Hand-to-Hand Combat

No, not another post on a similarity between the heroic steadfast Ukraine and/or shambolic criminal Russia and a key solution sell approach.

Rather how the main protagonist on a battlefield of a different kind views their new Sales endeavour.

Specifically, the fresh-in-post Twitter chief exec, Linda Yaccarino.

Having duly impressed future boss and world's richest geek, Elon Musk. Through discussions around advertising during the now evident as embers of her previous corporate tenure. Which was selling ad space for a legacy American tv network.

What pang the sales antennae was phrasing for how she viewed a priority aspect of the gig. Widely reported from inside an early 'global sales team meeting' as;

"hand-to-hand combat".

The context being that her charges had to go off and meet potential clients 'in-person', rather than from/when 'behind their desks'.

Despite the industry goodwill that appears towards this appointment, there are potentially troubling elements of this.

Although many a strategic and tactical business steer does indeed stem from military thinking, to make a direct metaphor as here can undermine ambition. What does 'combat' ever achieve? Who's the bad guy? And what of the details this perhaps most brutal of form; mano a mano?

Beyond the analogy, there's the nickname of the new helmer; the 'velvet hammer'. That's some reputation. Apparently down to a hard-nosed negotiating preference. Nothing necessarily wrong with that. Yet when a more collaborative approach is being trailed and sought, anything even remotely sniffing of a win-lose on the prospect-side will likely see them walk away with neither pause nor regret.

Then there's the unnerving re-occurrence of a lament of our times; the problem the world's sharpest minds are busy working out is how to sell ads. I guess we're used to our 'town square' of choice being plastered with billboards. But even so, as even Musk himself knows, there's many other weightier matters to tackle. Accompanied you may feel, with greater returns too.

Returning to syntax, I wondered whether some insider wag might've coined a snappy moniker. Such as H2H.

Thinking of the brief period of nostalgic lust towards F2F when banned from office (aka Face-to-Face) meeting.

Yet surely more a style of 'hand-in-hand development' is what the market may crave.

One of my earliest memories of commerce was from the classic English fish 'n chip shop. With choice abundant back then, a couple of iffy servings from one and you'd be quick to try a rival. When seeing a certain sign up in the window though, your decision could hasten;

Under New Management.

Twitter now has that sign. It's a great hook to re-engage those both of previous patronage or curious for existing alternative.

Sort their offer out, and they'll set up a ton of meetings.

Yet with my lengthy experience of new product rescue, one angle that does not precede fresh endeavour sales success, is to compare your new push to something disturbing, even possibly toxic, like 'hand-to-hand combat'.