1, #134 - Sales, then Logistics
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“Most communication at work requires a mix of both sales and logistics:
You need to get buy-in for your idea (sales) and you need to share details on what to do or how to do it (logistics).
But I often notice a common mistake: Messaging that focuses too much on logistics early on, when you should still be selling.
It’s easy to overestimate how much your recipient wants to do what you’re asking them to do.
No one cares about how a process works, how a spreadsheet is structured, how to find X feature in your software, or how to hit an intense series of project milestones…. if they haven’t decided to take action yet.
There’s an order of operations: Folks must be sold, and only then, will they find the logistics relevant and valuable.
If you treat a sales note like it’s a logistics note, you will get frustrated by how people aren’t taking action, even though you’ve explained how to do so. You may try to solve this problem by sharing even more logistics—even more directions on the “how.” But you’d be solving the wrong problem.”
I’ve found myself returning to this framework a lot, lately.
Remember: The map only matters once the destination is decided.
Insight via the brilliant and her essay, Sales, then Logistics.