Inside Sales Reps: Contacting the Decision Maker

Don’t. Touch. That. Phone. At least not yet.

You’ve already determined what companies you’re going to target and how it will benefit them. But have you found out who the decision maker is? Do you know who you should contact and what role they play? Chances are you’re assuming it’s the CEO of the company, and that’s where you could end up sabotaging yourself. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to contact them, there can be some serious benefits by calling him or her first. But that’s a different lesson that can be found here.

When you go to call the company, have a plan in place. That plan is to pinpoint who it is you want to talk to. Make a list of the types of decisions makers you might be talking to. It can range from the owner to a single employee. Either way, have a plan in place for anyone you might get on the phone. Know what that person’s function in the company is and what they care about.  If you know what their pain points are and how your product can help them you are off to a great start.

Learn the titles in the company first, and then move on to their functions. An owner’s function is going to be staffing and making the ‘major’ decisions. They are looking at the big picture for the company, usually not the little details.

The VP’s function tends to be more specific. –This makes it very simple to know how their specific  function affects their decision process.

Directors make up the smaller segments under a VP. For example, the Director of IT is someone who might be a point of contact at some point in the sales process. Keep this in mind if this is who you end up talking to as a decision maker.

When reaching out to a decision maker, you probably don’t want to go any lower than a director. A random person in marketing may be a window to the decision maker, but you shouldn’t spend all your time here.

As you make these lists of what the titles are and the functions they hold, compare them to your current client list. This will assist you in knowing where to go from there.  It can help you save time and energy if you know what the decision maker does in the company and how your product or service helps them.

It might help to make a table with titles and functions listed. If you know what you will say to each person your chances of success are far greater.

What are some things that you have found that help you before you even pick up the phone?

 

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