In a typical sales process, the emphasis is generally on identifying the decision maker and doing whatever you can to get in front of them with your offer. Certainly, it is true that it is hard to close a deal without the support of the decision maker. However, in most organizations, the decision maker is connected to and supported by a larger network of team members, many of whom can have an impact on the outcome of the deal. Highly successful sales professionals never underestimate the need to build relationships and trust with this larger network in order to gain insights into the organization and create credibility for their offer when they finally get in front of the decision maker.
At the heart of the practice of strategic account management is the ability/necessity to go deeper and wider inside the target account, developing relationships with, and understanding the needs of, an ever-widening network of contacts. This network of people will often cross functions and departments within the customer organization. However, your relationship with each of them will contribute to your ability to grow the trust level you have with the decision maker, which means you must keep the quality of your interaction consistent with each of them. This widening network of contacts is sometimes referred to as the Circle of Influence, and it can be broken down into four categories.
1. Financial focus: This person is usually a decision maker with financial responsibilities (purchasing/procurement manager, CFO, etc.) who can give the final ‘yes’ for the purchase; they are looking for savings and focused on budget constraints. If they don’t trust your ability to deliver a solution that is within the budget, they can usually block the deal from moving forward, even if the Decision Maker likes some aspects of your offer.
2. Functional focus: This person might be in charge of manufacturing or some other production related activity. The Decision Maker may be the one to green light the purchase, but this person may be primarily responsible for implementing the solution and using it every day. If you want them to support your proposed solution to the Decision Maker, you will need to spend time building trust with them and understanding their needs, so they will be assured you can deliver the consistency, productivity, quality and reliability they need.
3. Technical focus: This person could be associated with any team or department within the organization, though they are often found in IT. Wherever they are, they are highly concerned about the fine points of any proposed solution option. They will want the specs; they will compare all options; and they usually prefer the latest and best technology. They are not particularly price sensitive; they could be willing to pay top dollar as long as they are convinced that your solution is delivering the absolutely best value.
4. Gatekeepers: These persons are admins who support any of the key people you need to talk to, including any of the above, along with the Decision Maker. They are primarily interested in making their boss successful. They provide services that will help the boss be more efficient and reach important goals. For that reason, one of the things Gatekeepers do is limit access to the boss. Keep in mind that when Gatekeepers block your way, it isn’t personal. They are doing their jobs, that’s all. So, even though the Gatekeeper may seem like a small cog in the machine, it is critically important you build trust with them first, because if you don’t, you’ll never get the chance to build it with the decision maker. The best way to build trust with a Gatekeeper is to communicate through your attitude and actions that your goal is to help their boss be successful. It may take some time to build this level of credibility and trust, but once they understand that you can provide value to the boss, they will be much more cooperative with you.
Developing an effective strategy for building relationships across the organization starts during the account planning process. It is here that you must begin to map out everything you possibly can about the structure of the customer’s organization. Don’t just limit your research to the Decision Maker; develop as much background as you can on everyone in the Decision Maker’s Circle of Influence who could have an impact on the sales process.
The obvious question becomes, “how do I generate this information?” In the old days, this might require you to spend a lot of time on the phone, or even time burning shoe leather moving from department to department, but not anymore. Highly successful sales professionals have learned to leverage the technological advantages of the Internet to speed up the process of mapping out their contact list.
You might consider an application like Jigsaw, which maintains the largest searchable database of business contacts in the world. Do you need to reach the VP of Procurement at a potential customer organization? Do you want to begin a conversation with the IT manager at a fast-growing company? The chances are very good that up-to-date, highly accurate contact information is available for these people, and anyone else you want to contact, through Jigsaw. The good news is that the information might be available at no cost to you! All you need to do is provide contact information for new listings to post on Jigsaw. For every listing you post, you can download an existing name for free. If you are short on contacts, you can purchase the contact info for a very reasonable price.
There are also applications that allow you to build associations and networks that can help you get introduced to potential prospects. For instance, LinkedIn allows you to create a business profile for yourself, and then allows you to invite others to join your network by creating profiles, too. Soon, you are connected to thousands of other potential contacts as your network becomes linked to other networks. LinkedIn, for a very reasonable fee, allows you to tap the resources within these networks to gain introductions, recommendations and access to key people who might become strategic, long-term customers.
A large number of businesses are now using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to drive new business. With Facebook, you can invite prospects – and even current customers – to become a “friend” on your site. Once they are “friended” you can post initiate all sorts of interactive contacts with them, post marketing information, post pictures and updates, solicit comments and suggestions, etc. Twitter, allows you to send, short text messages about any issue, announcement, offer, or content you would like. After you set up your account, the only other thing you need to do is to invite your prospects and customers to “follow you” on Twitter. Just keep in mind that messages sent out via Twitter will go to everyone of your followers at the same time. Twitter messages can’t be targeted to individuals.
Once you have developed a comprehensive contact list for your target account, you go about building relationships with these people in exactly the same way that you would with the Decision Maker. Indeed, in this series, we have already discussed several important strategies that work just as well with Influencers as with Decision Makers:
• Focus on Helping instead of Selling
• Ask good questions and be a great listener
• Discover what they value, and make sure they receive that value
• Be flexible and creative
You must keep your behavior consistent during all your interactions across the customer organization. If you neglect to treat a gatekeeper or an influencer with the same level of consideration that you provide the decision maker, it will get back to the decision maker. At that point you will lose your credibility with the decision maker and you may also lose the account.
Evaluate the top five opportunities you are working on right now. Are you confident that you have a thorough map of the Circle of Influence for each account? What relationships need to be stronger?
During the sales process, what percentage of time do you allot to developing relationships with the Influencers that surround the Decision Maker? How much time do you think you should be devoting to this task?
Do you have Jigsaw, Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Twitter accounts? Do you know how to use them? If not, why not?
Walter Rogers is the President and CEO of Baker Communications. Baker Communications is a sales training and development company specializing in helping client companies increase their sales and management effectiveness. He can be reached at 713-627-7700.
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