Sales Podcast: Selling to C-Level and Senior B2B Decision Makers
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How do we sell to senior executives, CEO’s, COO’s and other business leaders?
Selling to senior decision makers or the “C-Suite” requires that we truly understand how our solution can impact their business. Not only that but we need to understand how we do it in a unique way that adds value over and above what competitive solutions do. Everything from our first conversation, to discovery calls, presentations, proposals and delivery needs to highlight how you’re driving positive outcomes in a unique and advantageous way.
Senior executives and business decision makers are results-orientated. Both tangible results and intangible results appeal to them. In order to be seen as a resource and potential supplier you must tap into their desire to produce results.
The kind of tangible results that appeal to C-Level decision makers are:
Raising Revenues:
Show them how their overall volume can be increased; in other words, an increase in sales.
Increase Efficiency:
If they see that their employees, or their equipment, or other capital will be more efficient, then the chance of their buy-in is higher.
Keeping Shareholders and Stakeholders Happy:
Top level decision makers are the ones who have to answer to the Board of Directors and to the Shareholders in a large corporation. Keeping the Board or shareholders happy is their main priority.
Lowering Cost of Production:
Lowering costs equal better margins and bigger profits. There’s many ways our solutions can do this directly and indirectly.
Increasing Market Share:
They are interested in advertising, marketing and business development strategies, tactics and methods to increase market share.
Higher Return On Investment:
Can you show them how they will get a bigger return on their investment for the money they invest with your services, products, ideas and concepts?
Dealing With Market Changes or Regulations:
If you come with solutions for market changes that affect them, then they will take the time to explore the possibilities with you.
Intangible Results that Motivate Senior Decision Makers:
The types of intangible results that appeal to top level decision makers are:
Lower the Risk And Worry:
Anything that you can do to lower or eliminate the risk makes them feel better.
Personal and Corporate Pride:
Senior executives and top level decision makers are at the top because they have personal pride and are proud of the business results that they achieve.
Image – Personally And Corporately:
Yes the car they drive reflects their success level. The suits, the shoes they wear, the house they live in, the office address, and the image their marketing material portrays are all examples of personal and/or corporate image.
ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) and EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) improvements and outcomes:
One could argue that these are tangible, there is a lot of data that shows that organizations that embrace these types of initiatives have lower staff attrition, more corporate goodwill, and have access to opportunities that organizations that score lowly in these areas can’t access. Are there ESG an EDI advantages and benefits to using your solution or partnering with your company?
Retaining And Attracting Good Employees:
The top level decision maker knows that you win when you have exceptional people working with you.
This is by no means an exhaustive list but I hope it gets you started. The key is for you to understand at a forensic level the top challenges and goals of your key prospects and accounts and how you can effectively and uniquely solve them – then put that into terms that resonate with their specific values, perspective and context.
5 Action steps to help you sell to senior decision makers:
- Brainstorm the key challenges and goals a potential client may have
- Look at how many of problems you can solve or goals your products or services can achieve for your clients
- Develop a series of sales discovery questions that can help unearth the challenges and goals you brainstormed
- Develop a unique way to present these results you produce including customer case studies, stories and gathering data
- Commit to memorizing and practice presenting those core results statements that you will use with senior decision makers.*
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t present outcomes and solutions generically, use your one-on-one conversations and research to customize your value proposition.
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