There are probably whole books written about finding “the decision maker.” This makes sense, as a sales person, this the person who will say “yes” or “no” to your product or service. This is why a sales person is trained to pursue the attention of the decision maker at all costs. Don’t waste your time with people who don’t have the authority to say “yes.” Again, sound logic. The decision maker is important. But do we shoot ourselves in the foot by caring only about them? I think that we do!
Here’s the thing. Business used to be very dictatorial (so I have been told, I wasn’t alive back then). Whereas now, it is far more collaborative (now this i can attest to). Therefore, it used to make sense to pursue the attention of the decision maker and ignore the opinions and input of that person’s minions, I mean employees. But you guessed it, times are a’changing. Now executives are busier than ever, more cross-functional, and more collaborative. It may make sense to talk to their employees, associates, secretaries and get them on board before you speak to the “decision maker.” Say you get the decision maker on board, if the people around them are still confused, unsure, or opposed to your solution, then you likely won’t make the sale.
Know how decisions are made in the organization you are selling to. Get everyone on board. Don’t make enemies of other business units. If the IT people hate your product, that won’t lead to a good relationship. The moral of the story is: know how decisions are made and how to get the best possible relationship out of that.
BoweryJE22
This is very true. In order for the company to be satisfied with what you sold them, the entire company has to be on board. Likewise, top management has to be the leader and explain to their employees what they are doing or buying. It is really a whole organization decision.
I think it is definitely important to keep the whole company in mind when you are making a sale, however, I don’t think that talking to the first point of contact is enough to make the sale. Regardless of how much businesses are changing, most companies still reserve purchasing authority for a select few. Selling to someone without that authority may be helpful, but more often than not it is a waste of both your time and their’s>