A tale of two Harolds

Several postings ago we spoke about the events of 1066 and I mentioned that we would come back to that date again, all be it from a different perspective.
The opponent that William the Conqueror had defeated at Hastings was Harold. The most powerful Saxon in all of England at the time. Harold was quite a formidable enemy and truth be told certainly had the "ability" to defeat William but failed. Why?
Many would attribute this loss to another Harald, this one spelled differently and from a different place - Norway. He had invaded England just a short time before William and Harold decided to march his army all the way up to York to fight him first - he won this fight. But then he had to immediately march down to Hastings and secure the "best position" on the hill at Hastings - all be it with an exhausted Army.
Quite often in sales and business we can find ourselves in the "best position"- you know, best product, best people, best service or whatever and still losing to a competitor. Harolds problem was not his positioning or his skill but his timing. If you are not in control or at least have an understanding of the customers timing then you might be closing at the wrong time and hurting the process.
Quite often sales people allow the competitor to set the pace, establish the terms and determine the need. When that happens, like Harold, your William is now in control and regardless of ability or your product you stand a very high chance of losing.