The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

Political Revelations

Our experience in competitive deals suggests that Foxes use influence and reveal themselves during a number of specific situations. These are areas of Political Revelation upon which we rely for Fox-Hunting intel, as shown in Figure 6.5. Together, they help determine whether an individual is in fact a Fox, in the Fox’s Power Base, or outside of the Situational Power Base for your particular sale.

Figure 6.5: Fox-Hunting Intel

We use the word revelation because the first few times a seller experiences this, it is exciting, profound, and relevant. Being able to recognize these situations creates “aha” moments that significantly advance your ability to add value to your customer and win deals.

We provide examples of Fox-Hunting observations or questions for each Political Revelation, highlighting just a few of many that best demonstrate practical implementation. There are times when you are able to see someone exerting influence in real time, for example, when an answer to a question or an observation in a meeting proves obvious. It is less common at other times to see individuals using their influence; in these situations, you need to play the role of detective and reconstruct what may have caused an outcome to occur. Just remember, there are no silver bullets, as identifying influence requires connecting the dots among multiple data points over time.

1. Foxes ...