Art or Science?

It's a pop-psych question that can get to the core of how a salesteam will perform.

One of those stunningly simple, yet deceptively revealing, quickfire This or That quizzings.

Sales; art or science?

When I myself began to adopt this style - with both prospects and colleagues alike - I soon realised how much time and effort goes into producing really great questions of this type.

I've blogged on such either-or skills before. Such as from the inferior film of the decent zeitgeist novel inside a ravenous internet ecosystem scale-up hellbent on world domination. As well as pop-culture spins.

One learning was how great it is when you get answers that are not one of the binary pair on offer.

And this opens up that window nicely.

What goes in, around or between art and science?

Technology, wisdom, experience, sport, knowledge, engineering, performance, communication?

What if someone answers, "both!"?

What if one is selected? If art, then what is our canvas? If science, then where are our labs?

In any case, as is the way with these posers, the best answer is seldom one over the other choice.

Anyway, isn't Enterprise, solution Sales both art and science?

As I noted in one of my books, 101 Diagrams That Sell;

Scientists with a genuine arts hobby are found to be almost three-times more frequently winning a Nobel prize than peers not sharing such past-time.

And my answer?

Process.

Though not the semantic change of this term which has engulfed our profession.

Certainly not that which your ᴄʀᴍ lays out for you among all its tabs and flags.

No.

But that pattern of events that when in train, guarantee you shall prevail in a sustainable manner, time and again.

And that pattern which you focus on recognising, repeating and refining.