Senior decision makers are better informed than ever before, and attracting their attention has become increasingly difficult thanks to well briefed gatekeepers and ongoing media overload. So how do you get through to these busy decision-makers and persuade them to buy? The suspect-to-sales process is the same as it’s always been, what’s changed is the information, collateral, route and metrics. This presentation examines the process and offers advice on how to have more productive conversations with the C-level suite.

1. How to reach C-level decision makers

2. “
How to reach C-level decision makers
”
Research suggests buyers are engaging later in the journey and there are more
members in the team.
4/5
*
sales have teams
with at least 4 people
1/10
sales have teams
with 10+ people
*
57%
**
of buyer journey
completed before contact
This means buyers are better informed and able to make quicker decisions after
engaging with potential suppliers.
* Miller Heiman’s Best Practice Study
** CEB Report

3. “
How to reach C-level decision makers
”
The suspect to sales process is the same as it’s always been, as shown below.
The blue boxes show the Seller’s view of the process, the red boxes show the Buyer’s
view. The quotes are the questions/thoughts of the Buyer at each stage.
What’s changed is the Information, Collateral, Route and Metrics. These four areas
are examined in this presentation.

4. “
Information
”
Before you contact C-level you need to build a ‘Single Prospect Profile’ using
LinkedIn (information on the individual), Search Engines (information on the company)
and your own telemarketing activity (all the unpublished information).
You cannot afford to have uninformed conversations at C-level.

5. “
Collateral
”
It’s important to deliver collateral (white papers, webinars, company brochures or even
free samples) at the right stage in the process. A product sheet at Prospect stage is
perhaps too early, a white paper at Opportunity stage may be too late.
It’s easy for C-level to Google your company or competitors. They are better informed
than ever before. So make sure you tell them something they don’t already know.
Original research about their market sector can really open doors.

6. “ ”
Route
Buying teams are divided into Junior, Intermediate and Higher Executives (C-level).
The stage at which they become involved in the process depends on their seniority.
This can help your sales team. Talking with Junior or Intermediate execs means they
can gather sales intelligence as well as fine tune their elevator pitch.

7. “ ”
Route
It can take 3-6 months to have a conversation at C-level, so it’s frustrating to find the
purchasing decision is further down the chain of command.
Working from Ground-Level:Up can be more effective than Top-Level:Down.

8. “
5 point plan
1 Find the floor you need
”

9. “
5 point plan
”
2 The journey should be ground-floor:up

10. “
5 point plan
3 Practice your elevator pitch
”

11. “
5 point plan
”
4 Educate people
as you travel up

12. “
5 point plan
”
5 Ensure you exit at the right level

13. “
5 point plan
”
This 5 point plan
is available as an
infographic. Check
http://bit.ly/SCiInfo7
5 Ensure you exit at the right level

14. “
“
Metrics
”
The Web, including 2.0, has changed
everything; 57% of the buyers’ journey has been
completed before they contact a new supplier
”
The internet and digital communication play a significant part in the modern buying
process. Yet human interaction (HI) remains important.

15. “
Metrics
68%
”
of B2B sales involve human interaction (HI)*
£68,032
£1,018
is the average order value with HI*
is the average order value without HI*

16. “
Metrics
”
Source: SCi Sales Group, 2011 n = 29,277 calls
Across a sample of over 29,000 calls, we found that it takes 80 calls on average to get
an opportunity with a C-level executive.

17. “
Metrics
”
Source: SCi Sales Group, 2013 n = 200
76% of Junior Executives rejected all of their last 3 sales calls, yet only 47% of Higher
Executives rejected all 3. Get past the gatekeeper and you stand a good chance of
having a conversation at C-level.

18. “
Conclusion
”
Information
Use LinkedIn, search engines and your own telemarketing activity to build a ‘single
prospect profile’ of the C-suite.
Collateral
Deliver content and information at the right stage in the Suspect to Sale process.
Route
First, find the floor you need. The journey should be Ground-Floor:Up. Practice your
elevator pitch, making sure you educate people as you travel. Finally, exit at the right
level... C-level is not the only stop.
Metrics
Although the internet means buyers are better informed, 68% of B2B sales involve
some form of human interaction – either a phone call or a meeting.

19. Established in 2002, SCi Sales Group began life as a
B2B telemarketing agency and has grown to become a
leading sales acceleration specialist within EMEA.
We have added other offline/online marketing tools to
our portfolio, and can act as an outsourced extension of
your sales force or a supplier of insourced sales talent.
For further information, please visit our website or signup to our newsletter – www.scisalesgroup.com/contact
www.scisalesgroup.com