sales-and-marketing-lessons-from-the-08-obama

Sales and Marketing Lessons from the '08 Obama Campaign INSPIRED BY PRINCIPLE, POWERED BY CONTRIBUTIONS, RAN ON SALES & MARKETING SAVVY, TECHNOLOGY USED LIKE NEVER BEFORE The Man Obama Obama as described by Nancy Gibbs, Time magazine, November 5, 2008: “... a man who grew up without money, talked his way into good schools, worked his way up through the pitiless world of Chicago politics to the U.S. Senate and now the White House in a stunningly short period... (his story) represents such a radical departure from the norm that it finally brings meaning to the promise taught from kindergarten: „Anyone can grow up to be President‟.” Revisiting the 4 Ps of Marketing Pricing Product Promotion Place Pricing Exercise of Right of Suffrage Easier said than done, because of low voter participation in previous Bush elections. But the perfect storm of two wars, an economy on a tailspin, a planet in peril made voting an opportunity to express discontent, to recreate the political landscape, to make CHANGE possible by the ballot. Product CHANGE! (Yes We Can!) The product, the message, everything must be about change and hope. The genius of the Obama campaign is that it stayed on message whatever happened. Why the singular message? The real product, Obama had to contend with many negatives, perceived or otherwise. Promotion To campaign first in the Democratic primaries, and having won the nomination, to campaign with his vice presidential nominee Joe Biden against the Republican nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin. Organize grassroots volunteers, register new voters, woo contributions by web, canvass voters, use trimedia, mailers, e-mail, town hall meetings, bus tours, phone calls, get-out-the-vote campaigns nationwide with special attention to swing states in the final days guided by independent polls. Place All 50 States and U.S. territories, with particular attention and focus on states with high numbers of Electoral votes (i.e., California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania). The Negatives 1) Let's say it outright: black, mulatto actually, but perceived as black just the same. 2) Obama, 47, had a thin résumé. 3) Belonging to a party that was bent on retribution; he preached reconciliation. 4) When voters were asked a year ago who had the best chance of winning, Hillary Clinton crushed him, 71% to 26%. 5) A lighter purse, a Democratic tradition. The Response A campaign called “the most disciplined political campaign in history.” 1. Never Underestimate Your Enemy Hillary Clinton was topping all polls. She was poised to claim the Democratic Party nomination. When she scanned the opposition, she had only a "lightweight" junior senator from Illinois. She had a war chest. The longshot competitor had no money. She was the wife of a reelectionist President who had a 62% approval rate at the end of his term. But history proved her wrong. Barack Obama plugged into the internet culture, harvesting the not only the goodwill and support of young people, but a grassroots contribution campaign which netted him $86 per contributor. Take: Every prospect can and will say no. Don't be surprised if they say no. Prepare your answers to his or her possible objections well in advance. Pre-qualify. Ask as many questions about the referral from the referror. 2. The Heart is the Heart of the Matter Born of a father "black as pitch from Kenya and a mother white as milk from Kansas,“ who would have known? Before entering politics, at age 34, he wrote a book, "Dreams from My Father," which became a bestseller. Before that, he was a professor in a Chicago law school, a former editor of the Harvard Law Review. He was in touch with the grassroots as a community organizer, a job title his opponents sneered at. He was a policy wonk, delivered boring lectures. But he was both idealist and a practical man. He enlisted the services of David Axelrod, who has a track record as strategist in political battles. He listened to advice. He studied the deliveries of Evangelical preachers. He changed his speech tones, becoming known for his soaring speeches, moving 85,000 supporters in Denver in his proclamation, the first in history. Take: The prospect will see through you. If you are there for commission, and not for the mission, he will see that. The more mission, the more commissions. Mean what you say. 3. Stay on Message Charles Krauthammer of Washington Post, Nov. 7, 2008: “McCain thought he could steal from Obama the „change‟ issue by running a Two Mavericks campaign. A fool's errand from the very beginning. It defied logic for the incumbent-party candidate to try to take „change‟ away from the opposition. Election Day exit polls bore that out with a vengeance. Voters seeking the „change candidate‟ went 89 to 9 for Obama.” Take: Is it "Protection?" Or is it "Cash Values?" Or "Major Disease?" Or "Wealth Management?" 4. You‟re the Product 200,000 in Berlin, 85,000 at Invesco Field in Denver when he accepted his party's nomination, 125,000 in Chicago‟s Grant Park, night of Nov. 4. Take: Invest in yourself as an agent. Power dress. Increase your vocabulary. Read up. Kiss the babies. Be a hopemonger. Continuing education. Business system. 5. Nothing Beats Face-to-Face He was effective in print and broadcast media, on firstname basis with top columnists, has gained endorsements from leading national newspapers, unparalleled advertising mileage, is that it? No. Ground troops were deployed. There were Obama campaign offices even in places which had never seen a campaign. Take: Number of agency force matters, recruiting matters. Surge, swarm, shock and awe. 6. Work Smart “Want an Obama blue T shirt with the „O‟ logo? All yours in return for just three things: your money, your contact information and, ultimately, your vote. “The money, of course, subsidized all those TV ads and the largest staff in political history. By selling branded items, along with buttons, hats and stickers, at events and on the Internet, the campaign earned a considerable profit that it counted as contributions. It took a page from the way sports teams market their brands and players. Even more valuable than the revenue were the data; merchandising became an organizing tool when customers were required to supply their contact details before they bought. That information enabled the campaign to stay in touch with potential voters by e-mail, telephone and direct mail. Beyond that, it was used to solicit more contributions, organize volunteers, keep supporters informed about the latest campaign news and, above all, make sure they turned out to vote.” Take: Repeat after me: B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S S-Y-S-T-E-M. 7. Your Credit is Good, But… “Obama is the most prolific fund raiser in the history of American politics. He amassed much of his money the old-fashioned way, with affluent supporters writing him big checks and asking their wealthy friends to write more. But Obama's foremost advantages, and what allowed him to break all records, were Web savvy and volume: his campaign had a seemingly inexhaustible capacity to rake in small contributions over the Internet that, added together, became an intimidating mountain of cash. In September, when Obama collected a stunning $150 million in 30 days, almost 75% of the haul arrived via the Web. Noted a top Obama moneyman: „We've stopped even having fund raisers‟.” Take: Hindi naman masama maging materialistic… 8. Be Careful What You Say “Emerging from his spirited Republican Convention in early September, McCain was defying political gravity in a grim year for the incumbent party by surging in the polls. After months of relative confidence, Democrats were suddenly alarmed: Could they possibly blow yet another presidential election? “Then, on Sept. 15, everything changed. On that single day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Bank of America salvaged a troubled Merrill Lynch, the Dow dropped 500 points, and McCain famously declared that „the fundamentals of our economy are strong.‟ It was the start of a big, bad political catastrophe for McCain and Republican candidates all over the country. “The drumbeat of bad economic news never let up through Election Day, drowning out any other message Republicans tried to deliver and blunting the impact of character attacks against Obama. McCain compounded his problems by lurching erratically from one posture to another on the economy, while Obama remained calm, cool and consistent.” Take: FNA tayo. One-track mind tayo. 9. Demeanor Counts McCain was seen as grumpy and sarcastic. Remember “That one,” referring to Obama in a debate? Obama maintained his professorial look, detached, no ants in the pants, learning from his skirmishes with Hillary Clinton when sometimes he seemed peeved, saying “You‟re likable enough, Hillary.” Obama self-corrected, McCain didn‟t seem to get it. Take: When you get a rejection, are you an Obama, or a McCain? A Palin? (“Jerk” comment.) 10. Be Ready to Adjust “Whether Obama has deep ideological convictions or a philosophical framework with a pragmatist's demeanor is something that will become clearer as he begins to turn campaign promises into programs and priorities. Obama's critics described him as a liberal, a socialist and, as McCain put it, a "redistributor." His voting record and the platform upon which he ran certainly suggest that his beliefs put him left of center. But Obama allies point to his pledge to govern inclusively as a counter to those who say his real purpose is to drive through the liberals' agenda. “ „He is genuinely a progressive, but he's not an ideologue,‟ argued Tom Mann of the Brookings Institution. „He's a broadly pragmatic person who, when confronted with new situations, is prepared to take a new approach or new strategy‟.” Take: Dance, roll, move with the cheese by working as a team. 11. Run Scared As a salesman and communicator, one of the enduring messages I got from the campaigns was this from Obama: “Run scared.” He referred to favorable polls in the last days of campaign, but noted that they were confident in the primaries until Hillary stopped the Obama 11-0 push with a win in New Hampshire. Obama has a good memory of his failings. Take: Lapse-proof your policies with good FNA, good policy delivery, prompt service and a warm and sincere relationship with your clients. 12. And Finally, a Roaring Finish In the last week of the campaign, when Obama was leading in the polls, he did not cruise. He took the risk of airing a 30-minute commercial at the closing days, which could be viewed as overkill and extravagant. It cost $4 million to produce and air in major networks. The commercial worked. It had a viewership of 36 million, higher than American Idol. No one complained of overkill. Take: You have resources, use them. Write, call, text, e-mail, visit. Don't be afraid of overkill. Run scared. Conclusion Sales is a part of life. We buy and sell everyday, consciously or not. Share success stories and apply lessons learned in our career. Fill your hearts and minds with tales of victory, of men and women interacting with each other in the world we share, convincing each other of our points of view, talking back and forth, each with an idea or a product to sell or to buy, making the world a better place in our time, in our watch. Workshop Question If I had just one minute, what is my sales message?