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Sales Strategies - Article
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A three-page thought-leadership article from Oxford Professional Education arguing that most sales strategies fail before execution begins because leaders mistake growth targets and ambition for genuine strategic choice. Opening from Michael Porter’s principle that “the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do,” it contends that when revenue targets are missed the root cause is often that what was described as strategy was never truly strategic.

The article develops three arguments, each grounded in cited research. First, “The Strategy Illusion” draws on Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy to show how vision statements, growth aspirations and multiple simultaneous priorities create strategic overload without a coherent diagnosis or resource choices - supported by Kaplan and Norton’s finding that fewer than 10% of organisations effectively execute strategy, and Gartner research on competing priorities. Second, “The Evidence for Strategic Focus” applies Porter’s competitive advantage work and Bain research to argue that focus drives concentration, capability, advantage and sustainable growth - contrasting “where can we create disproportionate value?” with “where could we generate revenue?” Third, “Why Resource Allocation Reveals the Real Strategy” uses McKinsey research to show every organisation has two strategies - the written plan and the one revealed through investment, incentive and attention decisions - and that misalignment between them creates execution failure through confusion, not lack of commitment. 

It closes with a “Reflection for Sales Leaders”: whether an independent observer reviewing investments, incentives and management conversations would identify the same priorities as the sales plan. Includes a full reference list (Porter, Rumelt, Kaplan & Norton, Bain, Gartner, McKinsey). Aimed at Sales Directors and senior sales leaders responsible for sales strategy.
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