A Rookie Sales Call (Obamalympics)
Today I am flying the South Carolina state flag. I fly this flag when things are relatively quiet.
Relatively Quiet
The American Thinker today had an interesting thought concerning the failure of Chicago to acquire the Olympic bid for 2016.
Of course Barack and Michelle Obama failed in Copenhagen. Their strategy could not possibly succeed. In their academic arrogance, they thought they could sell a product they clearly do not believe in (the United States) and moreover, they could do so by stressing the benefits to the seller (Chicago) and not the buyer (the IOC). And to top it off, they committed the faux pas of talking too much about the sales force (themselves) and not about the product or the buyer.
Townhall.com cartoon by Glenn McCoy
Rookie Errors:
- They didn’t believe in their product, he can’t “bash” American then sell Chicago in the same week!
- Stressed the benefits for the seller (what’s in it for the seller rather than what’s in it for the buyer).
- Talked about themselves and not about what the “product” would do for the buyer.
- Actually READ the presentation on a teleprompter, didn’t “deliver” it from the heart! (OMG, HUGE ERROR!)
Michelle Obama’s closing statement:
Michelle O: Chicago’s vision for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement is about so much more than what we can offer the Games — it’s about what the Games can offer all of us.
So her close was NOT about what Chicago could offer the games, it was what the games could do for Chicago (“us”). The “close” should make the buyer want to grab his pen and sign on the dotted line … would this statement move you to such an action if you were the buyer?
And the President took the stage with this:
Obama: #1 Nearly one year ago… people from every corner of the world …gathered to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential election. Their interest wasn’t about me as an individual. Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America’s experiment in democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and ideals.
Obama: #2 Now, that work is far from over, but it has begun in earnest… (and) there is nothing I would like more than to step just a few blocks from my family’s home, with Michelle and our two girls, and welcome the world back into our neighborhood.
Doug’s Bottom Line:
The Blame Game. Everybody seems to be enjoying placing the blame for the failure, so I’ll get in the line. Its been interesting to watch the blogs and the news media as this spin this thing one way then another. But I think the American Thinker came the closest and the writer, C. Edmund Wright … has some fine “sales sense.” (And I’m betting he’s been a salesman at some point in his life).
Townhall.com cartoon by Nate Beeler
First of all, you don’t make a “sales call” using a teleprompter. What the President doesn’t understand is when people see the teleprompter, they know what is being said is “not from him” but “what was written for him.” As soon as the teleprompter turns on, credibility turns off. If a salesman “read” his pitch … what would the buyer think?
.. yep, that’s what they thought!
Second, the presentation was prepared to please Obama, not the IOC. A sales call will only be successful if the customer (buyer) believes the result will be in the best interest of the customer. If there is any hint of “what’s in it for the salesman” … the call will fail. (For instance if a salesman discusses how successful and wealthy he will become if the customer buys the product, the sales call will fail.) The people who designed the presentation did not have the interest of the customer at heart … they had Obama’s interest at heart. The presentation was not “what is good for the IOC,” it was about “what is good for the Obamas.” I blame the presentation designers, shame on them for thinking of Obama first and the “customer” (IOC) second!
George Will declares that Obama is talking about himself too much. He is, of course … but I still blame the presenters … Obama didn’t write this stuff, others did. So read George’s comments, and THINK ABOUT THE DESIGNERS. (George Will’s “Olympic Gold for Narcissism.” )
The American Thinker’s “close”:
The bottom line is this: this was an Obama epic fail period. They were the sales force, they were the focus of the sales presentation and they were the product. The Obamas were there to sell the Obamas with the Obamas. All Obama all the time.
And the world said, “No thanks.”
PS … And besides, he shouldn’t have been in Denmark at all, he should have been in the Oval Office making a decision on Afghanistan to save the lives of our troops …what’s to decide? Either support them or bring them home. Send Biden to these events, all he has to do is read the script, even he can handle that!
