How to Get CEOs to Love You,
Your Technology and
Get Your Contracts Signed Faster!
Article Contributed by Oreste "Rusty" D'Aversa, President
SELL More Technology NOW!
www.SELLMoreTechnologyNOW.com
Know, Like and Trust
Know, like and trust are the three most important characteristics senior management people like to see in sales professional when doing business with your organization. Though these are “soft” quality they are extremely important. People buy emotionally and justify intellectually. If you do not strike the right cords with the senior management team chances are very good they will not sign your contract. These characteristics can be achieved by any number of ways. Know – perform a needs analysis consultation, by doing so you are spending time with your prospect. Like – when talking to senior management and ask them about their professional needs, wants and desires. Trust – keep your word on everything – say what you mean and mean what you say!
Consultative Seller
Another very important characteristic of a technology-based sales executive is to be a strong consultative seller. When meeting with senior management learn about their business and what the real problems are with their technology operations. Many times you are
told what the “symptoms” are of the problem and are not being told the true cause. Do your best to get to the core or root of the problem. By doing so you may even find a larger deal than you anticipated. Also, be an active listener when speaking with senior members of the management. Many senior management team members tell me that too many sales people come in and really do not “hear” what is being said but rather are just interested in getting their deal signed and their solution installed as quickly as possible.
Persistent but Professional
Senior management people are extremely busy with running the affairs of their companies. Your technology contract may not be the number one priority on their mind. Fear not if it is on their list they will get back to you. What to do in the mean time? Be persistent and
professional. When calling always ask for a time that is good for your prospect. Morning, noon or night, be accessible for senior management to call you. Make it is easy to buy from you. Leave your office number, cell phone number and email address so you can be contacted immediately. If you are working a hot opportunity and
your deal is in the contract phase, you’re getting ready to close. So how often should to contact senior management? While there is no rule written in stone, I would suggest no more that three times within a given week. A tip is to call before or after business hours as these are the times when there is no one in the office and you may get a senior member of the management team to pick up the phone.
What you have learned in this article have been real life – battle tested techniques that are currently being used in the field to get members of the senior management team to like you, your technology based products and services and to get your contracts signed faster. While no one technique is absolute and works every time like having a “Swiss Army Knife” (different techniques for different circumstances) approach will greatly increase your probability of closing more technology based deals.
Oreste "Rusty" D'Aversa has more than 20 years experience in technology-based sales. He is a speaker, consultant, author, university lecturer and advisor to senior management providing strategic sales planning, consulting and training services to technology based: corporations, small to medium sized businesses, entrepreneurs, sales people and consultants. He is author of the book, SELL More Technology NOW! Proven Sales Methods and Established Practices that Deliver Results. He can be reached at 201-727-9368 or email [email protected] Visit www.SELLMoreTechnologyNOW.com for more information.
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