The Chessboard of Modern Sales: Visualisation Mastery
Many salespeople feel overwhelmed trying to visualise and anticipate customer needs across multiple accounts simultaneously. This cognitive challenge often results in a retreat to familiar, self-interested patterns—focusing on what we want to sell rather than what customers truly need. The pressure to perform creates a dominant "how do we win?" mindset that can derail even the most customer-centric intentions.
You might recall The Queens Gambit, a Netflix show about Beth Harmon who had very unique abilities in the game of chess. One such ability was visualisation. Remember, she could play her strategy visually on the ceiling? Personally, I used to think I have this ability too; in sales that is. Turns out I have nowhere near her skill.
Further exploring the parallels between Beth Harmon's chess mastery in "The Queen's Gambit" and strategic selling, reveals an interesting truth: maintaining a comprehensive big picture across multiple complex customer scenarios requires more than traditional sales techniques—it presents us with a series of potential transformations in thinking.
1. See And Understand All the Pieces First
Just like Beth needed to see all pieces on the chessboard before making her moves, you must gather all the business info before you develop your strategy. It's a total shift from how many salespeople think.
This means getting the full business picture—what's happening in their industry, what pressures they're under, their big initiatives, their day-to-day headaches—before jumping into solutions. Without this big-picture view, we fall back into just what we can sell rather than what will actually help them improve business.
2. Customer Improvement vs. Self-Interest
The biggest mindset shift in strategic sales visualisation is putting customer business improvement ahead of your own interests. Just like Beth Harmon focused on understanding her opponents' strategies rather than just moving her own pieces, we need to redirect our energy toward customer business outcomes.
This isn't just a short-term initiative—it's a strategic advantage. When you maintain a "how can we make their business better?" focus, you ask better strategic questions. You start thinking: What could go wrong for them? What obstacles might they hit? What unexpected consequences might pop up from what they're doing now?
Getting into this customer-improvement mindset takes discipline and practice. You've got to fight against the pull toward product-focused conversations and reward or incentive-driven thinking. I get that this is easier said than done when your company chases a quarterly result. But that doesn't mean it's not possible with the right focus.
3. Anticipating Chain Reactions
Every move triggers a sequence of consequences that goes way beyond the immediate action.
When you can accurately predict and explain these chain reactions to customers, including the negative ones, you transform from just another salesperson into a strategic advisor who helps customers navigate complex decisions while avoiding unwanted surprises.
4. From Individual Pieces To Big Picture Vision
Understanding a customer's big-picture vision is crucial for strategic sales visualisation. Without this context, we can't effectively position our offerings as meaningful contributions to their bigger picture.
"If we understand what a customer's vision is—where they want to end up, regardless of what we're selling—it lets us figure out how our piece of the puzzle fits into their big picture."
This approach is like how chess masters understand the strategic purpose of each piece beyond its immediate tactical function. Drawing meaningful connections between our offering and the customer's desired outcomes requires deep business understanding, not just product knowledge.
5. How To Practice Strategic Visualisation - A Leaders Guide
Developing strategic visualisation skills takes deliberate practice. This means creating space in team meetings, deal reviews, and coaching sessions where longer-term strategic discussions are valued.
Try exercises like asking: "If we implement this solution, what else might change in the customer's business? What new challenges or opportunities might pop up six months later?" and mapping solution components to customer strategic initiatives.
Through consistent practice, you'll develop the ability to maintain both tactical awareness and strategic vision simultaneously—a skill that transforms ordinary sales interactions into valuable strategic partnerships.
6. The Strategic Advisor's Mindset
The ultimate transformation in sales visualisation comes when you fully embrace the strategic advisor's mindset. This means seeing each move in the context of the customer's entire game, not just the immediate transaction.
Each recommendation becomes the most strategic next move in the big picture, serving both immediate needs and long-term vision. This requires deeper preparation, more thoughtful engagement, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.
When you consistently approach sales through this strategic visualisation lens, you create value that goes beyond products and solutions. By focusing relentlessly on customer improvement rather than self-interest, you transform your sales approaches, your customers' businesses and your own professional identity.