Reaching the Decision Maker

Written by businessideas.info

When selling a product to a business, it can often be quite difficult to reach the decision maker; the person who will actually decide whether or not to buy a product. Many salespeople focus on their selling and persuasive techniques, but unfortunately, if you cannot reach the decision maker, all of those skills are unable to be used. Therefore, you need to know how to get to the individual in power before you can really start to sell.

Contacting the decision maker may take more creativity then the selling itself. You need to find a way to get around the army of call screeners and assistants to the person who really matters. No one technique works, as every company functions differently and has its own procedures and policies. Despite the inherent dissimilarities that exist, after one gains experience in reaching the purchasing agent, the task becomes much easier.

The first person you usually talk to in a business is the receptionist. During this initial contact, make sure to get the decision maker's name, and in all future calls, refer to the decision maker by their name. This shows that you are competent and persistent, and not so ineffectual that you must continue to ask for the name. Try to get the receptionist to like you, as if they do, they will be more apt to put you through to the person you want. If the need arises, send a thank-you note to the receptionist for helping you out. This will immediately create a relationship and may be the only thing needed for you to succeed.

There are many creative routes for one to take, rather than going through the traditional hierarchy of assistants. You can send a personalized gift to the prospect, along with something that will create curiosity and compel them to contact you. If you take the time to brainstorm, odds are good that you will come up with something that works.