Closing is still a necessary skill for greatness, but it’s different today. Over a four-week period, I’m presenting four ideas to closing sales in the security technology industry today. Last week we introduced the series and Idea #1: You’ve got to prepare your point of contact (POC) to close the sale for you. This week we present our next idea on closing sales.
Idea #2: Get to know the members of the decision-making committee.
To fully deliver helpful information on this topics, it’s probably best to list the best-practices to maximize your relationships with the committee members:
- First, accept that there isn’t likely one decision-maker, but a committee composed of multiple people making the decision. Having a strong relationship with your point of contact is great, but not enough.
- As early as possible, ask about the steps in the decision-making process, and the people that are involved. No need to use terms like “committee” or “decision-makers”. Just ask about the steps of the process and the people involved.
- Ask your point of contact how to meet with each member. The reason for your meetings is to understand each person’s needs. I call this the listen and learn step in the process. If your point of contact doesn’t cooperate but also doesn’t object, reach out proactively to each member and keep your POC in the loop. If your point of contact objects to you meeting with the other members, ask them for help in understanding what’s important to the others. It’s usually during this process that they’ll loosen up and introduce you.
- When meeting with each member, create a matrix that details each one’s challenges, what they need, and any other relevant notes. This matrix is an excellent tool to show you point of contact or the person in charge of the committee.
- Use your experience and skills to deepen your relationships with each member.
Now that you’ve prepared your POC (Idea #1) and know all the members (Idea #2), it’s time for Idea #3 to closing sales today. Tune in next week.
