CHAPTER 20

Winning at the Enterprise Level

The common thread linking global giants with the smallest of companies is they’re all comprised of people just like you and me. The only thing different is the number of zeros in their yearly results and the set of rules by which they play. Everything you’ve read so far in this book will help you get into even the largest of companies.

When prospecting big companies, your objective is to find out as rapidly as possible answers to these five questions:

1.What are the goals/objectives they need to accomplish?

2.What barriers are they facing?

3.What is the timeline they operate under?

4.Where is the power within the company?

5.What is the company’s tolerance for risk?

That’s it. There’s no need to overcomplicate things. The challenge becomes finding the people who can help you uncover the answers to these questions, because only when you have answers will you know how you can assist each company.

Your objective is to avoid being routed to purchasing. If all you’re looking for is a lead, then go ahead and go directly to purchasing, but the task of then converting the lead to a good prospect and ultimately to a customer will be difficult. Your best approach is to find people in the organization who will answer your questions and fill one of the critical roles in the customer buying process.

The Roles People Play

Ultimately, the lead you uncover also will help you find the seven types of people many salespeople encounter when selling to large companies:

1.User: The person who will use what you sell.

2.Owner: The person who owns the budget that will provide the funds to purchase.

3.Decision Maker: The person who owns the decision-making process.

4.Champion: The person who works on your behalf to advance the process.

5.Influencer: The person who wants to be involved in the decision-making process.

6.Optimizer: The person who is proactive in finding ways to create a better outcome.

7.Road Blocker: The person who, usually for their own gain, will attempt to sabotage or block a decision.

These seven people will not exist in every situation; however, the larger the company or the larger the project, the greater the number of people who will be looking to play a role in the decision. Your goal is to understand what position your lead is in and, as opportunities arise, to find other contacts in the company who will fill the other roles.

To connect, use the strategies I’ve discussed in previous chapters. But as you move forward to make contact, don’t be lulled into a false sense of belief due to a person’s title. The set of rules by which a big company plays starts with titles. I was working with one of the largest corporations in the world recently, and the person to whom I was talking had the title of “Commercial Services.” On the surface this doesn’t sound impressive, yet she was responsible for more than $1 billion in business! It would have been easy for me to assume she wouldn’t have buying authority, but clearly that was not the case. A simple concept I go by is the bigger the company, the smaller the titles. The solution is in the questions you ask, because unless you have direct knowledge of the company’s organizational structure you will never know going in who the various players are and, more importantly, what they actually do. To help uncover some of the mysteries within a company when it comes to titles, I use three different websites: LinkedIn, Data.com Connect, and Glassdoor. These three sites provide excellent insights into titles, and by reading job descriptions you will gain an overview as to a contact’s span of control.

When making contact, never hide the fact that your goal is to get them as a customer. This does not mean you start the first contact by saying, “Buy from me now.” No, you lead by trying to gain information to help you get answers to one or more of the five questions listed at the beginning of this chapter.

You may be with a small company looking to sell to the global corporation, but during your prospecting phase, you cannot allow the prospect to view you as a small company. The more they see you as a peer who speaks their language, understands their rulebook, and is not in awe of their company size, the greater your probability for success. People in large companies don’t have time to train a salesperson on the nuances of how a big company works.

Best Practices

When I’m working with sales teams to develop their prospecting skills while dealing with large companies, I outline the following five best practice techniques:

1.At the end of any conversation, ask if there is somebody else in the company who also can give you input. Your objective is to expand your influence in the company as much as possible.

2.Try to find out how they have made similar buying decisions in the past, including budgeting issues, timelines, contract requirements, vendor approvals, and bidding processes. The earlier you know this information, the better you will understand the desired timeline and with whom you need to be working.

3.With each lead you get, regardless of the number of leads you have within a company, keep them engaged via email. Send them emails containing key information about the industry, a competitor, or other relevant insights. Your objective is to engage them enough to see you as a valued resource with great information.

4.Follow up with each person who appears in an email as a “cc.” The same applies to anyone mentioned in a meeting or in a document. Your objective is to open as many connections as possible.

5.If someone says you should contact the purchasing department, your immediate response must be that now is not the time for you to contact purchasing, because there are too many questions you need answered.

These five steps will allow you to better understand who is filling each of the seven roles listed earlier in this chapter as you move through the selling process.

Finally, never allow a single lead to give you the impression they are your contact for the entire company. The larger the company, the more segmented it tends to be—meaning your lead may have influence over only a small part of the company. This is the key reason I believe you must always be prospecting big companies, regardless of the number of leads you may already have.