. Those type of investments also takes time to bear fruit, typically six to 12 months.
Unfortunately, many companies will have an out-of-focus view of this year’s success. Better optics of your company’s sales and marketing execution capabilities can position it for more consistent and faster growth.