In sales one size definitely doesn’t fit all!
Every organisation is different. So who you initially target is critical.
There are two schools of thought.
The first is to target the highest possible level – say the C-Suite or Divisional heads of an organisation. People who could refer you down to others in the organisation.
The other is target lower-level influencers and try and work your way up to a decision maker.
Both involve networking, navigating and negotiating with influencers and stakeholders. Which you choose depends on how this organization buys.
One of our clients sells high end equipment to university labs. His “buyers” are primarily technical officers who run the labs.
When shown a piece of equipment, they understand what it could do for them and then make recommendations upwards. Then it’s a matter of getting budget approved.
In this case there’s absolutely no point in initially targeting the faculty head. They have completely different priorities and are unlikely to get involved in purchasing decisions at the laboratory level.
Contrast this with another client who deals with multinational organisations.
They deal at an operational level with individual divisions.
However that silos them into one area of the business. But what they do should be implemented across the organisation – where the organisation would reap significant benefits as everyone would follow the same systems.
Here I recommended going up the food chain and talking to senior management to plant the seeds of what could be possible. Painting a broader picture.
I outlined a strategy of how to go about this. Why increasing the scope and breadth of these projects would benefit both the organisation and the senior executives personally.
Regardless of which level you start with, delivery is a great sales strategy. Once you’re in, you need to work your way around the organisation. Find out who else could need your services. Develop contacts who are influencers. Get referrals and recommendations and work the organisation.
If you would like my help to structure your sales process, so you target the right people with the right message, reach out. We have programs which will help you network, navigate and negotiate you way through an organisation to find out who the buyers and influencers are which impacts directly on your sales results.
