Getting To The Top Decision Maker

Sales Training Article

By:  Dennis R. Kyle, CEO, b2b Sales Trainer & Consultant

       Positive Results

How often have you encountered a prospect who, when you’re at the closing phase, tells you something like…

• “I am not the final decision maker.”
• “I’ll need to talk to my partner.”
• “There are a few people in my division I need to speak with regarding this idea.”

If you’ve heard one of these lines, you’re not alone. In sales, we are often faced with the daunting task of generating new business; yet, speak to people who cannot make the ultimate decision.

Situations like this are inevitable because you are dealing with the human factor. People as a general rule want to feel important; they like power. It is very easy for pseudo-decision makers to manipulate a salesperson into believing they can make a decision when in truth they cannot.

The Relay Game

Success in sales weighs heavily on how efficiently your message is delivered to the top decision maker. When a message you deliver becomes a part of a ‘relay game,’ you’re almost certain to experience frustration and lost sales.

The relay game, for those of you not familiar with this term, is when a manager says they have decision-making power, but they actually relay your ideas to someone in the power seat that gives them the ultimate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and relay the decision back to you. Quite often they play the relay game and then act as if the decision were there own.

In my sales training workshops, we focus on getting to the proper decision maker from the start. “How is this done?” you ask. Read on.

Get To The Proper Decision Maker

Sales professionals often find it easier to speak with middle managers in the corporate chain, as their willingness to listen to sales pitches is much greater than that of the top-level executives. Your first step in getting to the final decision maker is to analyze your market and determine the highest person in the chain of command.

A middle manager holds little value when it comes to making the final decision. Don’t get me wrong. There are always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part follow this rule: Identify the top-dog, head-honcho, the chief, captain, commander, or any other creative name held by the person who can say ‘yes’ to your idea.

Get to the C-Level

If you are not speaking to the C-level (CEO, COO, CFO, etc.) person in your...