Multiple points of entry + Referrals= Shorter sales cycle

Getting into the C-Suite

1.Diversify risk: simultaneously contact all business units/budgets inside a brand

Facilitate consensus-building among all stakeholders

Manage indirect influence: users, subject matter experts, reporting departments, clients, infrastructure suppliers

2. Discussions by phone can be arranged more quickly than in-person meetings

3. Collapse lead times & facilitate multiple stakeholders simultaneously

Multiple contacts = shorter sales cycle

1.Reach assistant: ASK: time in executive's calendar, send briefing document

(When sent by EA, executive will open your briefing doc)

2. Follow-up: restate request for appointment + resend briefing document

3. Forwarded/referred: identifies influencers around the issue you are raising

4. 7/10 contacts = referral

5. "Beyond-the-org. chart" influence around the issue your offering addresses

Combatting the "cold call"Enroll the "gatekeeper" & get your message into the executive's hands

1.Pre-qualifies contact's view of business challenge by accepting meeting or making referral

2.Referral identifies Influencers around exec and/or investigation is already underway

3.Permission-based access to indirect influence around decision (user? subject matter expert? implementation support?)

4.Indicates where roadblocks may exist; exec gives access to influential stakeholders

5.Tracking document open/forwarded indicates stakeholders

Referral = Insight, NOT a brush-off

BEFORE: Features & Benefits "Color printer in the school market: faster, longer life cartridges, ROI"

Sounded like their competitors, led to price-based purchase

Non-classroom influencers yielded insight : board, administration, parents shared a common need related to school rankings

AFTER "Colour images lead to higher student engagement, to higher GPA, to higher school rankings"

Move from features/benefits to higher order of need

Reframe benefits to "shared value"Repositioning colour printer: shared vision by education

stakeholders

1.Briefing doc sent with invitation serves as discussion agenda2.Guides towards stakeholder value rather than product discussion3.Avoids one-way "talking brochure" dynamic during meeting4.High-gain, opinion-based questions identify mobilizers + identifies

other stakeholders

"When you read our materials, what caught your attention?" "What would you like to take away from our conversation today, perhaps related to projects you are working on?""Which other groups or departments would be impacted by our solution?""What might the reaction of.....(other stakeholders) be to our solution?"

Shared value guides business benefit

SpeechScience : Social Capital: (Executive communication skills)

Hubspot : LinkedIn Prospecting (Social media monitoring)

NextStage: Reading Virtual Minds (IP, intention, online environment)

Beyond Features: Mobilizing ConsensusShared stakeholder view of biz challenge rather than features + benefits

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