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Many of us have been trained for years in sales that calling to the top is the right approach. I’d argue this tactic is now out dated and as sales people we need to change with the times.
C-level execs have become skilled at blocking out unsolicited calls and emails. They have spam filters, caller IDs and gatekeepers to keep unwanted solicitations out. C-levels also have influencers which they will delegate projects to when they need something researched. Those influencers now have an abundance of information available to them when they want to look. For example, they have Google and their social networks to do their due diligence. C-level prospects are no longer finding out about tools and solutions by a cold call. This is why having an inbound marketing strategy is imperative to any company needing to generate leads.
This is not to say inbound marketing is the only way to penetrate a new account. If a rep is cold calling, it’s still best to call the C-suite and the next level below, essentially the influencer. The influencer below tends to have more flexibility with their calendar than the C-level and can make time for sales calls. If you can get the influencer bought-in they can more easily access and book the C-suites calendar than you can.
I’ve actually tested this theory. At my company, we deal exclusively with inbound leads. Most of frequently these leads originate from some type of whitepaper download or webinar registration. I took one rep, Alexndra Curtiss, as the experimental group. Every lead delivered to her, she didn’t call the influencer. Instead she called right to the C-suite. In this instance, we know the company is looking to solve some type of pain (it’s an inbound lead so they found us by design when they were looking). We figured since the company was looking, we’d have a good connect and close rate with the c-suite. The control group was the rest of the team who continued to call the influencers who download content.
The results were dramatic. After just 3 weeks and about 100 leads we had to shut the experiment down. The experimental rep had set 1 appointment and nothing in her pipeline. The control group averaged about 18 appointments in the same time frame. While our sales cycle is about 60-90 long, longer than the experiment ran, we tracked to see if any revenue closed. Alexandra won 0 deals by calling exclusively to the top. Some could argue the rep and her sales technique may have played a factor. This could be true, however once back to calling the influencer she finished the next two months over 200%.
One thing we’ve found effective with inbound leads is to ask the following question, “Who asked you to gather information?” The ones who answer their boss, the CEO, the president, etc. are worth your time. If they say they are just looking, be suspicious but also be prepared they might not trust you enough to disclose details. If after several conversations you determine this is truly someone that is a tire kicker, move on.
I’m not arguing one should ignore the C-suite all together. Instead, realize an influencer is now a massive contributor to getting a deal closed. Here are the steps you should take to update how you work the C-suite and influencer in tandem.
1) Call the C-suite first.
2) Then the influencer. Tell the influencer “Oh coincidently enough, I just reached out to _____ this morning”. Since you’ve already reached out to the C-suite, the influencer can’t play gatekeeper.
3) Work with the influencer through the sales process.
4) Update the C-suite on each step of the sales process regardless if you do or do not receive a response. This builds a relationship with them even if you’re not able to connect directly. You can do this through voicemails and emails.
5) Compliment the influencer in each update to the C-level. This avoids the influencer being upset or feeling you’ve gone around them.
6) By the time the influencer brings you to the C-suite, the exec should be well aware of you.
7) If the deal is to stall, gets side tracked, etc. it won’t be the first time you reach out to the C-suite.
Regardless of what you’ve been told about calling to the top, the technique is old. You can still sell by calling to the c-suite however you’ll need an unsustainable amount of leads to do so. Learn to work with influencers. Learn their job role, make them your partner in crime and turn them into champions. This is the most effective way to increase your closing percentage.
