Identifying The Decision Maker.
By: Matthew Hibbert
Determining who the decision maker is in an organization is essential to being a successful salesperson. The number one way salespeople waste their time is talking to the wrong person. Taking a strategic approach and honing in on the right people within an organization can drastically shorten your sales cycle and fill your pipeline with fruitful leads.
Who is the Decision Maker?
The decision maker is the key person who is making the purchasing decisions. They have all the power and it is crucial to get in front of them.
Where to Find Them?
Finding the decision maker is slightly different for every industry. While some industries are straightforward and upfront about who is making the decisions, others can be more difficult to navigate.
Leveraging LinkedIn can be immesely effective in determining the decision maker while prospecting. A simple search of the organization can pull up top executives. In addition, looking to see if you or any of your colleagues have mutal connections with someone at your targeted company can be effective. If you do find one, ask for an introduction.
Other channels FOCUS Selling Systems recommends to find the decision maker are as follows:
- Industry Magazines
- Industry Databases
- Social Media Platforms
- Company Websites
- A Simple Google Search
How to get Close to Them?
Once you have determined who the key decision maker is, your next step will be to contact them.
This can be difficult as top management personal employ secretaries, executive assistants and administrative assistants to help manage their workload. At FOCUS Selling Systems we call these employees the “gatekeepers” as part of their job is to screen incoming requests and only pass the most promising to the decision maker.
Gatekeepers hold the key to your success so taking a strategic approach is essential. Always treat them with the utmost respect and get on a first name basis. Once you build enough rapport with the gatekeeper you may find getting your meeting to be a little easier.
Remember, you can never have too much information. You are simply ensuring that you are not wasting your or the prospect’s time. Investing the time and effort identifying the decision maker then developing rapport with the gatekeeper will be well worth your effort. You will be able to optimize your time and fill your pipeline with valuable leads.
FOCU$ on it.