National Sales Center

You Succeed Only When You Get To The Decision Maker

Sales prospecting can be frustrating when you can’t get to the decision maker. Walls surround decision makers and if you can’t get around those walls, you’ll never get to the decision maker. Here is some advice on how to get to the decision maker.

First, I want to caution you not to “call low”. If you can’t get to the decision maker, don’t call on just anyone. Those subordinates will have you jumping through hoops and you don’t have time for those games. Why take “no” from someone that can’t say “yes”? There is only one goal. You have to get to the decision maker.

Voice mail may be preventing you from getting to the decision maker. The problem with voice mail is that you have a short amount of time to leave the decision maker a compelling prospecting message. Even if you leave such a message, few decision makers ever return those “sales calls”.

Let me help you get to the decision maker when you are being blocked by voice mail.

First, your sales prospecting message must be compelling if not overwhelming! Therefore, forget about your product, new prices and features. Decision makers don’t have time to learn about your product or your great company.  You get to the decision maker by focusing on benefits. Below, I’ll give you an example on how this works.

Your message should include a call back number but you need to go further than that if you expect to get to the decision maker. You should also leave the date and time you’ll be calling back. Getting to the decision maker is not a one-time event. It often requires a campaign to get to the decision maker.

Let’s put these sales tips on how to get to the decision maker to good use. I’m in the sales training business. Here is an example of a voice mail message I may use when attempting to get to the decision maker.

“ (Mr./Ms. Decision Maker) I just heard from my client, the XYZ Company, that I helped to increase their sales by 30% in just 60 days. You may be interested in how I did it and discovering if I can do the same for you. I’m Nick Moreno at the National Sales Center. I’ll try to reach you again on Wednesday at 2:00. If you would like to speak sooner, please feel free to contact me at (phone number). Thank you.”

If I wanted to get to the decision maker that may be a VP of Sales, I’m sure they’ll be interested in a 30% sales increase.

A few notes on using this voice mail message to get to the decision maker…

• Insure the XYZ Company is a reference with verifiable results.
• Notice that I focused on benefits and never mentioned sales training as the product.
• I didn’t begin my message with my name or my company’s name.

Voice mail probably isn’t the only thing preventing you from getting to the decision maker. We all know about the Gatekeeper. You may be interested in my article on how to get past the gatekeeper.

I have additional creative ways to get to the decision maker in my sales prospecting program.

I hope you’ll put this advice to good use the next time you’re attempting to get to the decision maker.

I wish you prospecting success!

Nick Moreno

Tags: Sales Prospecting