Sun-tzu ping-fa? Well, you are not alone.


Sun-Tzu (pronounced "sun za") was a brilliant Chinese military General (544 BC - 496 BC.) who wrote a book called "The Art of War ".

This 2500 year old book was all about strategies for winning wars. Today, it has found a huge following in disparate disciplines including Sales. I remember what I had come across in a Solutions Selling workshop that I had attended some time ago.

The true power of the information age must be the ability to apply knowledge, common in one discipline, to a totally new and interesting area. The outcome of such a feat can resonate with a huge and significant difference.

We all read about Preemptive strikes when the US first entered Iraq.  I'd put that as a classic Sun-tzu move.  In a sales  deal, when  you are leading  a "not looking"  buyer to a "looking"  state,  the  best move is to strike a Preemptive deal (Be the first on the scene).

The other four strategies that can be applied to an active opportunity are :

  • Head-To-Head ( Direct frontal approach), 
  • End-around (Indirect or flanking approach), 
  • Divide and conquer (fragmentary approach) and 
  • Stall (containment or delay approach).

I know this may sound boring but, think about it. All the above five strategies are classic Sun-Tzu!! and this has found new meaning after 2500 years in Sales! Now I think that's cool.

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