Salespeople often develop the belief that if they are selling their product, the target person they need to communicate with is a bureaucrat in the organization whose business card says “Director of Product.” However, in most cases, these are not the people with whom you can discuss the business problems that your product or service can solve.
If we look at a company as an organization that exists in a stable state due to a set of conflicting interests, we will find that all key decisions are made either to increase revenue or to reduce expenses. Everything else is just support. It is very rare for a technical director, even as a member of the company’s board, to participate in strategic decision-making. It is uncommon for an IT director to be strong enough to make decisions rather than just respond to requests from internal clients. There are few HR directors who feel independent and can pursue their own policies motivated by the interests of the entire company. However, exceptions do occur, and it is possible to find individuals with the authority to make decisions.
The seller may think that they made a sale by communicating with a specialized manager, but in reality, the specialized manager was simply processing an order from an internal client, and the company’s needs for the solution provided by the seller had already been established. It wasn’t the seller who was selling; it was the buyer who was buying. Experienced sellers, who consistently targeted specialized managers as potential contacts, inevitably encountered such exceptions sooner or later. Their experience tells them that they need to meet with specialized managers. After all, if you look at their work history and the client portfolio they have, it’s clear that all their deals were made at the level of specialized managers. Yet, relying on their own experience, sellers continue to pursue people who are generally not competent in strategic issues like the company’s profitability.
In the grand scheme of things, any business solution that a seller wants to offer means either cutting costs or increasing profits through some investment in the proposed purchase. To hit a target with a bow, you need to aim above it. The law of universal gravitation will bring the arrow down by the time it reaches the target. The same goes for business. You need to aim higher. The further away the target, the higher you need to aim. The larger the solution you are selling, the more you should discuss it at a higher level. If your solution impacts the company’s performance by even 1%, it falls under the highest level of competence. You should meet and discuss investments and profits with those who truly care and who are actually responsible for these performance indicators within the company.
But the seller has no chance of meeting the owner if they are aiming for the clerk. You can always meet with the clerk later. And you will always be pushed down the ladder. Start at a high level. Moreover, it’s simply cheaper. The owner is not interested in corruption. Often, this is a problem with the sellers themselves. They just don’t see the picture from the perspective of specific investments in exchange for specific results. They simply aren’t at the right level to easily engage the owner in topics that are of interest to them.
And the sellers are unable to consult the client, helping them with their choice. All they see is the money that the client should be ready to pay for the solution they offer. Such sellers, in search of clients, are drawn to the smell of money, like Komodo dragons are drawn to the smell of blood. Poor clients, especially those with large budgets, are forced to endure a constant siege from sellers of all kinds.
But the elephant hunters die of hunger, while the elephants continue on their way. Large budgets do not mean there is money. They mean the opposite. I have no money. No one ever — they are predetermined, and this predetermination is essentially the budget. When a salesperson comes to a company with something new, they simply have no chance to develop the client’s need into a desire to buy if they don’t communicate with those who not only “manage their budget” but also see the bigger picture. If such a salesperson has sales experience, in most cases, those weren’t sales. They were purchases. And only if one is patient enough to plan a year ahead can they sell a solution to a large company, navigating it through the budgeting process, hoping that the clerk the salesperson is dealing with can similarly sell your solution to everyone else in the company without being accused of corruption.
But the modern world is such that one year is too long. Technologies and paradigms often change within a year. A year can be too late. Even if the funds for your solution have already been allocated and you are waiting for the purchase, an alternative solution that has emerged during your struggle—one that costs less, is implemented faster, is safer, has a more user-friendly interface, and is free of the predecessor’s flaws—can easily shift the company’s mood and “your” money will go to a competitor.
Of course, there are organizations whose owners are inaccessible or unclear. It’s impossible to meet with them. Should you sell to them? Yes. However, it’s important to understand that the influence of the seller’s skills on the purchasing process in such organizations is minimal. There are certainly clients and products where the specialized manager is the only person in the company who is knowledgeable about issues important to the seller. Additionally, there are clients who are government agencies, and they operate within a budget. In this case, selling is also possible. Just keep in mind that the problems a seller can solve by offering their solution are somewhat different in nature compared to the issues addressed in commercial organizations.
The government agency needs to secure the budget for the next year, justify the amounts in the budget items, provide evidence of the effectiveness and economic impact of the implemented solution, and be prepared for audits and inspections. For government agencies, paperwork and deadlines are more important than quality. They need assistance. However, it is most effective to communicate with government agencies at the highest level. Lower levels are often afraid of being accused of corruption if they attempt to promote a specific solution.
Lower-level employees cannot negotiate a win in a tender without the knowledge of their supervisor, and they bear no responsibility for budget discipline. There is another opportunity for sellers who communicate with specialized managers, which arises when the specialized manager is not competent in their area. Often, they even try to hide their incompetence during general meetings when more than one person represents the company. They may become defensive and do their best to rationalize the absence of such a wonderful solution that you are offering in their company so far.
It’s important to understand that in well-structured organizations, even the top leader won’t dare (or won’t be able) to sign a document without the approval of the relevant manager, and if that manager is opposed to you, it doesn’t bode well. However, if you can meet with them one-on-one, engage in conversation, and understand their pain points and needs, the salesperson can become a private, trusted advisor, offering recommendations like a doctor gives prescriptions. In this case, the salesperson positions themselves as a consultant and builds a trusting relationship with the manager.
But it’s important to remember that if you are already acting as a consultant, be one until the end. Be honest with the manager, show all options and possibilities. Do everything you can to ensure that your words are trusted when the time comes to sell what the client truly needs and what you are actually selling. Remember, you are not selling; you are facilitating a purchase. Therefore, your sincere consultations won’t harm your sales. Building a trusting relationship with the relevant manager will allow you to be in the right place at the right time. All you need is for them to turn to you for advice.