The Sales Secrets of Barack Obama
Roger Simon's recent op-ed column "The Depth of a Salesman" points out that Obama spends more time and effort selling his ideas to the public than any recent president. Here's an excerpt from the column:
He is doing record-setting numbers of interviews and appearances. Turn on the TV, and he is there: a town hall, an address to Congress, the talk shows (five, count 'em, five on one Sunday), an interview with David Letterman, a speech at the United Nations. If you follow politics, you no longer watch television. You watch Obamavision.This got me thinking. George W. Bush, as the first "CEO President" had a management book based on his presidency. Maybe Obama should have a sales training book based on HIS presidency.
This has unsettled some who feel a president should hold something in reserve. George W. Bush certainly did. He was a "CEO-style" president. He delegated. Policies, decisions, invasions.
Obama sells. Wall to wall. He takes the stage, and he fills it. And he is on stage a lot. Telling him to stop - suggesting, as some have, that a president can't have this much exposure without fatiguing the public - is to miss the point. He is suited for what he is selling. He is an activist selling an activist agenda and an activist government.
Most personality-based business books have chapters titled as basic principles that the personality follows. (E.g. if Jay Leno did a sales book, it might have a chapter "Be a Nice Guy.")
I thought it might be fun for us to come up with a summary outline for Obama's book. Here's a start:
- Chapter 1: Don't Panic! When things get difficult and everyone is losing their heads, a good sales professional stays calm, cool and collected, like "no-drama Obama."
- Chapter 2: Don't Fight with a Skunk. When the competition acts ugly (e.g. screaming at town hall meetings), don't distract them from making idiots of themselves by making one of yourself.
- Chapter 3: It's About the Customer, Not You. Despite many attempts to make Obama's presidency about his race, he keeps his focus on what he wants to accomplish, not his skin color.
- Chapter 4: Inspire When You Sell. Obama's sales pitches (i.e. speeches) are famous for being inspirational, even when they're addressing knotty issues or unpopular causes.