How To Sell To A Committee

So much of corporate sales involves selling to a committee. You can’t ignore any member of that committee but you can simplify the sales process. I have some tips and advice about selling to a committee.

Why I remember the next point so well is beyond me. I had a History professor define a committee as a group of people that shake their heads up and down and one person that made all the decisions. I’m not saying that this is how to sell to a committee but you need to identify the power broker.

The person that signs the order may be the “decision maker” or may rely on someone else with the expertise to guide the decision.  If so, that Influencer is the true decision maker. Selling to a committee can be tricky but you can take a lot of the mystery out of it by identifying the true decision maker.

When selling to a committee, you also need to understand why there is a committee in the first place. It may be that it is a truly functioning work group. It may also be that the prospect wants all members involved so that they “feel” a part of the final decision and therefore are more likely to support it. You can’t overlook this point when selling to a committee.

My advice on how to sell to a committee is to make every member feel important. Know every name and every title as part of your overall sales strategies. Their title tells you a lot about their areas of interest. For example, the end user is probably most interested in simplicity of operation and operational training. The supervisors are usually most interested in installation procedures and follow up procedures.  Sell to each member’s area of interest when selling to a committee.

Bring you’re A Game to every appointment with the committee. Put all that sales training to good use. Most importantly, remember to follow the Sales Process.

I hope this advice will help you the next time you find yourself selling to a committee. Once you know how to sell to a committee, you’ll greatly increase your probability of success. If not, what’s your plan to improve sales?

I wish you great sales success!

Nick

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