Midway through the sales process, you might find your deals stagnating because you’re just not talking to the right people. In today’s episode, our host Donald Kelly talks with Jakub Hon about connecting with the stakeholder who can make that final call. We’re sure you’re going to get a lot out of this interview. For more from Jakub, check out his webinar on August 2nd at 8 AM Eastern!
Recognize the Buyer
The buyer is someone who can say yes, even when the team says no, or vice versa. They have the final say on where the budget is going to be allocated.
If your “champion” at the organization is on board, your next task is to probe them for more information that will lead you to the economic buyer.
Ask questions about the organization’s approval process so you can start mapping it out.
Ask “numbers” questions about budget, revenue, etc. to find out whether your champion knows the answers or knows someone who does.
Stay aligned with your champion all the way through the process – you still want them on your team!
Get Your Prospect to a Meeting
If your champion doesn’t want you to bypass them to talk to their boss, ask questions they’re not able to answer and they’ll direct you to the person who can. If that doesn’t work, be blunt.
It’s okay to give and take. Sellers like to give, don’t forget to ask for something in return! Offer things like demos and free trials in exchange for contact information for higher-ups.
If you reach out to the economic buyer and they brush you off onto someone else, ask for a short meeting with them to discuss their perspective on where the business is headed. This won’t be a conversation about features – let them know that!
Encourage Them to Talk
If there is information out there on the company, you should already know it. Don’t ask the economic buyer about their value proposition. Do your homework.
Start or end the message with questions. Even if they don’t answer the question, it may spark interest.
All communication should be relevant and direct.
Keep your conversation about business and not about features.
“If you’re not aligning with the economic buyer and you talk just to your champion… usually these deals slip from the pipeline, because, guess what? There’s the competition talking to the [other stakeholders] and involving the economic buyer in their sales process. If you’re not in control of the process, there’s somebody else controlling the process.” – Jakub Hon
Resources
“How to Sell to the C-Suite” Webinar on August 2nd – Registration Link
Connect with Jakub Hon on LinkedIn
Sponsorship Offers
This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.
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2. This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.
I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.
Credits
As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.