Finding the real decision maker can be challenging, especially when you are speaking to a contact that prefers to view himself or herself as the decision maker.

Steve LeDuc is an account executive and certified digital-imaging architect for Aristotle Digital Archiving, a document imaging company. LeDuc uses this question to find the real decision maker: “Who, besides yourself, will be involved in the decision-making process? Once he has the answer, he follows up with, “And how do you interact with these individuals to arrive at a decision?”

If he doesn’t have a contact, LeDuc uses the Internet, local newspapers and Hoover’s to find the correct person. Sometimes, he calls the company and deliberately asks for the wrong department – frequently sales. LeDuc has found that sales reps seem to be very open to answering questions about their company, including the names of key individuals and their direct phone numbers. They seem to understand our dilemma since they are in the same boat.

Before calling the key contact, he calls the company’s main number to verify the correct spelling and pronunciation of that person’s name and verify the address. He also asks if there is an assistant and gets that person’s information.

LeDuc generally avoids using cold calling or email to contact executives who are potential clients. “Instead, I’ll send a brief letter of introduction with bullet points of how my services can benefit the company and, specifically, the individual. I try to use statistical facts demonstrating cost savings and increased efficiencies. At the close of the letter, I mention that I will follow up with their assistant (using that person’s name) on a specific date to schedule a phone conversation. Always call when you say you are going to call!”

“Too many sales reps don’t probe effectively,” says Palma Patrucci, western region sales manager for Rain Bird Corporation, the largest manufacturer of such irrigation products as sprinklers, sprays and valves. “We focus too much on our product and its features and not enough on our customer’s needs and the benefits they will gain when they use our product.

“The first time my reps call a potential client, they introduce themselves and say, ‘My goal today is not to sell you something. I’m calling to learn about your company.’”

Patrucci’s reps start with open-ended questions about what the company does and what its needs are. They follow up with specific questions about the potential client’s product or service, type of customers it services and what department uses products similar to theirs. They then visit that department to learn about what it does and how it normally selects a product to use. The key is to know existing and potential customers’ needs, what is important to them, and what they use and why. Like LeDuc, Patrucci’s reps ask if their contact is the only decision maker involved.

Be sure you understand the customer’s needs. Patrucci recalls, “When I sold Vicks for Proctor and Gamble, one of my reps took me to a clinic that she said sold many cough and cold products. The doctor wasn’t really interested in what we were selling, so I asked, ‘How many cold or cough patients do you see each week?’ ‘About one or two each week,’ he replied. ‘We’re a wellness clinic.’”

For existing clients, Patrucci’s reps verify that the decision maker is the same one who approved their last order. “Key influencers” (people who have authority or the ear of the purchasing agent) are valuable people to know. These usually include people who would actually use your product or service. Patrucci recalls an experience in which key influencers helped her get a sale. “The purchasing agent said, ‘We get rebates from our current supplier. Can you match them?’ I couldn’t, so he wasn’t interested.

“I went to the workers in the field – the actual users – and reminded them how much better our product was than the competition’s. They called the purchasing agent and said they wanted Rain Bird, even if it was more expensive. By focusing on value, we got the sale without lowering our price.”

When she sold dental products, Patrucci used a different strategy. She didn’t even ask for the dentist; she just dropped off samples, made friends with front-office staff members and invited them to take the samples home to try out. After several months, she knew the front-desk people. She asked what they thought of her products and whom the best person would be to talk to about purchasing them. She then had several allies and “key influencers” who helped her see the real decision maker.

Do research. Focus on customers’ needs and any benefits they can get by using your product. Take time to build relationships and make allies who will be on your side. Then you’ll not only find the real decision maker, you’ll also have a head start in making a sale.

Skill Set
Consider using a letter of introduction to appropriate executives, focusing on benefits for their company.

Probe thoroughly to learn existing and potential customers’ needs, what they use now, and what benefits they could gain from using your product or service.

Ask anyone who claims to be the decision maker, “Who, besides yourself, will be involved in the decision-making process?” Then follow up with, “And how do you interact with these individuals to arrive at a decision?”

Take time to develop relationships with front-office staff in busy offices, and hand out samples to try. After staff members know you and like the products, ask them whom you should talk to about purchasing your products.