I was listening to a group of b2b sales talk about getting into the executive offices for sales visits – read as sales presentations in most cases. The interesting thing about the discussions was the fact that no one felt sales people were the main issue.
In other words, these sales people were talking about how these executives were spoiled, their egos were too big to meet with them, and the executives were arrogant or too good to visit with the sales people. It was all I to do to keep from laughing.
Executives are human beings and thus they also act like humans and do things the same way anyone would do. Okay, I know I just confused everyone – including myself ? . So let me explain what has actually happened and tell you about the four major reasons Executives prefer to limit their visits with sales people.
Here are the four major reasons Executives choose to do other things than visit with sales people…
- Delegation
Some executives believe it is more important to delegate certain decisions to lower levels and thus delegate these meetings to others to meet with the sales people. While this can be disappointing to the sales person involved it is just a preference and not personal so stay positive. - Formality of Structure
Now this one is a bit more of a mystery since it deals with an executives personal beliefs that the formal structure of the organization dictates who actually visits with whom. Again, this is not personal – it is the personal preference of the executive to follow their own rules of engagement. - Limited Time
These executives are feeling stretched to the limits of time. They actually feel they have no time in their schedules to meet with anyone – including outside sales people. This is strictly a time management issue and is usually hard to counter. And, it is the Executives role to run the organization and be thinking strategically for the overall good of their organization rather than the perception of tactic or operational decisions. - Previous Experience is Negative
This is the major reason executives turn down the opportunity to meet with all the sales people calling on their for appointments. The traditional sales person has made the worst of their opportunities and have set the stage for the future generations of sales people to be rejected by the real decision makers. How did this happen? Old school or traditional sales techniques and tactics designed to push a sales on the executive.
The truth is the executives actually want to buy rather than being sold. They want to buy from people they see as trusted business advisers looking to help improve the performance of the executive’s organization. Therefore, there is little pushing and a lot of questioning and listening. Then efforts are made to show the impact of any change.
There you have the four major reasons for executives saying no to any visits with you or other b2b sales. Your strategy should be about learning the modern sales methodologies based upon the questioning model of sales in addition to becoming an experienced expertise in delivering results for your customers.
The better you become the more people talk about you or your company. Then if you do additional things like speaking at industry conferences or get involved in writing white papers on how things get done – then you become someone the executive is interested in meeting.
Learn the keys to using the questioning model of b2b sales. You will not only sell more than you ever have in the past – you will be seen by the executives and customers as key person for their organization also. It is your choice so think about it and then take action.
Voss Graham
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