Selling requires building credibility, showing up consistently, and proving that you’re in it for the long haul.

Years ago, a sales mentor handed me a book called Hope Is Not a Strategy by Rick Page. That title stuck with me. Throughout my career, I’ve taken it to heart – especially when it comes to winning complex deals.

You can’t just send out a proposal and hope the customer picks it. The old “quote and hope” method? It simply doesn’t work.

Over the years, countless sales methodologies have promised to crack the code – Target Account Selling, SPIN Selling, Solution Selling, SNAP Selling, you name it. Each offers valuable insights, but none are a magic bullet. The truth is, no process alone will guarantee success. If I had to sum up the most important principle from Hope Is Not a Strategy, it would be this: common sense.

At the end of the day, no one hands over a multimillion-dollar deal to a stranger – especially not one who doesn’t understand their business. If you don’t know the customer’s goals, how your solution helps them, and how to articulate that value clearly, you’re not going to close the deal. And without mutual trust, no amount of slick sales tactics will save you.

That’s where real relationships come in. Sales isn’t just about having the best product or the most compelling pitch – it’s about building credibility, showing up consistently, and proving that you’re in it for the long haul. Customers want to do business with people they trust, not someone who’s just trying to hit their quarterly numbers.

Of course, not every customer is upfront. Some are downright misleading, and a key skill in sales is recognizing that early. Not every deal is worth chasing – sometimes, walking away is the best move. But when you find the right opportunity, understanding how decisions are made is critical. Big deals aren’t decided by a single person; they’re often made by committees. That means you need to know not just who your champions are, but who your potential blockers might be.

This is where sales processes can help – not as rigid playbooks, but as guides. They provide structure, keep you organized, and help ensure that every critical step is covered. But no methodology replaces good instincts, patience, and persistence.

When it comes down to it, sales is about relationships and resilience. Any structured process can help you check the right boxes – aligning your solution, mapping out the buying process, and clearing the path to closure. But the real secret weapon? Tenacity.

Deals die. Then they come back to life. Then they die again. I once worked on a deal that took five years to close – not because I was doing anything wrong, but because leadership changed, companies merged, and priorities shifted. Through it all, I stayed engaged, kept the conversation going, and, eventually, the deal got done.

So yes, hope isn’t a strategy. But persistence? That’s everything. Or as Dory famously said, “Just keep swimming.”

Chuck Miller is founder and CEO of NgenX Energy. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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