How to Reach More CEOs (and other senior executives)

I have a good friend who was frustrated at his lack of success when he was cold calling CEOs.  It didn’t seem to matter how many calls he made, he just wasn’t having success getting them on the phone.  He asked me for some advice, so I was happy to oblige. I shared one idea with him, and within a week he had spoken with more CEOs than all of his colleagues combined. 

If you have a product or service that can only be sold to the CEO (like my friend), then this idea can work for you too.  It’s so simple that I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t do it. 

It’s all about when you call them.  CEOs often come to work early and leave late. After I passed along this advice to my friend, he started cold-calling at 7:00am, and ended the day by spending an extra hour in the office and making calls after 5:00pm.  Every single one of the CEOs that he reached picked-up their phone when he called before and after hours. 

Here’s why:   At the close of the business day, the receptionist puts the phone system on night-ring.  With night-ring activated there is a very high likelihood that the voice mail system will provide an automated greeting with an option to reach an individual by dialing their first or last name.  Punch in the CEO’s name and presto!  Your call is connected to his/her desk.   No gatekeepers involved!

If the prospect’s phone system doesn’t have a dial-by-name option, save that call for normal business hours.

This advice is effective for reaching CEOs and just about any senior business executive. They are often the first to show up for work and among the last to leave.   And, these folks often spend Saturday morning at the office.  Try spending a quiet Saturday morning calling CEOs.  You might be surprised how many you reach.  Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

If you like this blog, then be sure to check out my books!  You can find out more on the right-hand side of the page.  Happy selling!

Set the Tone for a Positive Customer Experience

Who sets the tone in a customer/prospect meeting?  Most often the customer sets the tone - are they mad that your company missed an important deadline?  Are they glad to see you so that they can discuss their long term plans with your company?  Or maybe they’re somewhere in between.  But don’t ever lose sight of the fact that you too can set the tone for the meeting.

Have you ever had an experience when you set up an important meeting, invited your boss or other VIP, only to have the key customer contact no-show?  Or how about the time that you planned the meeting perfectly, only to show up and find out that they don’t have Internet access after all - or the projector they had promised isn’t there.  Any number of unfortunate things can happen to derail your plans - but you can’t let that change your tone.

Make sure to stay positive and gracious regardless of the curve ball that gets thrown your way.  I have witnessed total rep deflation when one of those unforeseen circumstances arises that completely alters the expected outcome of the meeting.  I have seen reps get angry, go flat, and just lose interest when something unexpected derails their meeting.  That kind of reaction sets a very negative tone for the meeting and unnecessarily tarnishes your brand.  Don’t let that happen to you. 

Even in those circumstances when the customer sets a negative tone, don’t fall in to the trap of mimicking that behavior.  Keep calm and remain positive (and always authentic) regardless of the negative situation. 

Find Your "Jimmy"

Have you ever encountered a situation where you have sold to all of the right people including executive sponsors, decision makers, stakeholders, procurement, and economic buyers - and yet somehow the sale isn’t going through?  Or the project is stalled?  My boss told me about a situation that he encountered several years ago where he had seemingly gained agreement with everyone necessary to implement his solution and yet week after week nothing happened.  He finally did some additional digging and found that a guy named Jimmy was in charge of scheduling projects, and Jimmy didn’t like our company, so he continued to put our project at the bottom of his list.

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Pardon the interruption, but I wanted you to know that my new book, Common Sense Sales, is now available at Amazon.com.  You can click HERE to find it.  There is more information on the right hand side of the screen regarding it and my first book, Click “Send” and Sell.  Be sure to check them out.

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Even though my boss thought that he had every base covered, there was a critical player in the process that he had not encountered.  Further digging surfaced that Jimmy loved baseball. After a few tense meetings with Jimmy - and a couple of baseball games later -  the project found its way to the top of his project list. Jimmy had not realized the importance of the projects, and he had an incorrect impression about the company.  Jimmy, though not a decision maker in the traditional sense, was nonetheless critical to the sales process.

I once encountered a “Jimmy” of my own.  An account was ready to move forward with our solution, yet we were being blocked by the contracts group.  No matter what we put in front of them, they kicked it back with non-trivial changes to the terms that caused our legal team to nearly start from scratch. It was very frustrating for both companies.  In this case our customer’s business user was able to wield her influence in the organization to make our projects a priority and someone told the contracts team to take it easy on us. We eventually got our agreements completed but not until we had missed a few important go-live dates.  All of this because “Jimmy” was holding things up unnecessarily.  We eventually spent some time with him, and like my boss’ Jimmy, he is now on our side.

Selling to all the right people and getting the appropriate sign-offs is hard enough - uncovering the “Jimmy” in your account can be just as important.  Find him and neutralize him or you will find your projects on eternal hold.

It's Not JUST Sales

More happens in the day of a seller than most people realize. Here is a list of just a few of the non-sales tasks that we are required to perform in a typical day:

• Update the pipeline
• Submit expense reports
• Review contracts, agreements and/or terms and conditions
• Attend meetings - lots and lots of meetings
• Document our phone calls and emails in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
• Process orders
• Provide customer support
• Review and update shipping reports
• Understand new products and their specifications
• Submit special pricing requests
• Create proposals and PowerPoint presentations

And the list goes on . . .

At some point in the day we are also expected to prospect, meet with potential customers, manage our existing accounts, and close new business.

Out of all of these activities, which one is most important?

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Pardon the interruption, but I wanted you to know that my new book, Common Sense Sales, is now available at Amazon.com.  You can click HERE to find it.  There is more information on the right hand side of the screen regarding it and my first book, Click “Send” and Sell.  Be sure to check them out.

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Yes, closing new business is your most important activity. Obviously, a lot can be overlooked if you make or exceed your quota. But I’ve seen very good reps get in trouble - and bad trouble - for falling short in the “Other Duties Assigned” category that is made up of the tasks above.

It’s one thing to be a relationship guy/gal and get customers to buy your products and services. But you need to have the whole package - it’s what is expected of you as a professional. Even if you are making your numbers, it will begin to wear people down if you are constantly late with reports or your contract review is shoddy.  Somewhere your incomplete and inaccurate expense reports are being reported to someone important.  That someone could make your life very difficult!

Sales is all about the numbers - or is it? The obvious indication of your success is your ability to hit your goals. But you need to be good at everything. Don’t let stellar sales results keep you from executing your job as a professional. Your boss and her colleagues can overlook a few minor lapses from you - but major lapses that become an organization’s nightmare won’t be overlooked for long. You may find yourself a top producing rep that’s in big trouble. You don’t need the distraction.

Stay focused on the numbers, but take care of your business.  It’s the professional thing to do.

The Most Important Discovery Question?

You get a call from a customer or prospect indicating an interest in one of your products or services. You swing into action right away and put together the right presentation and/or demonstration. They gather their team, you pull together your resources and you conduct the meeting. Everything seems to be going well. Then they go dark - they won't return a call or email.  What happened?  They seemed engaged. They asked questions. You and your team brought you A-game.  Maybe, just maybe it’s because you didn’t ask the most important question:

What business problem are you trying to solve? 

Yes, you did everything right, but the problem is you may not have been presenting the right product or solution for the prospect’s business problem. They reached out to you after doing some research, thinking (assuming) that your solution was the right fit. In following through with the demo, you didn’t ensure that the product was a fit because you didn’t ask the question.

What business problem are you trying to solve? 

It’s a basic discovery question and should be asked with far more frequency than it is. I have seen countless conference calls and meetings take on a completely different tone when the sales reps asks the question. Suddenly the prospect opens up about what they are really trying to accomplish. Many times your questions lead them to ask you to speak with their boss or an executive team. And you haven’t even demonstrated the product. No, but you have demonstrated something far more important - you have demonstrated that you are interested in their business and in providing the right solution - not necessarily the solution that they think they need.

Don’t take for granted that your prospects or customers know what they need to buy from you. Ask them the question and know for sure.