How to contact decision makers: Experts weigh in It doesn’t matter how great a product or service your small business offers if you cannot get it in front of a decision maker. By pitching to the wrong person you decrease your likelihood of making the sale. So what is the best way to contact a decision maker? To help you sort through it all, we’ve reached out to a panel of sales and small business experts and asked them all a single question: “What is the best way to contact a decision maker to pitch a sale?”

1. HOW TO REACH
DECISION MAKERS
PRESENTED BY

2. First, I would switch your short-term goal from pitching a sale to
Carol Roth
establishing a relationship. Purely transactional business is a bit passé.
Carol Roth is a business strategist, deal maker and author of the
New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She
has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational
corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete more
than $750 million worth of M&A transactions, secure high-profile
To initiate that relationship with the decision maker, get introduced
through a shared connection. It will lend credibility to help bridge that
initial trust gap, plus move you to the “top of the pile” so the decision
licensing and partnership deals and create million dollar brand
maker gets back to you more promptly. You can check LinkedIn to see if
loyalty programs.
you have a relevant connection, or ask around in your professional,
alumni, personal and social networks to find someone who can provide
that critical introduction.
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3. You should never, ever contact a prospect to pitch a sale. It doesn’t work.
Jill Konrath
Sales is about helping companies achieve their business objectives. To
Jill Konrath is a recognized sales strategist, speaker and author
who offers fresh strategies and practical advice for selling to today’s
crazy-busy prospects. Both her books, SNAP Selling and Selling to
Big Companies are Top 20 sales books on Amazon.
get on their calendar, send a series of emails/voicemails focused on the
business outcomes they can get from using your product/service. Pique
their curiosity by sharing the results similar customers have attained. And,
show that you’ve done homework.All this in 25 seconds max (phone) or
less than 90 words (email).
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5. Decision makers are busy people with their own goals and problems.
Liz Strauss
Getting to know their situation before you approach them is critical to
Liz Strauss is a Brand Strategist, Community Builder, Founder of
SOBCon. She blogs at LizStrauss.com and Successful-Blog.com
having a context in which to listen. So rather than chasing after 500
decision makers choose five and get to know their business before you
approach them. Meet someone who knows the decision maker to find out
the venue in which person most likes to consider new sales offers. Turn
your pitch into an invitation. Suggest a way that you might meet or talk for
a limited time (15 minutes) to see how your offer can move the decision
maker to his or her end goal (the one you’re already discovered.) Then
listen.
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6. Through a referral or introduction, and don’t pitch a sale, create a
Bob Urichuck
relationship. The sale will follow.
Bob Urichuck is an International Professional Speaker, Trainer and
Author of two best selling books “Up Your Bottom Line” and
“Disciplined for Life: You are the Author of Your Future.” Bob has
been recognized as Consummate Speaker of the year and ranked
#7 in the World’s top 30 Sales Gurus.
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7. There are two ways to do this.1. Contact the decision maker and give
Julie Steelman
them something they want that will enhance their business or provide a
Julie Steelman’s former clients read like a Who’s Who of big-name
corporate giants with Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, CBS, Sony Studios
and Universal Pictures in her rolodex. She generated more than
$100+ million in sales during her 30-year sales career. Julie is the
author of The Effortless Yes! and is known as The Sales, Success
& Bankability Mentor.
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resource they can use. They will take your call!2. Make friends with their
assistant (if they have one) and get them to put you on their calendar.
Works like a charm!

8. First I would never pitch, it makes you sound like everyone else that
Harlan Goerger
wants something from you. As to contacting the decision maker, the best
Harlan Goerger has spent the last 25 years leading hundreds of his
client’s companies to expansive revenue growth. He is the author of
“The Selling Gap” and “Bypassing NO in Business” and spent 20
years as a sales leader with Dale Carnegie Associates.
is a personal introduction from a trusted connection. At an event, have
someone who knows both of you introduce you. Yes, you need to attend
functions where your clients hang out! Second best is a referral that
knows the decision maker. No matter how the connection is made, do not
pitch your stuff! I (decision maker) will walk away from you! Instead,
research the needs of the client and ask a question about that need and
their plan to address it. Yes, you now have my attention!
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9. First of all, I never “pitch a sale”. People always have their guard up on an
Kenneth Darryl
Brown
initial sales meeting. No one likes to be sold, but want to buy. My advice
is that you must focus on your prospective client. We have a conversation
(at least 2 conversations or more). We never “pitch” prospects. Our
Kenneth Darryl Brown is President and CEO of eWeb 2 Sales and
Profits, a sales, profit and business development company that
approach might be different from some sales professionals. We listen,
shows companies how to leverage the web to increase sales and
listen and listen some more. We build rapport. We establish trust and
improve profitability. Kenneth was selected as one of the Top 25
credibility. We focus on our best specific niche target. We promote our
Influential Sales Leaders by InsideView this year. Last year, his
show, “The Passionate Entrepreneur“ was picked as one of the
best podcasts for small business by Anita Campbell’s Small
Business Trends. Ken is called, “The Sales, Web and Profit
Evangelist”.
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uniqueness and prove to them that we can deliver profitable results.

10. First, “sales pitch” doesn’t sit well with me – it sounds as if you are trying
Elinor Stutz
to force something on another party. Instead, focus your approach on
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC authored the International
Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship
Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling
career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself
On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training,
getting your foot in the door to build a relationship/friendship in order to
qualify the business match. The first steps are to review the prospect’s
website to find what’s important to the company and where you might
private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for
have areas of commonality. Next, read the business news daily and apply
conferences.
to the intended company, their competition and industry. By the time you
call for an appointment, you should have enough familiarity to make a
friendly introduction and ask for an appointment to become acquainted so
that when a need develops down the road, they will be able to place a
name with a face.
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11. It’s relationship first, to understand your prospective client’s situation,
Lori Richardson
options, and needs. Building rapport and trust can happen through email,
Veteran Sales Detective Lori Richardson sifts through sales clues
and business practices to uncover hidden problems and assets,
then delivers creative tactics with a fresh approach so you can
Score More Sales. She is a sought after speaker, prolific blogger,
sales trainer and multi-million dollar producer, and President of
Score More Sales – a sales strategy firm.
the phone, video chat or in person – the main thing is that you use a
multi-facted strategy that works for their style of communicating. For
example, if they are very visual, don’t always talk by phone or send text
emails – offer them a graphical representation of their situation and ways
to solve it.
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12. Well, the whole idea of ‘pitch a sale’ bothers me. The first step in
Diane Helbig
contacting a decision maker is to realize that you are solving a problem.
Diane Helbig is an internationally recognized business and
leadership development coach, author, speaker, and radio show
host. She is the author of Lemonade Stand Selling and founder of
Seize This Day Coaching.
Now that you’ve got that mindset do your research. The more you know
about the company and the decision maker the easier it will be to reach
out to them. Try to determine if they have a situation you can solve. If it
seems there’s a real possibility that you may be able to help them, craft
your message around that situation. Once you’ve done your homework,
try to figure out how you are connected to the decision maker. Who can
give you an introduction? This is why participating on social media,
especially LinkedIn, is so important. You’d much rather get an introduction
than cold call, wouldn’t you? If you have to cold call, decide whether an
introductory letter or a phone call are best. Please don’t prospect via
email. This is the hardest way to get in contact with a decision maker, in
my opinion. If you do cold call, remember you are trying to gain an
appointment. Respect their time, keep your message short and clear, and
ask them if they’d like to meet to explore the possibilities.
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13. The phone is still the best method but not in the way that you know it.
Sean McPheat
Many think that cold calling by shooting fish in the barrel and “working the
Managing Director of MTD Sales Training, Sean McPheat is
regarded as a thought leader on modern day selling. Sean has
been featured on CNN, ITV, BBC, SKY, Forbes, Arena Magazine
and has over 250 other media credits to his name. Sean’s latest
book “eselling® – How to use the internet & social media for
numbers” is the way to go but there is a more updated modern way. You
should first develop relationships via the internet and social media and
then you really have a valid reason for your call. Many gatekeepers will
prospecting, personal branding, networking and for engaging the c-
not let you through if its a pure cold call but if you said something like the
suite decision maker” is a #1 Amazon bestseller.
following then the chances are that you’ll get through “Oh, James and I
have been discussing the latest widgets on LinkedIn and I thought it
would be easier for me to call rather than type out a long winded answer”
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14. Well, the first thing is not to contact them to pitch a sale. Contact them to
Ian Brodie
do something useful for them – add value in advance of doing business
Ian Brodie helps consultants, coaches and other professionals to
attract and win more clients. He writes the award winning More
Clients blog, and recently released his Pain Free Marketing
approach to getting more clients without the pain and expense of
traditional marketing.
with them. Contact them to figure out whether working together would be
mutually beneficial. But don’t contact them to pitch at them. Yuck.In terms
of the best way to contact, it depends on the person. For senior decision
makers in larger companies, a personal referral or recommendation is
always the most powerful. Ask around or better yet, use Linkedin to find
out who you know who knows them. You’ll be surprised when you use
Linkedin at how often you do have a common contact who’d be willing to
introduce you.
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15. Call them with important news or research that creates a sense of
Sue Watkins
urgency around a problem that you can solve..
Sue Watkins has spent the last 20+ years developing marketing
strategies and campaigns. She also founded SMBmarketer.com
and authors the blog Smart Marketing Basics () and tweets
regularly about small business marketing topics at
@SMB_marketer
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16. Telephone prospecting (not “cold-calling” or “pitching”) is the most
Jacques Werth
effective way to find prospects who want to buy what you are selling. The
Jacques Werth is President of High Probability Selling, Inc – a
sales consulting and training company founded in 1989 . The
company specializes in sales process improvement. They have
trained salespeople, sales managers, consultants, and business
owners in over 70 industries.
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most important factor is to accept “No” for an answer, rather than try to
change prospects’ minds. That way, you can contact 3 to 4 times more
prospects including some who say “Yes.”

17. I like try these ways: Ask a current client if they know the person you are
Ken Thoreson
trying to meet and see if they will make an introduction for you. Check out
Ken Thoreson, Acumen Management Group, Ltd. president, is a
sales leadership professional who “operationalizes” sales
management systems and processes to pull sales results out of
thedoldrums into the fresh zone of predictable revenue. His
blog,Your Sales Management Guru, has been rated in the top 10
sales blogs in the United States
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LinkedIn and see if there are mutual relationships. Make a phone call
before 7:30am, at noon, or after 5:30pm (many business owners work
longer hours than normal hours.