skill
How to Identify the Decision Maker at a New Account LAINE EHMANN
Finding a needle in a haystack may be a breeze com- pared to identifying the decision maker in a big com- pany that’s a new prospect. Making your way in a new organization can be a
real gauntlet of false starts and missed opportunities. While the people you need to reach and influence may be sitting in the huge corner office, they could just as easily be riding a forklift down at the loading dock – or number-crunching over in the accounting suite. Locat- ing the real decision makers in any business takes a combination of tenacity, know-how, and down-home charm. Read on to get the inside scoop on getting, well, the inside skinny.
STEP 1. DO YOUR RESEARCH Before you even pick up the phone or sit down at the
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computer to email a contact, start your homework, sug- gests one seasoned sales manager. “The first thing I do is try to understand where that company is going – to try to internalize what’s happening inside that organization,” she says. Start with public-domain information. Hit the press releases, financial reports, and news pieces to start paint- ing a picture of the company, its industry and competitors, and its business goals and objectives. A senior consultant suggests using information aggregator
Hoovers.com for additional data.
When you do your research, look beyond a basic com- pany and staff overview. Dig deeper and see what execu- tives are saying about the company and where it’s heading relative to its competitors and end customers. What are they stating as their primary goals, and do their actions and initiatives match their words? “You can then get a very
Help reps navigate a big company.
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