Jordon Pickford’s Water Bottle Strategy: Lessons from Soccer for Sales and Marketing Success

England is in the final of #EuropeanFootballChampionship for the second consecutive time. This is a fantastic feat for all the English players and the supporting stuff. However, in this blog I will focus on their goalkeeper, Jordon Pickford

In the world of soccer*, small details can be the difference between triumph and defeat, especially in a high-stake game, such a #Eurocup. This was exemplified by @JordonPickford, the goalkeeper known for writing the names of players and their preferred penalty shot locations on his water bottle. This strategic move not only showcased his meticulous preparation but also highlighted a critical aspect of success: the importance of data-driven decisions. We can draw valuable lessons from Pickford’s approach and bring it to our sales and marketing game.

In the article we will discuss the following:

- Know Your Opponents (or Customers)

- Preparation is Key

- Adaptability and Real-time Decision Making

- Leveraging Technology

- Personalization and Targeting

- Competitive Edge

*My audience is mostly American, so I wrote "soccer". To all my international friends, you know it is Football.

Know Your Opponents (or Customers)

Jordon Pickford’s tactic was based on knowing his opponents’ tendencies. In sales and marketing, this translates to understanding your customers’ behaviors and preferences. Just as Pickford anticipated where each player would aim, you must anticipate your customers’ needs and desires. This requires a deep dive into customer data, analyzing past behaviors, and predicting future actions.

Smart sales people use various tactics like BANT or MEDDIC. We would take their time in building relationship. We meet our prospects/ customers in-person. It was not talking just meeting them in the office, but also taking them out for coffee, lunch or drink, and at events (both industry and social). All to great insights to under the customer landscape.

Being in data company I would run campaigns before the event to meet prospects and customers before a #Snowflake Summit or #Gartner DnA. At #Alation I would talk to existing customers to understand their like and dislike. Get information from competition’s website. I would read their case studies and understand why a certain company brought a product.

Preparation is Key

Pickford’s water bottle was a symbol of his preparation. He didn’t walk into the penalty shootout relying solely on instinct; he had a game plan. Similarly, successful sales and marketing strategies are built on thorough preparation. This involves researching market trends, studying competitor strategies, and continuously refining your approach based on new data.

Just as Pickford’s notes were his cheat sheet, we relied on #Salesforce, #Hubspot, #Gong, and even excel sheet as our cheat sheet*. We ensured that all the AEs to update salesforce data about the customer or prospects.

*this is not a comprehensive list

Weather it is a new customer or existing customer call. We ensure that the team took five mins before the meeting to read these notes to get a sense of their mindset, understand their needs, concerns, or landscape. This also helped with the engagement.

(NOTE: these notes are important for feature enhancement. For instance, at @Nexla if we needed a special connector, then we would make the request)

Adaptability and Real-Time Decision Making

Despite his preparation, Pickford had to remain adaptable during the game. If a player deviated from their usual pattern, he had to quickly adjust. In sales and marketing, real-time decision-making is crucial. Markets are dynamic, and consumer behaviors can shift rapidly. Leveraging real-time analytics and staying agile allows businesses to pivot their strategies when necessary, ensuring they remain effective even as conditions change.

The secret to understanding the change with your customer is to listen and ask questions. We would be patiently listening to customers in the meetings and ask them about the change. Once, I went to Virginia to the department of United States Patent and Trademark Office. At the meeting, I was shocked as they told us that they were not interested our product and they had chosen to go the competition. I didn’t tell them why we were better but acknowledged their decision and start asking them questions. I asked their goals again (in this case was migration). I kept asking more and more about it, such as skills in the team, timeline, risk etc. I realized they didn’t have the resource to do the migration within the given time frame. So, started focusing on easy-of-use and execution with our product. An hour later, I left the meeting with a time setup for a prove of concepts (POC).

Leveraging Technology

Pickford’s use of a water bottle to keep track of data might seem low-tech, but it was an innovative use of available resources. In modern sales and marketing, leveraging technology is essential. From sophisticated CRM systems to AI-driven analytics, technology provides the tools needed to gather, analyze, and act on data. The key is to use these tools to enhance human intuition and decision-making, not replace them.

We know, we can’t survive without Salesforce, Hubspot, Gong, Linkedin, Google Analytics and many other tools. Some salespeople are used to writing notes in a notebook and it is perfect if they can manage it. But my only request to you is to ensure that you reconcile your information in Salesforce.

Personalization and Targeting

Pickford’s notes were highly personalized for each player he faced. In marketing, personalization is a powerful tool. Tailoring messages and offers to individual customers based on their preferences and behaviors can significantly increase engagement and conversion rates.

Just as Pickford tailored his approach to each penalty taker, we tailored our strategies to different persona (#CIO, #CISO, #DataEngineers, #DataArchitect, #DataManager). Then we ran campaigns based on different segment (Retail, Finance, Healthcare). This included training the sales team. As company grew, we had dedicated sales team that focused on a segment. It is common to see companies having a group focused on Federal or State Local and Education (SLED).

The Competitive Edge

What set Pickford apart was his competitive edge — his willingness to go the extra mile in preparation. In sales and marketing, gaining a competitive edge often means finding innovative ways to leverage data and insights. This could involve new approaches to market research, creative campaign strategies, or unique customer engagement tactics. The goal is to differentiate yourself in a crowded market, just as Pickford did on the soccer field.

Conclusion

Jordon Pickford’s water bottle strategy is a perfect analogy for us in the sales and marketing. Knowing your audience, meticulous preparation, understand competition with help us be prepared — resulting to our success. Just as Pickford’s preparation led to remarkable saves, your strategic approach can lead to remarkable business outcomes.

Read my article on Medium

https://medium.com/@ibbyrahmani/jordon-pickfords-water-bottle-strategy-lessons-from-soccer-for-sales-and-marketing-success-2212f4ddea68

#CRO #SalesExecutive #CMO #VPofMarketing #headofmarketing #headofSales Saket Saurabh Rohit Singh Christophe Hassaine Saqib M. #Snowflake #montecarlo