I normally don’t focus on specific sales training topics but after several sessions where I was training sales managers on creating effective sales strategies and even experiencing several sales situations within my own business I thought I might raise this topic.
First, I can recall when I was selling business focused software to the mid-sized market that we were trained to spend time with the people in the office during the early stages of the sales process and build a solid relationship with them.
Second, during the demonstration phase the President of those companies always brought along the key people that would be using the software and during the proposal phase those individuals were normally there when we introduced the investment and training programs.
Third, it seemed like 90% of the time, the President always looked at those individuals, who had no ownership in the company, may not have had a management title or maybe some mid-level responsibility and said; What do you think?
The power of the Influencer is amazing, if those individuals had confidence in my solution and recognized that the benefits of my proposal would improve their job and the company, their vote was always; I think it makes sense!
While in many sales situations we find that the salesperson is not calling high enough in the decision making process, don’t forget to nurture those key individuals that can bring power to your recommendation. It maybe informal power, but it is still power.
In developing your sales strategy make sure you seek out those individuals that your product/service will impact within the organization and include them in key steps of your sales process.
If you would like a copy of our Sales Strategy Guide, send me an email: [email protected]
