The most difficult part of sales is getting the opportunity to deliver the message to the right person. I mean, you can be the best closer in the business, you can hone your delivery to a diamond polish, and you can understand the value proposition to the nth degree, but if you cannot speak to the decision maker, your income potential is, well, limited at best. Unfortunately, getting to Mr. X is still a big mystery for most.
Dialing for dollars or its evil cousin, the unannounced ‘drop in,’ are definitely not helping things. If your M.O. includes the phrase, “Can you tell me who is responsible for…?” we need to talk. Isn’t it your responsibility to know whom you want to speak to? After all, if you don’t know whom you are calling, how can you tailor a message that will resonate with them? What happens when they actually answer?
Look, people are busy and successful people are too busy to focus on anything that is unrelated to their initiatives. When you do make contact, your discussion has to be on point. No one wants to meet you because you are the new rep in the territory. They also do not want you to drop off any material. Quite frankly, if you stop in, drop-off, etc., the material will quickly find its way into the recycling bin. Your introduction is self-serving and the brochure is irrelevant. For your message to resonate, you must speak of solutions to business issues that are relevant to your target. It is about the customer, not you or your company.
Finding the Right Level
To tailor your message, you have to do some research. Start with the size of the company. Company size will dictate which level of the organization you need to call on. I know, someone reading this is thinking, “I always call on the C Suite.” Let’s put things in perspective, shall we? My wife works for a $16B medical device company. I can promise you this: no one in this C Suite is worried about their copiers, their MPS strategy, or even their digital workflow. The CEO is focused on driving the stock price, emerging markets and revenue growth. The CFO is focused on mitigating the profitability risk created by the ObamaCare medical device tax, divestiture decisions for underperforming business units, and acquisitions that would open new revenue channels. The CIO is focused on getting better information in the hands of the sales force and what infrastructure changes need to transpire to facilitate the company’s initiatives. Do you still want to call that C Suite to discuss the fact that you have 0% financing?
Decisions in the business world are made based on risk. The higher the organizational risk the higher the level of approval. A $15K copier decision is a big risk for a small company. However, it would not get a second glance in the Fortune 500. Here are some guidelines for determining which level in the organization is right for your solution:
Size of Target Company Level of Approval Needed
<$5MM owner (C Suite)
$5MM – $15MM owner or finance lead
(C Suite)
$15MM- $150MM finance or IT lead
(C Suite or functional lead)
>$150MM IT Director (functional lead)
The key is getting to the person who can say yes. In order for them to say yes, they must have budgetary responsibility and oversight for the project.
Doing Your Homework
Now that we know who, let’s talk about how – more research. Personally, I think it is a waste of time to call someone and leave a message for them to ring me back. Frequently people are telling me that they simply ignore phone messages anyway – particularly in the IT community. Outside of establishing contact, one of the biggest hurdles you have to clear in setting an appointment is establishing credibility. The best way to clear the credibility hurdle is via a reference. Business people want to know that you have been successful providing similar solutions to like-sized companies; there is a perceived risk to being the first at anything. Statements like, “We worked with Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe to enable better access to their client data via mobile devices,” go a long way to establish credibility. The best way, of course, is to have your client recommend you to your new target, either by use of a testimonial or directly through an email or conversation if they are acquaintances. Did you know that 60% of referrals result in an appointment?
Finally, understanding what is important to your target is critical to getting on their calendar. Al Gore did us all a huge favor when he invented the internet. You have a wealth of information at your fingertips. The trick is weeding through the minutia to get to bits of info that we can monetize. Obviously any press releases or articles about our target are relevant. Plant expansions, business relocations, and even downsizing are real reasons to get in front of people. Look for specific articles where your target is interviewed, awards earned, etc. These items will tell you where the person’s priorities lie. They may also yield information about networking opportunities for you to meet with the person to deliver your pitch in person. You should also leverage what you know about your clients in the same industry as your target. Chances are problems you have solved for your engineering client are relevant to your engineering prospect.
Solving for X
Do the work to make sure your message is heard. Identify the correct person within the correct level of the organization to establish contact. Use referrals and references to clear the credibility hurdle and research your target to identify concepts they will find relevant. Remember the most prepared rep typically wins the day.
