It’s a common scenario: you’ve maximized the amount of sales that you’re going to gain from you point of contact in middle management. Maybe they prefer another provider, don’t see the big picture and look at you as a vendor rather than a partner, or maybe they just don’t have the skill set to influence decisions within their organization. Regardless of the reason, you’ve got to get above them.
How many times have you tried to move up the ladder in one of your customer’s organizations, only to be stopped by your point of contact in middle management? Should you by-pass your point of contact? After all, if you get the attention of the General Manager or President, who cares what the Security Manager thinks, right? Well, that was the right answer in 1998. In today’s world of buying security, the decisions are made by committees. Continuing with this example, if the GM was making the decision, the Security Manager would still have a major influence, so burning that bridge would be futile.
If your POC won’t make the connection, the best way to upper management is to be introduced by another person in upper management … and all you need is one. Use the following strategy to implement this process
- Identify who you want to meet.
- Brainstorm on all the people who could introduce you. Most of these people will be from other accounts. For example, if you’re trying to get in front of a CFO, think of the CFOs or Controllers from your top customers – especially the ones in the same type of business. The probability is pretty high that they’ll know them.
- Call those people (don’t email), and ask if they’d be comfortable making an introduction on your behalf. Their introduction can be email.
- Once you receive the introduction, let your POC know by email and let him know that you’ll keep him posted and involved. Don’t call because they might stop you.
- Schedule the appointment, and keep your POC in the loop. Use language that prevents your POC from ambushing the whole thing. For example: “I’ve been working with Ben for months, and we’re close to creating a way to put much of your security system on an operating budget. In my next visit with Ben, I’d like to take a few minutes to show you the concept and see if you’re a fit for it.”
There are dozens of other methods to gaining access to the C-Suite or upper management, but an introduction from one of their peers always goes a long way. However, remember to keep you POC included.
