Getting a Non-Decision Maker to Get You to the Decision Maker
“How do you get
a Non-Decision Maker to put you in contact with the real Decision Maker?”
– Michael Pedone
Ideally salespeople want to
only be calling the real decision makers, however, that is simply not a
reality. Interacting with non-decision makers is a daily occurrence for
B2B salespeople no matter if they sell by phone or face-to-face. This is why
salespeople need a “tool” in their sales tool kit they can use to effectively
get to the next step in the sales cycle when they are dealing with non-decision
makers.
The problem is when a sales
person recognizes they aren’t speaking with the true decision maker, they
typically ask one of the following types of sales questions:
- Can I speak with your boss?
- Can you put me in touch with your boss?
- Is your boss available?
Now we all know what happens
next. The sales person is going to hear an emphatic “NO”. 99.9% of the time
when a sales person asks a non-decision maker if they can speak with their
boss, the sales person is rejected. It’s a FAILED sales strategy. Yet, most
sales people keep running that same play and get nowhere with it.
NEW GAME PLAN
Once you’ve identified a hot
button / pain point that the prospect is interested in solving, there are
several better plays to run once you’ve identified your prospect as a
non-decision maker. Here’s one that is simple to execute and is met with little
resistance from the prospect:
- “Mr. Prospect, if you were me, how would you proceed from here?”
Possible answers your prospect
may give you:
- “Well, I’d recommend you reach out to…” BINGO! They give you the person’s name that you need to speak to and you can even use a “referral opener” when contacting the true decision maker.
- “Hi Mrs. Decision Maker, I was speaking with “NON-DM’s Name” regarding “HOT-BUTTON” and he asked me to give you a call…”
Another way they could answer
is:
- “You can give me the information and I’ll bring it to him/her.”
In which one reply you could
use would be:
- “I appreciate that however here’s the problem – If we go down that road, chances are high that this will get pushed aside which means you don’t get a solution to help you solve/overcome (hot button). So to avoid that from happening, what else would you recommend?”
In essence, you are selling
them on why it’s in their best interest for them to help you get in touch with
the real decision maker, without asking them directly, which almost always
leads to “no”.
What if They Still Say “NO”? If
they make a case for why they are the person to go through first, you have a
decision to make. You CAN close deals and never speak with the ultimate
sign-off person IF the person you are speaking with is a HIGH INFLUENCER. If,
however, they are low on the decision-making totem pole (like an end-user) and
have no power, you are better off PLANTING A SEED.
PLANTING A SEED
There are several “Planting a
Seed” plays in my sales book and the one I’m referring to here is when you have
a non-decision maker who is resistant to bringing in the other needed parties
to the conversation. What I do is this… I give some basic highlights around the
hot buttons / pain points of theirs that I discovered during the qualifying
period, then I give them a price range (low to high) and tease it with the hint
that some possible incentives may be available. I let them know I will email
them the outline / info and if they want to talk further after discussing this
with their boss, to let me know.
I do NOT do a full
presentation. I won’t waste my time. As I mentioned earlier, there are several
plays you can run when you are speaking with a non-decision maker. Just like a
mechanic will have certain tools to use in specific situations, you want to
have several different sales plays you can run, depending on which sales
situation you are faced with.
The play outlined above has
been very successful in getting me on the phone with the ultimate decision
makers and I hope you find it useful as well.
Michael Pedone teaches inside
sales teams how to pick up the phone and close business. He is the CEO/FOUNDER
of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company.
Compiled by Mel Carney with
ProTrac. Mel can be reached at mel@pdsi.com or
816-554-3010
Eliminate & Highlight
ELIMINATE & HIGHLIGHT
Dan Rockwell, keynote
speaker & coach aims for the jugular with his two incisive points.
#1. Eliminate distractions. Define what matters more by helping people stop wasting
time, talent, and resources on what matters least. Try asking, “What are you
doing that prevents you from giving your time and energy - to what
matters now?”
While Dan’s comments are aimed at
management, as sales professionals, we are own managers so it’s aimed at us.
Is there something that is preventing
you from giving your whole self to those things which are of utmost importance,
RIGHT NOW?
If there is - eliminate it from your
thinking!
#2. Highlight progress while working to make things better, ask -
“How can we make this better?”
No matter how great it is, it can be
greater,
How?
That’s your job!
Information compiled by Mel
Carney, Sales Professionals Edumacation Chair. Mel can be reached at 800-711-7374 or melc@pdsi.com.
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