Obama on Sales

Written by Jeremy Miller

Take a page from Barack Obama’s playbook

Barack Obama called his staff, "the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States" in his Presidential victory speech. What an understatement. His campaign rewrote the rules on how to win an election. Not only was the American population voting for him, but so was the world. He took the power of his personal brand with the reach of the Internet to influence the entire globe in his bid for the White House. I am sure political strategists will be studying Barack Obama's campaign for years to come, but we too as sales professionals and marketers can learn from his playbook.

There are three key points we can take away from Obama's campaign in a business-to-business context: clear and consistent positioning, experiential marketing on the Web, and converting traffic.

Clear and Consistent Positioning

Change. The word "change" anchored Obama's campaign from the beginning. It was his brand, and his position in the hearts and minds of voters. This brand position was not accidental. He wasn't labeled as a maverick or a change agent by the pundits. He chose change. The word "change" was emblazoned on signs, on billboards and even on his speaking podium like a Presidential Seal. From day one he connected the word "change" to his name – to his brand.

Change was a great theme for Obama. With George W. Bush's popularity at record lows, the American public was crying out for it. It even appealed to Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Both tried to associate themselves with the word too, but it backfired. Obama owned it. It was his brand. Their use of the word simply reinforced Obama as a person of change, and made them look unoriginal and unauthentic by copying Obama.

Positioning is one of the most important aspects in sales. How are you different from the competition? Customers have choice, and you have to be very clear with what makes you unique. Notice "change" is not a unique selling proposition. It is just a position. It is clear, and it is adaptable. The word "change" means different things to different people, but they can all connect it back to Obama. The same is true in a B-to-B setting. You have to choose a position that is distinctive, and that can be adapted in multiple different settings.

At LEAPJob our word is "leap" – ok that was probably really obvious. But the word is important to us. "Leap" builds on the metaphor of journey. A career is a journey. For example people can be moving forward in their career, they can be on the wrong path or they can be stuck. We constantly use journey metaphors to describe the progression of our careers. LEAPJob uses the word "leap," because we are not only helping people to move forward – we are helping them to leap forward.

Experiential Marketing on the Web

Obama's Internet campaign will go down in history. Many pundits claim it was here that Obama really won this election. He expanded the electoral map by engaging young people who traditionally do not vote. He engaged them with the tools they are so comfortable with like YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Obama's campaign posted over 1,165 videos on YouTube! That is a staggering volume of media, and the public gobbled it up. In the final weeks of the election, Obama's YouTube page was the most visited page on the site.

The volume of content or the use of the Internet did not win the election. Rather the Internet allowed the world to experience Barack Obama, his brand, his values and what he could offer as President. Voters could experience Obama in an unbiased light, and participate in communities discussing his Presidency and what it means. This is the power of the Internet.

Look at how the Internet had the opposite effect for Governor Sarah Palin. Her big gaff interview with Katie Couric would have quickly been forgotten in previous elections. A few people would have seen it live, and then the pundits would have talked about it for a few days. Soon everyone would be bored and move on. But with YouTube, Palin's interview was replayed over-and-over-and-over again. Then Tina Fey, of Saturday Night Live, parodied the interview, which was hilarious, and both videos became viral. Palin's brand equity plummeted, as voters witnessed her inexperience. They didn't have to be told that she was inexperienced by the pundits, they saw it for themselves.

How does your company manage your customers' online experience? The Internet is where your customers form an opinion about your organization. This is where they decide if they are going to call or not, and even if they are going to buy or not. Tools like YouTube are amazing in a sales context, because it allows your customers to experience who you are and what your company stands for before they call. When customers have a positive experience online, the sales process is much easier because they have gone through much of the pre-purchasing activities on their own.

Converting Traffic

The Obama campaign took their Internet strategy a step further by asking for donations. Nearly three million individuals donated to Obama's campaign, and over half of those donations were under $200. The sheer number of people participating and donating to Obama's campaign gave him a lot of power. He outspent McCain in advertising and ground support in multiples in the key battleground states.

From a sales perspective though, he had millions of voters make a small psychological commitment to him. Each donation was a commitment. Put yourself into the donor's shoes. If you gave Obama's campaign money wouldn't you vote for him no matter what? Wouldn't you go out of your way to get your friends, family and colleagues to vote for him too? You made a commitment to him, no matter how small it was. A small financial commitment was enough to mentally and emotionally hook a person into the campaign.

Small commitments are very powerful sales strategies. Tom Hopkins, author of How to Master the Art of Selling, calls this the trial close. On your Website you can go a step further. Check out Salesforce.com. On virtually every page they are asking visitors to sign-up for a free trial. That small commitment gives Salesforce.com the opportunity to engage with their customers and to start the sales process. Every B-to-B website has a conversion point. It's the point where the customer needs a sales person to help fulfill the buying process. What is your conversion point in your sales process? How can you get your customers to make a small commitment to start the sales process?

The Proof is in the Results

Against all the odds, Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America. How about that? He leveraged a clearly defined brand, online experiences and many opportunities to engage voters in his campaign. He allowed not only Americans, but the world to feel as though they helped him get into the White House.

You can guarantee the next Presidential election will only build on the tactics employed by the Obama campaign, but so too will businesses. Obama's campaign used a set of tools and methodologies that are highly transferrable to business. He won by engaging people online. His message was clear, and he allowed people to experience him and his values online. You and I will likely not be the next President of the United States, but we sure can learn from Obama's marketing strategies.

Jeremy Miller -
	Jeremy Miller is a Partner with LEAPJob, a sales recruiting firm in Toronto, Canada. LEAPJob recruits sales professionals and sales leaders for many of Canada's most recognized companies. Their clients range from the Top 50 Employers to smaller organizations building their first sales force. For more information visit http://www.LEAPJob.com . You can reach Jeremy at 905.281.3090 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Read More >>
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