Tom Gunn had a life-altering career change in 1975 when he went from an eight-year stint as staff lawyer with the U.S. Senate to a job in aerospace sales and marketing at McDonnell Douglas. He knew a lot about military appropriations and classified developments, but almost nothing about marketing. Over the next twenty-two years, however, Gunn and the team he assembled developed a process for strategic selling and marketing that delivered $250 billion in sales of military and commercial aircraft, missiles, space systems, and logistic support, against strong and at times cutthroat domestic and international competition. His book is both the story of that success and a handbook for anyone who wants to learn about high-powered selling, about assessing the competition and understanding the customer, and about using a defined process to shape strategic planning. Gunn details that process step by step, outlines cultural traps overseas and political realities at home, and makes his points in selected case studies.
