An unhelpful trait of human beings is to attach certain “moral qualities” to concepts which are entirely neutral.
The whole “strategy vs. tactics” debate is a good example of this.
Strategy is seen as this noble, highbrow, terribly important thing; practiced by the true sophisticates.
Tactics on the other hand are seen as being a bit trivial, witless, and lowbrow. Tinkering around the edges without any meaningful stakes or vision.
I myself have been guilty of this strategy bias.
But of course, it is dumb.
For both strategy and tactics are nothing more than tools – no more morally loaded than a hammer and screwdriver.
And just like a hammer and screwdriver, they each have their uses; occasions where one is essential, and the other is near-useless.
Today I want to write about the particular situation where strategy is useless, and only tactics will save you:
When your business is in distress.
This might sound like a weird thing to say, but a failing business should not be concerning itself with strategic questions.
It should not be thinking long term.
It should not be innovating.
It should not be breaking new ground in the market.
No, expansive progressive moves are a luxury for businesses that have a solid foundation to build on. And truth be told, bold strategy does not typically give you that foundation.
You know what does?
Bread and butter, best-practice tactics.
To be perfectly clear, when I say tactics, I mean the kinds of tidy, disciplined, sensible operating practices which will confer no competitive advantage, but which will make your business operate smoothly.
For example, having a solid follow up game with your sales leads is a tactic. It will not 10x your business, it will not open up white space, it will not get you featured on the front cover of Forbes.
It requires no imagination, no creative thinking, no risk, no leaps.
But dammit, the difference between doing it and not doing it is huge.
In my experience businesses who are genuinely struggling, losing money, and in danger of going under, universally have a terrible tactical game.
They are leaving vast amounts of money on the table simply because they’re not doing the basics right. They don’t know who their customers are. They don’t know where to find them. They don’t know how to reach them. They have no sales funnel to pull them through. They haven’t mastered conversions, or upselling. None of this stuff.
Assuming that what you offer is semi-coherent, a solid tactical game near guarantees you’ll make money.
And so if you’re not making money?
That’s the place to start.
We can pretty much summarise the idea with this little formula:
No strategy + no tactics = failing business
No strategy + tactics = functional business
Strategy + tactics = flying business
(You might ask, what about a business with great strategy + poor tactics? These are super unusual because strategy is much harder and rarer than tactics, but it does happen. I’d sort of put myself in that camp. Such businesses typically generate a lot of demand but leave lots of money on the table, and are quite “lumpy”, and so net-out similar to a “functional business”, albeit with a different vibe)
In the past when I was approached by distressed businesses, I would preach strategy as their solution (classic “when you have a hammer every problem looks like a nail”), and it was pretty ineffective.
Now I’ve learned the error of my ways I don’t do that anymore, and instead encourage them to pursue short term tactical competence first.
What does this look like?
Well there are thousands of tactics, but big picture this is the stuff I’d be focusing on as a distressed business.
1. Message clarity
Forget whether what you’re offering is unique or differentiated. Just make sure it’s clear and understood. Donald Miller’s Storybrand framework is great for this, as I’ve mentioned before.
2. Identify audience
Be clear on who it’s easiest to sell this thing to, based on how acute their need is, AND how easy it is for you to reach them.
3. Select two key marketing channels
What’s your top of funnel? You need to pick the techniques appropriate to what you’re selling, and to the audience targeted. It’s crazy how many businesses don’t have a clear understanding of this.
4. Design a sales process
What are the consistent steps you take people through from first contact to conversion? Lead magnet, data capture, sales meetings, follow up, etc.
5. Design a post-sale process
Essentially figuring out how you can maximise the LTV (lifetime value) of a client when you have them, again in a systematised manner.
6. Product systematisation
Free up time for sales and marketing activities by standardising the delivery of your product or service as much as possible. Many failing businesses spend far to much time and resources serving clients relative to getting new ones.
…it’s this kinda stuff.
The absolute king of tactics (not that he would necessarily position himself this way) is Alex Hormozi.
If you read and apply his two books ($100m Offers and $100m Leads), then I think it’s very difficult to fail outright.
You’re probably not going to tear up any trees. But you will earn money.
So, if your business isn’t working, don’t let my material trick you.
Don’t think too far too fast. Do the boring stuff. Build the machine. Tick the boxes.
And then you earn the right to play the game.
