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C-Level Selling Tip 8, Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers

C-Level Selling Tip 8, Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers
Free Download - C-Level Selling - Asking Sales Questions Is Easier Said Than Done By Sam Manfer
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Subordinates, administrators, purchasing, etc. keep you away from their bosses and the real decision makers because they fear losing something - power, ego, job, recognition, authority, etc. However, don't assume to know what it is because you could be wrong. Get them to tell you why they don't want you to go past them.

Stated another way; you're blocked because the blocker hasn't accepted you or your offering yet. They see a risk and see nothing in it for them, for you to go past them - more forms of losses. Therefore, you get blocked. Your best strategy to break the resistance is to show blockers how to win with you and/or your offering.

Another strategy to handle blockers is to go around them, but this could present serious consequences. However, be careful that you don't block yourself. In other words, unless someone says not to go around them, there is no reason why you can't.

Another strategy is to go along with the block, but this could cause delays for you and possibly give competition time to work themselves in.

Common Situation

Can't Get Past the Gatekeepers

You're blocked. You're frustrated. You try to be polite. Yet, you don't ask the why s/he is not letting you meet others.

Resulting Problem

Your Success or Failure Lies with This One Person.

You're dead in the water without a clue of what to do. You have no idea if or how your message is getting communicated to the key decision makers or what the deciding criteria are. If you continue to pick at this blocker it could becomes annoying. If you tend to avoid this person, it could stall your progress further. Until the person feels there is no loss for letting you pass and/or you are the horse he can win with, s/he will block you.

Check Yourself
Score: 4=Always; 3=Most Times; 2=Usually; 1=Sometimes; 0=Never.

1. When someone at a lower level says there is no need to go beyond him or her, do you immediately think that this person has not bought into you or your solution yet? ____

2. Do you ask (to learn) what the person's perceived loss is? I.e. why he feels there is no need for you to go further up or out?? ____

3. Do you ask the person to tell you what it will take to have him buy into you? ____

4. Do you tend to assume you're blocked because the person has a power or control issue? ____

Scoring: ( 1 + 2 + 3 ) - 4 = ??
( ___ + ___ + ___ ) - ___ = ___

8 or more is good; Less than 8 means read the materials in the free e-book (below).





CLevel Selling Tip 8 Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers - To learn more about this author, visit Sam Manfer's Website.

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Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

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Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

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About The Author


Sam Manfer
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Bonus Tip:  Free Book – “TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER$”– The Complete Guide to C-Level Selling - hardback version.  Network, get past gatekeepers, interact with leaders and top executives, secure commitments and sell more than you ever thought possible.  Click this C-Level Selling Book Link  to learn more about this fantastic offer.

Sam Manfer is an expert sales strategist, entertaining key note speaker and author of <a href= http://samman fer.com/productpageBOOKS.htm>TAK E ME TO YOUR LEADER$, </a>a book that gets C-Level and other influential decision-makers to meet with you and return voicemails.  Sam makes it easy for any sales person to generate tons of quality leads, and become a 70% closer. Sign-Up for Sam’s FREE Advanced Sales Training Tips and Articles at  http://www.clevelselling.com

 

 Sam Manfer is an expert sales person, entertaining key note speaker and author of TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER$, the complete guide for C-Level Selling. Get to top people and other influential decision-makers to meet with you and return voicemails. Sam makes it easy for any sales person to generate tons of quality leads, and become a 70% closer. Sign-Up for Sam's FREE Advanced Sales Training Tips and Articles at htt p://www.sammanfer.com



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