Sales Effectiveness: 3 signs you are not speaking to decision makers

At the very beginning of the sales process, it is very important to understand who the decision makers are in the purchasing process. Sales people should never start the discussion with a buyer in the purchasing department.

Now, the buying processes of many companies will require that you to go through the purchasing department at some point; any new product or service procured is their operation and therefore unavoidable. However, even when mandatory, contacts in the purchasing department should be involved as late as possible in the sales process.

The belief that we must turn to purchasing contacts early on is still prevalent among representatives (and some sales managers). Yet their role is not to buy a great solution, or the added value of a product or service. Rather, their role is to keep the purchasing costs down for the company.

Moreover, in many organizations, these contacts may have their own compensation linked to how much money they manage to save the company. Subsequently, the involvement of the buyer in the sales process lengthens the sales cycle and causes a loss of control.

For all these reasons, it is of utmost importance that your sales people engage with the real decision makers early on, to increase their effectiveness in sales. 

In order to do so, they must be taught to recognize when they are on the right track and when they are straying off course.

If you know what to look for, there are reliable signs as to whether or not your sales people talk to a decision maker.

# 1 They speak to a buyer

In light of the above, the obvious question to ask your sales people is: "Are you talking to a buyer in purchasing?". If the answer is yes, then they are not talking to the right person.
Your sales people must contact a manager who saw a problem that your company is able to solve. A decision maker is well aware of the negative impact this problem is causing the company (and for him individually) and has the authority to make a decision. It can be a site foreman, a Director of Operations, a maintenance manager, engineer or an entrepreneur.

# 2 The person can’t answer simple questions

A decision-maker is able to inform you of the current situation (whether it be perceived fit, how you measure up to other competitors and their existing solution) early in the sales process. Ask simple questions early in the conversation to probe further.
For example, if the person cannot accurately answer questions such as: "Why are you doing this project?” or " how are things with your current provider?”, it is a clear sign that they are not talking to a decision maker. Asking such questions is essential to understand, in detail, the decision making process of the prospect .

# 3 The person cares about details too early in the sales process

Throughout the sales process, your sales people may be asked for references, a proposal and technical details. When these requests are made, consider the following:

If they occur early in the process, it is a sign that the prospect has no authority to make a decision. If your sales people are busy providing information, data sheets and references, their conversation has immediately turned to the finer details of the solution; not the problem that needs to be solved. They probably cater to an intermediary, who will present the offer to the real decision maker.

A decision-maker does not need all these details to make a decision. By the very nature of their function, executives and business leaders are not focused on details. They want an overview and an outcome.

Remember

68% of sales representatives are ineffective because they fail to identify and engage the decision makers. Their inability to reach them will often lead to sales managers asking their representatives to target contacts lower in the hierarchy.

The consequence is that representatives will achieve more initial meetings, but the sales process will stretch in length, you will log more pointless activities and need to work very hard to try and close the sale.

Lowering expectations is never a viable solution for a sale; conversely, one must understand what is blocking the implementation of the strategy by analyzing skills gaps in the team, (preferably through an assessment) and then add coaching efforts to bridge the gap.