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C-Level Relationship Selling – Use Your Golden Network for Leverage

Guest post by: Sam Manfer

Article Overview: There are people you know who can coach you along to win sales, and/or cross-sells, and/or point out high quality leads. This article will show you how to open your mind so you can spot these people.

C-Level Relationship Selling – Use Your Golden Network for Leverage

Think of the companies that have bought from you. There are powerful people in those companies beyond your primary contacts, who have benefited from what they bought from you. These are people you can ask for referrals and critical information on upcoming projects or cross-sells. There are also people in associations, consultants, and within your own organization that have benefited from working with you. These are people you can use to make introductions for you to hard-to-see executives.

There are people that you've won-over with your sales presentation who see the benefits your sale can bring them. These can be coaches who will introduce you and move you up the decision making tree and give you critical information on how to win their bosses over.

These are the people of your Golden Network who can be used for leveraging.

Common Situation

Sales people are reluctant or uncomfortable to ask others to make introductions for them - no matter how tight their relationship. In many selling situations they may even feel it's unnecessary to move beyond their primary contact. What happens is the sales person gets stuck - stuck with a gatekeeper, or stuck with only one of the many decision makers. The results are limited information as to how to win the sale, loss of control to this contact, and no chance to make an impact on the other executives involved with the selection process.

So here are some tips to change this situation.

Prepare Yourself

1. List accounts that you've sold. Who were the people you worked with? Who were the executives they reported to? What other departments benefited from your services and who were their bosses? These are prime candidates for your Golden Network. Get in touch with these people. They benefited from you. They will help you move up and out if you ask.

2. Ask each of these people to introduce you to others - their boss, associates in other divisions, people they know in other companies. This is the way to prospect effectively and avoid cold calling. If your working on another sale or cross-sell ask these people for information that will help you win the sale, i.e. what will it take to win and what do I have to do to assure it.

3. Be specific about the title or type of person you ask to be introduced to. You don't want to meet just anybody and you don't want them to decide who to introduce you to. Be specific on what you ask for. You don't want just party line stuff. You want the inside scoop. Don't get bashful about asking. You deserve it and they know it.

4. Ask your contact for some business information about the person you'd like to meet, i.e. what problems and/or issues these bosses, etc. are experiencing as it relates to your sale or business?

5. Once they agree to introduce you, tell them what to say about you. Ask them to walk you over for a face to face. Don't ask for or settle for just names. Getting a name is very weak. Names don't get you through voicemails or give the target any good reason to call you back. Ask your Golden Network contact to take that extra step for you.

6. List companies you'd like to penetrate who have members in your professional associations. Ask association members you know to introduce you to the people from the companies you've targeted for introductions.

7. Plan your attack. What companies do you want to penetrate? Ask yourself and those on your Golden Network who you or they know that fits the description of your perfect contact. Practice what you'll say to have them introduce you and practice how you want to be introduced.

Implement these 7 steps and your contacts will help you fill your funnel with high quality leads. Ask your Golden Network people for critical sales information you're sales will become so easy that you'll think it's magic.

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Article Tags: Clevel relationship selling, crossselling, Networking, prospecting, sales training



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