More and more, there is an increasing demand that sales people and account managers develop the skills to engage with senior level executives in their client and prospect companies. The level of value we create as a sales organisation is limited by our ability – or inability – to have the necessary dialogue that allows us to create higher levels of value.
It isn’t easy to develop the skills necessary to engage in a strategic dialogue with C-Level executives. But there are some things that you can do to make it a lot easier – and to enjoy much greater success when you do.
Know How You Create Value
C-Level executives are consistently short on one thing: time. They are protective of their time because they have so little of it when you compare it to the demands of their organisation and its stakeholders, or against the results that they need to produce.
This means you have limited time to get your C-Level executive’s attention. You are expected to know exactly how you create value for companies like theirs, and you are expected to have some understanding of what you can do for them – even before you speak with them.
This isn’t always about research; it’s about knowing who you are, what you do, and how you make a difference. When you call on high-level executives, you don’t have the same time to build rapport as you might if you were calling on someone lower in an organisation. Someone lower in the organisation may need more time for rapport building because you are going to work closely with them should they choose to move forward with you.
You also don’t have time to fish around for ideas that might indicate some dissatisfaction. That might work if you have time, but you don’t have that luxury here. You have to know how and what you can do to make a difference.
This is why I believe it is a mistake to believe that you should always enter an organisation at the top (this is, of course, a generalisation and all generalisations are lies). You must be able to ask questions that demonstrate you know where the issues are, and that you know how to increase revenue and profitability, and reduce costs (all dissatisfaction ultimately rolls up into one of these categories).You need to know how to create value and get to the point.
Possess the Business Acumen to See Through Their Eyes
To sell and engage an organisation at this level, you have to possess the business acumen necessary to see the business through your C-Level executive’s eyes.
You may not ever be the subject matter expert that your C-Level executive is when it comes to their business, but you had better be able to quickly comprehend the big moving pieces that you touch. You have to understand what drives their business so you can relate what you do to the business. You don’t have to have a perfect understanding, but you should know how they look at their business.
There are lots of C-Level executives who will be willing to give you an education (or the rest of an education), but you have to have a basic fundamental understanding of how business works so you can keep up; this means you need business acumen.
Your C-Level executive is interested in talking about business. You have to be able to keep up.
Prove You Will Own the Outcome
C-Level executives work for all kinds of shareholders. They have their management team to serve. They have their employees to serve.
They have clients to serve. They have a board of directors to serve. The last thing in the world that they need is another dependent. To get a C-Level executive’s attention and be useful to them, you have to prove that you are going to own the outcome.
This is what they want from you, and this is what they are willing to pay you for doing it. To be interesting and useful to a C-Level executive, you are going to have to demonstrate that you are going to own the outcome that you sell. They aren’t hiring a sales person to work for them; they are hiring a manager who will own the result and do what is necessary to ensure that it is achieved. Explain that you are going to own the outcome, and that you will be there to see the objective achieved.
Own the Next Steps
What you want from a C-Level executive is permission to proceed. You own the next step. All you need from them is their blessing to move forward. If they have to do work for you to move forward, it isn’t going to get done and they won’t need you. Instead, you are going to end up with unanswered voicemails, unanswered emails, and a serious sense of disappointment.
If you need information, ask your C-Level executive whom you should work with to get it. Then get the information. If you need access to people, ask the C-Level executive to forward an email that you send to the parties you need to engage with. You aren’t interesting and useful as a dependent. You are useful and interesting as someone who is going to get things done while they move on to other priorities. You have to take initiative. You do the
work.
You own the next step.
