About Lesson
Establishing High Level Relationships
- Who took you to the dance?
- Who is your contact in relation to the decision maker?
- You should strive to have direct contact with the person who makes the final decision. This isn’t always as easy as it sounds, however. You may often not have immediate direct contact with the final decision maker, and that’s okay! Creating a network of connections within the company will help build trust and work your way towards upper management.
- Connect with and get contact information from everyone, warehouse workers to C-Suite and receptionists to sales reps.
- Overcoming the purchaser
- The purchaser may change or be overruled by their manager.
- Having multiple points of contact throughout the organization will help you identify who influences the purchaser’s decisions.
- Everybody has a different WIIFM
- WIIFM stands for What’s In It For Me?
- As a salesperson you must put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and ask WIIFM
- It can be difficult to remove what YOU are getting out of a situation and focus on only the BUYER wants and needs.
- What is in it for them?
- Highest quality premium product, best in industry customer service, competitive pricing and an unparalleled ease of doing business.
- Each decision maker will have their own WIIFM.
- Overcoming the fear of going to the top
- Don’t be afraid to have a conversation or develop a relationship with the big man on campus.
- It can be intimidating to speak directly to the owner or president of a company you’re doing business with, but it’s crucial for developing a long lasting relationship with the company.
- Establishing rapport with senior leadership enables you to sidestep low-level decision-makers while shaping their decision-making processes. This effectively reduces the time required for your proposal to make its way through the organizational structure.
- If you are not be able to go directly to the top, it is beneficial to make connections with people at all levels of the company. This insulates you from competition beating you to a sale.
