Don’t you love it when you are working with a customer and they won’t give you access to the decision maker? You have an advocate or a champion, with whom you have a great relationship, but when it comes down to getting the money or the signed agreement, they need to run it by Bob, and Bob won’t join any calls, which means you end up having to 3rd party sell through your contact. Aren’t those fun days in sales? Don’t you just love those scenarios?
Yeah, me too.
The obvious answer is to get into Bob’s schedule, so you can meet with Bob, and make sure the info, the pain you’ve uncovered and the cost of inaction are all part of the equation. Otherwise, Bob is ONLY gonna look at the price.
Problem is, the more you ask your champion to get Bob into a call with you, the more desperate you seem. I’ve been there, for sure.
Fear not, for I have a 3 step process to minimize these scenarios. It’s not 100%. Nothing is, but it certainly provides an approach that clears up the picture.
Step 1 – Confirm your champion. You just might be assuming they are on board, when in fact they are using the mysterious and aloof Bob as a shield to avoid telling you know. The more they like you, the more this could be a factor. Stop assuming, and ask.
“If it was up to you, and you only, would you move forward on this? Why? What is the compelling argument from your point of view?”
Hear me when I tell you this. Their past history of purchasing from you does NOT automatically make them an ally on THIS SPECIFIC purchase. Nothing is going to work if you don’t have a confirmed champion. CONFIRMED, not assumed.
Step 2 – Map out the decision process. Your champion (now confirmed) will share information if asked. (If they won’t then they are NOT your champion). They will do so because it suits their interest, not yours. Has the company ever bought something like this before? What is the process? How does a proposal circulate between the departments (Finance, procurement, etc)? Does this happen in a meeting, in an email string, in a google shared doc? You can’t really know how the players are going to affect the sale without knowing how they fit in the play. What is the power structure? What’s the history? (see why step 1 is so important?)
Step 3 – Map out the decision maker(s). Now that you can see the whole field, ask your champion how you can help them in moving the ball forward. When Bob makes these kinds of decisions, what does he look for? What does he want to see (numbers, projections, case studies)? How can I help you prepare for the meeting with Bob? Sometimes, that is where they will invite you to the meeting. You didn’t ask. They think it’s their idea. Sometimes they will not invite you, but you can contribute to the package of info being delivered to Bob. (ADVANCED LEVEL TIP) Offer to record a Vidyard or a Loom on the most important piece(s) of the presentation. That’s a way to get into the meeting without actually being in the meeting. Your champion will rarely do as good of a job at covering the complex and/or subtle aspects of the sales as you will.
Third party selling isn’t ideal, and it is never the preferred way of getting a sale. However, in today’s remote and tech driven world, it can not be fully avoided. I feel like it has become more and more frequent. Don’t leave it to a non confirmed champion to present your solution to the decision maker without stacking the odds in your favor.