Sales Challenges: What It Takes to Get That Meeting with a Decision-Maker

Looking back on my feet-on-the-street selling days, I honestly can’t decide if gaining access to a decision-maker was easier or just seemed easier. Any brain cells carrying those memories have died off from underuse or were killed off by being over-served. What I do remember is this:

• We were able to walk into buildings through unlocked doors.
• There were actual people serving as gatekeepers (receptionists, secretaries, assistants) and not technology (Caller ID, voicemail).
• Some buyers reserved time each month for non-incumbent vendors.
• There was no voicemail to prove your persistence, and no email or LinkedIn providing an alternative way to gain access.

Maybe it wasn’t necessarily harder, just … different. For example, while we see voicemail as a sales obstacle, not having it meant the phone would ring and ring, and there was no opportunity to prove our persistent pursuit.

Today, industry salespeople are faced with a new array of challenges blocking them from sitting opposite decision-makers — starting with the basic issue of locating someone to talk to. Between hybrid workers and myriad communication preferences, electronic walls and increased competition, obtaining face time (or FaceTime) has lottery-winning similarities. Let’s change that.

Checklist to Get in the Door

What hasn’t changed over the years is the need for a prospecting process to be applied with diligence. But in order to get in the door, here’s a checklist to follow that will result in the phrase, “Thank you for seeing me.”

1. A Marketing Base — I say it three times a week: “Marketing is the new sales.” Building a brand. Telling stories. Posting case studies. Writing White Papers. LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube. You need to be known before the chase begins. Why? Because people will check you out as if they are researching a purchase on Amazon or buying a new car.

Start with a strong LinkedIn profile presence. Be someone others would want to do business with. Post success stories of how you have solved problems and met client needs. Your goal is to say to the person checking you out, “I’ve faced issues like yours. If you can relate to them, let’s talk.”

How important is this first step? Let me put it this way: If you can’t figure out why your prospecting efforts aren’t paying off, there is a very good chance it’s because your marketing isn’t telling a compelling story about you.

2. Ignore the “Who?” And Focus on the “What?”—Think about that coveted face-to-face meeting for a second. Your goal isn’t to leave with something to quote on, is it? In that scenario, you only win if you have the lowest price and you get there by focusing on who does the buying (i.e. the “who?”)

Do Your Homework

Instead, you want to engage in conversation about a specific business need they have and how you can use your capabilities to solve it. But, to even get into the room, you will need to do your homework and learn what the company is doing to grow revenue. That’s the “what?” For example, what are their plans for”

• ... future growth?
• ... a product launch?
• ... selling more to current customers?
• ... finding new business?

While the marketing piece might take the most time (good news, though: It’s a one-off thing), coming up with a powerful, “Here’s what I want to talk to you about,” statement is even more important. Your targeted prospect gets dozens of messages a day from all mediums. Your pitch needs to stand out.

There is nothing more interesting to a client than helping them meet their stated needs. Do your research and don’t stop until you are happy with the end of the sentence that starts, “The purpose of my call is ...”

3. Creativity — Back in the day, you needed a step-by-step, week-by-week prospecting process made up of introductory letters, follow-up phone calls, perhaps an email, and maybe even a “stop by” in order to get an appointment. Today, as I pointed out earlier, you still need a process, but the steps must change.

Gone are the days when a phone call or two (or 10) results in an appointment. Oh, and your emails are either going to spam or are among the hundreds of others we all receive each day. You could send a letter or postcard, but to where? A hybrid client’s home? Networking events made a comeback, but it’s tough to connect with someone from 6 ft. away.

Creativity. That’s the key. Video messaging services like Vidyard and BombBomb allow you to create an introductory video personalized to the recipient. Further, you can tie it into a customized landing page on your website full of additional information. Or maybe you create a YouTube video explaining your offerings and send the link.

The fundamentals have not changed, only the approach. Don’t stop making the calls, sending notes, and writing those emails. Just make sure to think outside the inbox.

4. Diligence — In short: Make the calls, make the calls, make the calls. The single most important characteristic of a successful sales rep is persistence. Nine out of 10 first-time calls go without a follow-up (Source: Farquharson, William James). Whatever process you put together, stick with it, see it through, and make sure you are not failing from a lack of effort. That is the true definition of failure.

5. Good Old-Fashioned Salesmanship —You will come across objections along the way, such as:

• “We already have a vendor.”
• “We’re under contract.”
• “Everything comes from corporate.”
• “We don’t use print.”

Deflecting some statements like a Jedi with a light saber and overcoming others just because you’ve heard them before, you’ll need to be on your game. No one is sitting around waiting for you to call. Your priorities are not their priorities. It’s going to take some convincing. But none of the above statements are new or original, which means you need to have a comeback for each of them.

6. Patience — There are some accounts (read: Big Fish) that just take time. A lot of time. Whenever someone tells me they’ve landed a big account, one of the two questions I ask is, “How long did it take you?” The average, from all my years of asking, is 18 months. The bigger the account, the slower they move. If you have some game-changing prospects on your list, bring a book to read while you wait for that egg to hatch.

Now that you know how to get an appointment, let’s talk about your current prospect efforts and why they aren’t working. Without knowing anything about you, I’ll make two predictions. First, you are not saying anything compelling. That is, the customer is not motivated to meet with you. Do a better job of researching companies (i.e. the what?). Second, you are not making enough attempts to the same prospect. Diligence is omnipotent, so said Calvin Coolidge.

I don’t envy sales reps today. Clients are building walls to keep us out. Give them a reason to lower the drawbridge over the moat. They need you. They just don’t know it yet.