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Really BIG
Accounts (and how to master them)
BOB TOLIVER
Salespeople who think major-account selling means beating out the competition make a fundamental error in judgment. Understanding the decision tree within an organization is the key. Major-account selling need not be a mysterious maze. Salespeople who aim for the big profits of major accounts need only follow a simple, six-step guide that breaks down the complexity of selling to major accounts.
STEP ONE: UNDERSTAND THE ORGANIZATION AND FIND THE KEY PLAYERS. To develop a clear vision about the company and its key players, keep two sets of files: one to keep track of the general account information – Dun and Bradstreet reports, annual company reports, product literature, and organization charts – and a second file about the key players involved in the sale. For example, in an engineering sale it is not enough to contact the design engineers and project managers. No matter how supportive these managers are, salespeople often find out too late that the head of quality assurance or procurement has veto power and may swing the sale into the hands of a competitor.
On every sales call, make a special effort
to broaden your knowledge of the people in the organization. Carefully probe into the hidden connections between staff and line, engineering and purchasing, manufacturing and top management.
How can salespeople find their way
through a large, multi-layered organization? Ask questions. Anyone who has knowledge about the company is fair game – sales management, purchasing, distributors, suppliers, or any company executive. Sometimes a visit to the local library can be very productive. Look up industry
directories, search for articles about the company, look up key executives in Who’s Who, find organizational relationships in the LexisNexis®
Corporate Affiliations, etc.
Don’t forget to check company Websites, use LinkedIn, and study company annual reports.
STEP TWO: RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUAL DECISION STYLES.
Expand your understanding of the psychological makeup of the key decision makers. Evaluate one decision maker at a time. Ask yourself, “Is the purchasing manager forceful or passive, supportive or dominant? Does the financial officer need approval or does he avoid taking risks at all costs? Is the chief executive’s decision driven by the need for short-term gains or long- term results?”
It may take several interviews before you
recognize the true style of a key player. The composite picture of each decision style will fall into one of five distinct personality types: the avoider, the affiliator, the power-boss, the achiever, or the manipulator. Because, in a long-term sale, there are a number of people in your own company who will have meetings with the client, it is important to assess the possible consequences of introducing your own company executives to key client decision makers.
STEP THREE: RANK THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH DECISION MAKER. People don’t go around with signs etched on their foreheads that say, “I am a powerful decision maker” or “Everyone depends on my judgment.” In every major sale, there is a core group of three or four decision makers who hold the key to your sale. These people are the most important and the most powerful to your sale.
How do you go about ranking the SELLING POWER MAY 2018
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