C-Level Relationship Selling - Increase Sales and Market Share Using C-Level Relationship Selling
C-Level relationship selling is simple and more effective than any other strategy, tactic or selling technique once you learn the process. However, if you don't know how to do it, it can be like cold calling in the sense that it's intimidating, fraught with rejection and nobody wants to do it. But unlike cold calling C-level relationship selling will increase your sales and market share faster and easier than anything else.
C-level relationship selling will enable you to sell just about 100% of all the products and services in your portfolio that fit to 100% of your existing customers. Now would that help you meet your sales goals? Well as tough a task as the above sounds, it is far easier to accomplish than it is to sell that same amount to new customers. What if you could sell just all your existing accounts 10% more? Would that help your sales picture? Of course it would and it's really easy if you develop professional C-level relationships.
Yes, I'm saying that to increase your sales and market share, give-up on trying to penetrate the walled cities of new accounts, and focus on getting more and more cross-sells from your existing bastions of strength. Then as your existing accounts buy more of all your products and service (with your help), those walled citied accounts will crumble and come rushing to you for your expertise.
Here's why. First, do you believe that you can help your existing customers do their business better - more sales and/or more profits - if they bought more of the total portfolio of services you sell in addition to what they now buy? Of course you do. Well if they do buy more from you and do get better, that will put a lot of pressure on their competition. The word will get out that it was you and your company expertise that did it. And that's when you'll start getting requests from accounts that were previously not interested in some or any of your products and/or services.
However, in order to get your stuff more fully absorbed, you're going to have to solve the issues and concerns as it relates to sales and/or profits of the C-levels or profit-center leaders of you existing accounts. In order to do that you will have to learn what those issues and concerns are for all the senior people involved. You can't assume to know what their problems are and you can't take the word of you main, lower-level contacts. Even if you know from experience or your main contact is correct (which is usually wrong), the top people don't know you know their issues and concerns.
Think about it. A C-level would say or think, "What does this sales person know about me and my situation?" Now once you've talked and related on a professional level, s/he will feel you understand and will now be willing to listen to how you may be able to help. And this is how you cross sell and start to get more and more of your portfolio into that account. C-levels and profit center leaders have the power to make you sales happen.
So here is how to begin C-level relationship selling. First, start spending more time at existing accounts, but not just with your main contacts. Use your relationships at the lower levels to network you up and out. That is, meet their boss and their boss's associates and continue to move up and out. My motto if you haven't heard it from me before is spread like a virus through you existing accounts.
Now, my meaning of "meet" with these people is very specific however. A meeting is a one-on-one interview where you ask customer focused questions to learn what that individual's issues and concerns are as they relate to your bigger world of solutions and listen aggressively. It's not your time to give a product and services presentation. Once you know where this person's head is at and the person realizes you understand, then you can offer to help. As the person sees the fit, they buy into you and this is how the relationship starts.
Keep repeating the process until you are networked to meet with the C-levels, the profit-center leaders, and their immediate staffs. It doesn't matter if the meeting is in their office or at a lunch. What matters is you get know each person's mind set for the moment and s/he knows you know. Without that it's impossible to develop a relationship.
Using subordinate relationship that you've developed over time is vehicle to get you to the top C-level and other influential people. This will take a lot of your selling time, but it will be worth it. My rule is 50% of your selling time should be with existing clients/accounts. 30% should be with old or lost accounts and 20% with new accounts or self-ops. See some of my previous articles of why this works best.
Minimizing your prospecting to new accounts and competitors' accounts sounds risky, doesn't it? The bigger risk, however, is for an existing customer to start doing more business with your competitors, and we all know that's exactly what your competitors are trying desperately to make that happen.
If the above reason doesn't motivate you, consider this. C-level relationship selling is prospecting, and it's in new territory. The beauty of C-level relationship selling, although intimidating, is that these prospects represent bigger, faster and easier sales.
Now I invite you to learn more about mastering C-level relationship selling.
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