The Australian Open tennis is on at the moment and keeping me up nights. But one interesting thing I did notice is how the expert commentators discuss how a point is well constructed.
What they mean of, course, is how a player takes advantage of their strengths, exploits their opponents weaknesses, and strategically out-thinks their opponent to win the point.
Now someone like me who brushes the cobwebs off his racquet a couple of times a year and tries to hit winners off every shot is unlikely to make it into the Open.
It reminds me of how a lot of owners and managers approach their sales... trying to make a winner (sale) off every shot (prospect). The problem, of course, is that not every prospect is ready to commit... or at least make the kind of commitment you want them to (lucrative long term contracts).
Today, more than ever, the sale has to be constructed. You can't rely on blasting winners off every shot... you have to be smarter. Set up the prospect with a trial membership, allowing them to recruit their friends into the club with them for support, give them the attention they need during their trial, and make their early experience a positive one.
That's how you construct a sale... not as spectacular as those miracle shots (that rarely come off) but much more reliable.
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