Selling to the C Suite Blog
10 MISTAKES MADE WHEN CALLING ON A CXO (AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID THEM)
Even as an exceptionally talented sales executive, you may find that you are not as successful as you would like to be when it comes to selling to C-level executives. As such you would be joining the ranks of many who are learning that being effective at this level involves a different and more intricate set of elements than needed when selling to those reporting to them. As a result, you can’t expect to close a sale with a C-level executive if you use the same approach as you would at other levels. This is true no matter how large or small the organization is.
Below we discuss some of the mistakes that sales executives make when engaging with C-level executives and how you can avoid them.
When Selling to the C-Suite, You Never Want to Speak Unprofessionally
When you are selling to the C-Suite and you approach a senior executive, it is important to show a practiced and confident facility with their issues. If you do not show this confidence and experience, it will be very difficult for them to put themselves and their organization in your hands. The language you use during your conversation plays a very important role in this. If you repeatedly infuse your language with words such as 'right', 'like', 'um', and ‘you know’, it will sound like you lack confidence or experience and/or are too regularly seeking their endorsement. Doing so will substantially undermine the CXO’s interest in sponsoring...
Always Be Prepared & Do Your Homework When Selling to the C-Suite
Why is it so Important to be Prepared When Selling to the C-Suite? It is important for sales executives to learn as much as is available in the public domain about both the executive and the organization. Understanding these current issues will be essential to helping you build the confidence and trust of the CXO. When you come in reflecting this awareness, the conversation will quickly pick up on the important and relevant topics that need to be discussed. There is everything to be gained by thoroughly doing your homework, and much to be lost if you don’t, especially when selling to the C-Suite. (Note: Be careful. In the words of one of...
Don’t Be Afraid to Share Your Point of View When Selling to the C-Suite
CXOs turn to outsiders for help because they believe that these outsiders have the expertise and skills that they or others in their organization do not have. In order for you to be successful when selling to the C-Suite, you need to engage the CXO early and give them a reason to feel confident that you and your organization have the right experience, knowledge, and skills to effectively address their issue. When Selling to the C-Suite, Bring Your Unique Point of View It is important therefore to combine your understanding of them and their situation with a unique point of view. Without it the CXO can’t know of the prospective value you can...
Why You Need to Know the Impact of Your Solutions When Selling to the C-Suite
When approached by service providers, many senior executives ask themselves if the issue or the outcome of the solution being presented is significant enough to warrant their attention or take any action. The best way to quickly establish the relevance and prospective value of your discussion is to present them – far earlier than you may be comfortable – with a ‘rough-order-of-magnitude’ estimate of the prospective impact of your solution(s). (“Is this a box car or a bread box?”) Since your organization has likely implemented a related solution with other businesses, you can translate those results to your prospect’s current situation to...
Never Show Up to a Meeting Without Examples or Stories When Selling to the C-Suite
In addition, in order to address the CXO’s natural concerns about the prospective risks involved in your solution, you need to tell verifiable stories about how and where your organization has successfully done this before, what you have learned, and what outcomes were achieved.
Always Be Authentic, Confident, and Present When Selling to the C-Suite
Lastly, being confident, authentic, present, and energized when talking to a CXO is essential when establishing trust, making you more memorable and appealing to a CXO. Be present and do what is needed to bring this energy, confidence, and authenticity to the meeting.
Why You Should Never Ask Cliched Questions When Selling to the C-Suite
When selling to the C-Suite, many sales conversations begin with practiced clichéd questions along the lines of “What’s keeping you up at night?” or “We'd like to know about your priorities.” This approach, we have learned, only annoys the CXO! Anyone belonging in that conversation should have done their homework and know their priorities and what keeps (or should keep) that executive up at night. One executive made the point, “This is a business, not a University. It is not my job to educate you.” Typical notions of ‘Discovery’ will not apply here unless your questioning starts deeper into the CXO’s specific interests and...
Not Having a Clear Agenda When Selling to the C-Suite is One Mistake You Should Really Avoid
When approaching a senior executive, it is important to keep in mind that these executives are busy people. If they have made time for you, they have probably come out of another meeting or are soon going into a meeting that could be substantial. It is important, therefore, to make your purpose and agenda for the meeting clear at the outset. Depending on your relationship with the senior executive, you may even want to let them know about the agenda prior to the meeting. Whether you have done this in advance or not, you should always begin with a brief and clear introduction of the purpose of the meeting, and how you propose to use the...
Don’t Leave a Meeting Without an Agreement on Next Steps When Selling to the C-Suite
Surprisingly, a great number of conversations with CXOs fail to conclude with agreement as to what will happen next – concrete, specific, agreed actions for both parties, leaving the CXO confident that the right progress will be made. This is what we mean by closing. It’s not about closing the sale, but constructively advancing the conversation toward doing so, intriguing the CXO, earning their trust and willingness to begin socializing your solution. How to Close the Meeting When Selling to the C-Suite Closing begins from your very first contact with the senior executive. For example, you initially gain agreement as to the best agenda for...
Top Mistake When Selling to the CSuite: Caring More About The Sale Than The CXO
When selling to the C-suite, of course, you want to win the sale. However, those who are most successful with CXOs have a higher priority than just winning the sale, but rather they truly care for the success of the CXO and his or her organization – and it shows. This important orientation motivates them to prepare more thoroughly with concrete examples and stories of what impact their solution could have, enabling them to confidently believe they belong in the meeting, with questions that empathetically reflect insight into those issues and provoke meaningful discussions and clarity. Being Engaged When Selling to the C-Suite A good...
CONCLUSION
Winning the trust and sponsorship of senior executives is different from selling to those who report to them. Those who are effective at initiating and building these relationships bring a different mindset and sense of belonging in the meeting and are careful to avoid the mistakes listed above. Should you wish to learn more, we would enjoy sharing the experience and insights we have concluded from the research and simulations we have conducted with senior executives for over 20 years in over 45 countries.