9 People You NEED to Know

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’ve got a new client, maybe you just got some new territory. You’re making good progress, building a solid relationship, scheduling follow-up meetings and learning about your client’s needs and priorities. In short, you’re doing everything right.

UNTIL...your main contact at the company accepts a job somewhere else, puts in their two weeks notice, and forgets to tell you. WOMP WOMP. Next time you log in for a meeting no one shows up, you can’t get your emails returned and now you’re back to square one. All that time and effort...poof...out the window. Yikes.

Here’s the thing, we’ve all been there. I know I have. It’s frustrating and a little embarrassing to have so much time and effort wasted. But if it keeps happening over and over again? Well, that’s just on you.

The old adage is true -- fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice...yeah, that’s on me.

You can’t rely on one main contact at a company to pull a deal through to completion. And you shouldn’t rely on one person in the beginning either. As soon as you’re in talks with someone you need to bring others in as soon as possible. So if someone leaves, you’re not in the cold. And neither is the client! This is an important point -- it’s for the client’s benefit that you make more connections.

Remember your goal: solve, don’t sell. You’re here to solve problems and implement solutions, not to sell stuff no one needs.

You’ve got to know the right people. You’ve got to know what they want, what’s important to them, and their top business priorities to get things moving in the right direction.

Who do I need to know?

Great question. This past summer, I had an intern doing research for me and helping get some of my systems in order. It was awesome. I highly recommend hard-working interns. But that’s beside the point. During their research, we discovered that I worked with the same 9 people in almost every account. Coincidence? Hardly.

Those people are...

CEO
CFO
CIO
CSCO
IT Director
VP of IT
Procurement Lead
Project Lead
Main Stakeholder

Each of these roles has slightly different priorities and goals. And while that’s not the subject of this particular post, it’s important to do the legwork to understand individual needs. (Read This Sales Life’s Avatar Series to find more info on that!)

The people above are the decision-makers in the company. Big things don’t happen without them on board. Which means, you’ve got to get to know them, understand them, and solve their problems in order to make big sales.

Use Current Events

But CEOs and CFOs don’t take meetings with everyone who calls. You’ve got to get creative to get on their calendar. The best way to do this? Use current events!

Best way to do this? Google alerts.

An aware rep uses current events to get to know the right people. Which means, staying on the cutting edge of what’s happening right now for those in your territory. Set a google alert for your clients -- know the minute they’re in the news, AND how you can help.

Use the headlines to your advantage. But don’t use the headlines to TAKE advantage. When tragedy strikes and a huge data breach occurs, it’s not time for you to swoop in happily to make that cash. It’s time for you to help your client by getting them the services and tools they need to recover and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Attitude and intention are everything. No sleazy sales reps here. We’re in the business of helping and problem solving.

Relevant Reps Get the Meeting

Staying on top of current events is an easy way to open a conversation with your client. In fact, if something is happening in the company and you DON’T mention it, clients can easily dismiss you as someone who doesn’t really care about their interests, who doesn’t know what’s going on, and who they don’t have time for.

A few years ago, a client of mine had a minor data breach. Nothing Equifax-sized (thank goodness!) but definitely an issue to be addressed. So, I knew that knowledge could help me get in front of the right people.

BUT ALSO, I knew I wasn’t going to lead my next email with, “Sorry you got hacked bro.”

In our next meeting, the topic came up and, since I was informed, I was able to respond with relevant data plus SOLUTIONS. I mentioned how other companies are facing hefty fines and there are ways to make sure that doesn’t happen to them. We spoke about hosting some advanced security training for employees, auditing their current security system, and test-hacking to find where their holes might be.

If I hadn’t been aware of the recent breach, I wouldn’t have been prepared for that meeting. And if I hadn’t known the right people and their priorities, I wouldn’t have understood how to properly pitch ideas in a relevant way.

Account planning is much more than setting a few deadlines and following up with unanswered emails. In order to effectively plan accounts, you’ve got to know the right people, what they need, and what’s happening RIGHT NOW within the company.

So, who do you need to get to know next?

Every new blog series at This Sales Life includes a juicy new freebie that’s only available for a LIMITED TIME! To accompany our new account planning blog series, we’ve created This Sales Life’s Exclusive Account Planning Template. (Cue fanfare!!!)

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This free template will set you up for sales success by providing you with not only a spectacular example, but a clean sheet for you to implement it on your own time.

If you’re enjoying our deep dive into account planning, make sure you snag this free resource so you can integrate the practice into your sales routine. It’s one thing to read about how account planning can help you close more deals and increase your commission, but it’s another to put this knowledge into action. Don’t leave this advice on the blog, take it home to make it work for you!

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