Sandbagging – Hide Your Strengths or Don’t
Sandbagging – (verb) Hiding your strength, skill, or action only to overperform later.
Revenue Grid states, “The term dates back to the late 1880s and refers to a bag filled with sand that would be swung as a weapon towards some unsuspecting receiver, likely knocking them unconscious. In the 1940s, the verb evolved to be used in poker to describe a deceptive play where someone bets weakly or passively while holding strong cards.”
In today’s terms, Sandbagging is gamesmanship.
It’s a technique widely used by certain Sales People to lower expectations and somehow always pull out “miracles” at the end of their Sales quarter. Those aren’t miracles – those are sandbaggers. Specific delivery teams take a similar approach. Although we always advocate for a “mint on the pillow” in delivery – it should always be an extra, not a “lowering the bar” exercise.
Avoid Sandbagging and play it straight – it’s always appreciated. And please, do not swing Sandbags as weapons – that was not even cool in the 1800s.
References and Resources
Supporting Music
Still D.R.E. by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg