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Top-Down Selling
Top-Down Selling
Top-Down Selling: Agenda
Acquire the confidence and skills to sell effectively to senior managers- you need to practice!
Understand what drives each executive’s buying decisions Penetrate gatekeepers and other obstacles to secure
appointments with high-level managers Tailor and deliver presentations to achieve executive buy-in Build trust and credibility at the highest levels of your
customer’s organization – at the fiscal levelClose sales faster by gaining access to the top decision makers in
parallel to bottom-up effortsGuarantee repeat business through strong high-level
Relationships and proactive customer satisfaction efforts
Senior Executive
Technician
Benefits
Features
Projects
Products
The Sales effort required tosell Higher in an organizationis usually Greater, the time ittakes is usually Longer, butthe Reward for doing sois substantial Larger!
Understanding the Requirements:Selling to Senior Executives
Understand the roles and responsibilities of senior management, who makes decisions, what they need
Clarify the issues and processes governing executive level decision making- acknowledge them.
Understand your own behavioral and communications style and practice clean, business-level delivery
Adapt your own selling approach and behavioral style to maximize your selling effectiveness with senior executives
Think in terms of benefits to your customer of your proposed solutions- these are not feature discussions!
Do NOT discuss Price! VALUE, VALUE, VALUE!
Account Navigation (Inbound)
SysAdmin SysAdmin SysAdmin
VP of IT
IT Mgr
IT Director
IT MgrIT Mgr2
3
3
4
4
IT Director5
7
6
1
INBOUND: You Typically
StartHere
Account Navigation (Outbound)
SysAdmin SysAdmin SysAdmin
VP of IT
IT Mgr
IT Director
IT MgrIT Mgr2
3
1
2
2
IT Director3
5
4
3
Outbound:You StartWith bestContact
Developing Territory Plans Assess business potential with existing and prospective accounts
and assert energy in proportion
Determine which accounts offer the greatest payoff for involving senior executives, then prioritize your time
Identify the Highest-Level decision maker in your customers' or prospects' organizations and strive to reach them early
Ascertain the roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in the buying process – don’t get stuck selling LOW
Plan when and how to include senior executives in your selling paradigm, offer value to senior managers
KNOW “Your solutions”’ CIO Benefits
Your solutions increase operational capacity/efficiency – do more with less
Your solutions positively address ………..requirementsYour solutions help to reduce costsYour solutions help to maintain customer satisfaction
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THESE?
Getting the Initial Appointment Select the most successful approach for contacting senior
executive customers or prospects – Usually using the phone or Linkedin and usually by leveraging an introduction from within!
Penetrate gatekeepers and other obstacles by presenting a fiscally responsible message, strategic impacts, etc
Secure a 30-Minute, Face-to-Face meeting with ANY IT-related senior executive customer or prospect
Make a positive first impression utilizing a powerful Opening Statement – specific to THEIR needs!
Request peers and/or subordinates early, and determine the decision tree structure.
Respect their time, their structure, their processes!
Pre-contact Preparations:Do Your Homework!
Understand your company own capabilities, resources, and vision and utilize this information to develop "Solutions" for senior executives in THEIR terms
Gather information which is pertinent and relative to the discussion at hand. Use research tools like the WEB and the media to understand THEIR business
Continuously identify opportunities by monitoring your competitors and key industry and market trends, proposing solutions pro-actively
Align your solutions and services with your Customer’s mission, goals, and objectives for mutually beneficial outcomes
Aligning Your Presentation with Your Customer’s Goals
Align Your Presentation with the senior executive’s Goals and Objectives – Use examples from THEIR industry, modify your presentation individually
Present "Value" versus "Features and Benefits“Develop and present powerful statements that convey
the value you, your company, and our products can provide to them. These statements must be DEFINITIVE and LEADING.
Adapt your presentation style to communicate more effectively with a senior executive customer – in general a much more formal, summarized approach is best to use.
Discovery: Your First Meeting with the Senior Executive Customer Understand the nuances of handling the Discovery Process with
a C-level executive – what their words meanBuild early rapport based upon your homework- FIRST!Confirm time availability, STICK TO IT! Validate your research findings with your senior executive
customer or prospect, ask for their agreement on your findings and the opportunities you see
Gather the information you need to identify and prioritize viable opportunities (within this account) to pursue
Look for agreement from senior executive to SPONSOR these sales efforts at their level, referring future decision makers to this sponsor’s approval.
Professional tone in meeting with clear and concise closing
After the Call: ACTIONS! You MUST follow-up on each and every question raised during
the meeting or commitment for future efforts. YOU OWN THIS.Explore ALL contact paths in parallel using each step to leverage
the othersSend a THANK-YOU letter, in writing signed by YOU. Send
ONLY pertinent literature, a small gift.Advise of next steps to set his/her level of expectation, WHO
and WHEN you’ll next act.Solicit his continued support in the long-term relationship
Forwarding the Sales Cycles
Understand and manage complex selling cycles Involving C-level Decision Makers
Continuously build momentum to forward the sales cycle using buy-ins from other senior executives and sponsors
Do not skip or overlook articulated obstacles. These WILL return to the table BEFORE they spend money!
Overcome the most common objections from senior executives and be prepared to address these up front
Always refer to THEIR value, not our products.
Building Long-term Partnerships
Leverage your relationship to maximize Account Penetration and obtain high-level referrals and sponsors
Competitor-proof your accounts by showing deep understanding, huge customer acceptance, etc
Avoid relationship-ending mistakes such as organization structures, side-bar comments, inside information
Build and maintain long-term, mutually beneficial relationships – it all about Account SERVICING
Develop and Implement an Action Plan to continually increase your value to your customers' organizations (Easy to do business with, pro-active tech support, crisp order processing, etc)
