The Science of Selling from The Art of War

The Art of War has stood the test of time in being the most influential book that has guided many armies over centuries, many of its writings are relevant even today not only in military combats but in Business context too.

Here is our attempt to bring out the relevance and significance of “ The Art of War’ in the Science of Selling in the present times.

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s

deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

(1)  The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

Sun Tzo’s governing constants for The Art of war can be beautifully co related to the Science of Selling

•  The Moral Law- You don’t sell something one doesn’t recognize the need for

•  Heaven- The Opportunity to sell is everywhere one only needs to recognize it

•  Earth- One has to keep moving around and cannot merely hope that someone will come looking to buy

•  The Commander: The Sales person is the Most important enabler in the process of buying

•  Method and Discipline: Selling is a set of structured set of actions pursued with discipline.

The Commander of the Army stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.    Similarly,  Enthusiasm, Resilience, Empathy, Discipline and Achievement Orientation are key Traits of a good sales person

 The marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure are the key responsibilities of a commander that needs to be accomplished with Method and Disciplined.

Channeling Daily Efforts in the direction of finding new buyers, following up on the previous meetings, servicing the customers, constantly upgrading the capabilities are key responsibilities of a Sales Person that should be accomplished using Method and Discipline.