I recently watched the movie Air. I absolutely loved it. Note: if you don’t want spoilers, you may want to skip the next two paragraphs. Air is a story chronicling how Nike, the underdog in those days, steals Michael Jordan away from Adidas and Converse. With the cards stacked against Nike—they had a much smaller budget than their big-brand competitor, Adidas—it was conventionally assumed that Michael was better off signing with a more established brand.

According to the Chief Economists Outlook published by the World Economic Forum in September 2022, 7 out of 10 economists now consider a global recession at least somewhat likely. The sales organization has a front seat view to the impacts of recession as sales personnel hear their customers cite budget cuts, postpone purchases, and possibly look for less expensive alternatives.

Successful teams blend the art of sales with a data-driven pipeline strategy.