Is There Pomo In Your Process?

Charles Hughes. The name of an Englishman who’s incredibly crackpot ideas put his country’s football back decades through long-ball idiocy.

His totally flawed statistical analysis duly decreed you hoof the ball into the opponent’s box in just three kicks. This is because he ‘uniquely’ isolated the area of the pitch from where most goals are scored. So he suggested that all efforts should be made to ensure the ball is played there as quickly and as often as possible.

So risible it’s scary.

As banal as saying ‘if you don’t shoot, you don’t score’.

Sage commentators shudder at how such buffoonery still constrains us today.

I learned this weekend of a phrase of his that identified this key spot on the field of play; POMO

position of maximum opportunity

Now, I’m fine with taking one small element of something, even from such utterly exposed concept. So long as it can be reclaimed for a real winning insight.

The context where I caught this phrase was tv punditry. A corner to the near post sucked in defenders, leaving the centre-forward to edge away unmarked across the six-yard box towards the far post and nod home a juicy free header. Supposedly a striker on their game will score three or four goals like that across any season. From the ‘pomo’.

I say ‘juicy’ advisedly. As the wonders of the web inform me that ‘pomology’ is the science of edible fruit cultivation.

And so it can be with Sales.

Every product or service we sell in solutionland has a pomo.

It’s where someone has the exact problem we can resolve, is prepared to deploy the right type of resource at sorting it, sponsors the whole endeavour vigilantly from the very top, has the money to devote to the cause, and understands that a decent level of investment will be required to make it all work for the desired better before, during and after. It also helps that you alone can uniquely provide the most compelling case.

Is pursuing your pomo part of your qualification regimen?

If not, perhaps it’s time for a redolent re-jig.