Decision Maker: Thanks

Business, Sales.

"i have to take your proposal to my manager!" - nothing is more frustrating - - or time wasting - - than to find out that you have been selling to the wrong person! A decision maker is the only person that can say yes. Influencers cannot buy, they can only recommend.

Hint: If your proposal needs approval, you are working with an influencer. - generally, decision makers own their budgets. Decision makers write cheques, and sign cheques, approve POs - or tell someone else to. They are likely VP level or higher, including positions such as General Managers, and, Directors" C - Suite" officers. Influencers either don' t have any money in the budget allocated for their own spending, or they don' t have enough money allocated to make a meaningful purchase. A decision influencer has no authority to commit the company to spend, write a cheque, sign a contract, or cut a PO. Generally influencers are non - managerial employees but in some cases, they may be managers or directors.

This made it difficult for me to be the decision maker on almost any purchase( except lunch) that I wanted to make for my team. - as a sales director for a large, publicly traded software company i had a$ 2500 spending limit. Yes, it seems easier to deal with influencers rather than decision makers. Here is another hint. Generally, influencers are easier to find, and on the, easier to access surface seem more keen to move a project forward. The more enthusiastic your contact is to move forward, the more they state that they" love your product" , and the more excited they are to buy, the less likely they are to be a decision maker. Don' t kid yourself though.

Influencers seem to want to engage with you... and perhaps they even return your calls. - decision influencers are just that... influencers, not buyers. It' s not that they want to string you along and block access to the people who can make the purchase. And although many influencers seem like helpful allies, in reality they' re unwitting enemies. In fact, they may sincerely want to take the deal forward. To get a derailed deal back on track, you need to gain access to the real buyer by turning your influencer into a coach who can help get the deal done. But chances are they don' t have the power or influence to make it happen.

Establishing the Right Relationships with New Prospects. - what do i mean by relevant? First a reminder: To sell effectively, call the highest level of decision maker in your target prospect' s office that is relevant to your product or service offering. For example, don' t call the CEO if you are selling a$ 100 solution. Make sure you are calling the highest relevant decision maker, not just the highest decision maker. Do call the CEO if you are offering an enterprise - wide information management system, or do call the VP of HR if you are offering a retained search service for executives at a$ 50, 000 per placement investment. Worst - case scenario result?

Best - case scenario result? - your high level contact will refer you to someone else, lower down in the organization. You engage with them and start a sales conversation. Decision Maker: "You need to speak to Joe in Accounting about that. Let' s examine what to do if your decision maker refers you to speak to someone else, (lower than them) in the organization. It' s his responsibility" You: Thanks for referring me to Joe. Decision Maker: Thanks.

I' ll be sure to call him today. - joe is your man! In my experience working with( companies like your prospect) on projects of this scope and investment ultimately the final decision will be made by the VP( use the same title you are calling into. ). You: I can appreciate that Joe will have a lot of influence on this project. Is that going to be the case with you? You: Super. Decision Maker: Yes, of course I will make the final decision.

Thanks for letting me know. - decision maker: sounds great. How about, that you and I agree to touch base every so often then to ensure that Joe and I are meeting your expectations. You now have an open invitation to call your decision maker at any time during the process without going over anyone' s" head" . Dealing With Your Current Prospects. The above approach works so well you can use it on all new decision making level prospects you are going to call after reading this article! I know you have opportunities in your pipeline today where you are not dealing with the decision maker.

So, what can you do with all these current deals where you know, that you are, or sense not working with the decision maker? - you probably know it too... whether you want to admit it or not is a different issue! You have three Options: � Let it ride, cross your fingers and hope it will eventually go your way. � Go over the influencer' s head to jumpstart the deal. � Use your influencer to get the deal moving. Option B risks sacrificing the trust and rapport you have built with your contact and their colleagues, which could cause the deal to fail. Hoping and wishing and praying are never the best sales strategies, so forget about the first option. What you need are the choices and the strong relationship provided by Option C. Try the following plan to bring the true decision maker to the table: You: "I have enjoyed working with you on this project, and I think you have a great vision.

That means turning your influencer into a coach. - my concern is that no one on your management team knows the work you have done, and is not committed to getting the project completed. What should we do? " At this point your influencer has two options: You' re right and there' s no genuine interest in investigating the deal, in which case you should politely close the file and move onto other prospects. If this project fails, will any one other than you notice? " Influencer: "Oh, yes, there are many. " You: "Who? " Influencer( after a long and uncomfortable silence) : "I guess, there, really' s no one. " You: "I' m sorry to hear that, but if it' s reality, we need to deal with it. Or, The supporter realizes they must take you to those interested in the deal and able to push it along, i. e. , "I guess I need to take you in to see my boss! " Knowing how to transform influencers into coaches is critical to winning the business. Using your coach to get to the decision makers will ensure the sales cycle stays rolling. Only decision makers can buy.

Now it' s up to you and the coach to win over the boss.