Selling at a Senior Level
Different levels of management have different needs and interests, and require different treatment. It is critical to learn how to relate to all levels, senior in particular.
Move up a Level
Salespeople need to be able to sell at a senior level.
Why?
Senior executives decide on policy. Winning the policy is the best sales result for any salesperson.
But dealing at that level can be a minefield, so planning and plotting your route well is critical.
Do you find that:
- Very few of your salespeople really know how to deal with senior executives?
- Many have had bad experiences historically?
- They didn’t know what to say, what to ask for, how to structure the meeting?
- Some don’t understand that different levels of management have different areas of interest, some subtly different, some fundamentally different?
- Very few can operate successfully at any level?
- Your salespeople tend to be uncomfortable trying to relate to a senior executive as an equal – a business person meeting another business person?
- Some have experienced a horrible feeling when the senior executive’s eyes glazed over and he or she seemed unnervingly interested in the time?
- Very few know enough about the business dynamics of their customers’ environments to be able to have a meaningful conversation the CEO’s?
The fact is that very few salespeople are successful at dealing with senior executives. This creates major challenges, particularly for non-commodity product and service selling.
What can you do about it?
Understand how to deal with senior executives. Learn about what interests them. Act like their equal.
When dealing with senior executives you must:
- Give them a decision to make or they will feel very frustrated with the meeting
- Sell them a plan, not a product – senior people like to take the longer term view
- Talk policy not procedure – why they do things the way they do – not how they do them
- Be prepared to establish credibility by having some first rate reference stories
- Be prepared to answer probing questions about your company
- Seed decision criteria in their brains – they are often amateur buyers in your area of expertise
- Talk competitive edge and effectiveness – not efficiency and cost savings
- Very senior management doesn’t run businesses. They spend their time buying and selling businesses!
- Always send an agenda – briefings for the senior prospect staff are really important – get their junior staff organised
- Brief your own management too – tell your management what commitment you want them to get.
Always Remember:
- Senior executives don’t buy products – but they do buy consultancy
- Senior executives meet each other so easily because they are often looking for non-executive directorships in each other’s businesses.
- Senior management spends more time designing and re-designing organisation charts than any other activity
- Talk to them about an issue that demands a re-organisation and you will have their undivided attention!
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If dealing with and selling at a senior level is essential to the success of your organisation, and you want your salespeople to improve their skills in this critical element of their jobs:
Call us on 0845 125 9098