Everyone Tells Us to Sell to the C-Suite, But No One Tells Us How!

Learn the 8 Things Every C-Level Cares Most About

If you are like I was as a beginning salesperson, and even well into my role as an Account Executive, you have probably heard many times that the conversations you need to have with C-level stakeholders are very different from the conversations you are having with mid-level management.

This made sense to me, and I wanted to know more – but no one ever seemed able to articulate exactly what this meant or how to do it. The one thing I learned was that these people did not want to hear me talk about my products and services.

So what else did I have to tell them? What could I possibly say to a CFO, CIO, CMO, or CEO that would be valuable to them?

It’s Not About Telling

Over years of learning about sales conversations from some of the best in the business, I finally learned the secret: we don’t have to “tell” these successful customers anything!

We can actually manage an analytical conversation by instead asking compelling questions about topics that are important to them. We have to get specific with our C-level customers and work to understand how different actions will impact their business.

We should explore the impact of inaction – of not solving problems, of not meeting goals, of not answering needs, of not reaching objectives.

Then we can help them envision the positive outcomes of taking action – doing something to meet all of those challenges.

This is what drives customers to buy – a clear understanding of the impact their action (or failure to act) will have on their business situation.

Asking the Right Questions

There are at least eight different impact categories that we can discuss with our customers with any business issue that they are facing.

You won’t have to discuss all of them in every customer conversation; the goal is to find at least one or two of these categories that resonate with your specific customer and will have a significant impact. Manage the conversation through a questioning process.

The 8 Impact Categories

1. Their Bottom Line. Every business issue eventually comes back to the bottom line. Is this problem affecting revenue and/or expenses? How much? If the customer is going to lose money, how much? If the customer is going to lose an opportunity to make money, how much? What projects could not be pursued because of lack of funding? What projects could be pursued if the funding became available?
2. Their Competition. Is the current business problem giving any competitive advantage to your customer’s competitors? Have they lost any business as a result? Can they put a dollar amount on it? If this hasn’t happened yet, is there risk of it happening in the future? How much time does your customer have to fix this issue?
3. Their Customers. If your customer does not meet their business objectives, what will be the effect on their customers? Has it happened already? What are they hearing from their customer base? Is there any concern about this?
4. Their Management. Has the business issue bubbled up to the Board level? If so, what is their reaction? If not, how much time does your customer have before that happens?
5. Their Owners. What impact will not reaching the objective have on the company’s owners or stockholders?
6. Their Employees. Is the business issue causing morale problems? Are people working extra hours? Is it creating any safety issues? What is it costing in terms of labor? Is turnover increasing? What does that cost?
7. Their Image. How is this particular business problem or objective impacting the organization’s brand? What about the image of their particular department or division within the company? If they have outreach programs that they are involved in, will those be impacted?
8. How does this problem affect them personally and professionally? Maybe they are working longer hours and missing out on family time. Perhaps they are stressed out and not sleeping well. Maybe their relationship with their employees has been or will be taxed. Personal stakes can be big motivators!

When I first began having conversations like these, I was surprised how often the customer might say something like, “Well, I haven’t actually thought about that question,” or “You bring up a good point!”

If you hear this, it’s a certain sign that the conversation you are leading is worthwhile for your customer! This is how you uncover the real business needs your customer has… and then you can offer real solutions to real problems. This is the true secret of talking to the C-Suite executive and having a real impact on their business.