"Who Makes the Purchasing Decisions on…"

"I rarely know the prospects name so I call and ask, "Who Makes the Purchasing Decisions on…". I frequently don't get the C-Level person I need and often have to fight my way up stream. Is there a more effective way?"

Answer:

Ok, first of all, if you don't know the name of the person whom you should be speaking with, this tells me you aren't "attracting" warm prospects to you. And it's easier than ever to do that with todays online tools, so that's the first problem.

Secondly… I see very little reason why anyone should be making a sales call and not know the name of the prospect they need to initially speak with. Even when cold calling.

Today's technology gives you resources such as LinkedIn, Google and company "about us" / "management team" webpages at your fingertips.

It's easier than ever to find the name of the person whom you should be calling prior to ever picking up the phone.

"But my prospects don't always have the same title!"

Sure, every company is different and will have their own "purchasing process" however, think of the last 10 deals you've closed. How many different titles were actually involved in making the final decision? (Meaning: how many titles actually had a vote in the decision making process!?!)

I'm willing to bet you'll have a hard time coming up with more than five titles.

Here's a quick list of the common ones:

1. CEO/OWNER
2. PARTNER
3. CFO/COO
4. VP of something (marketing / accounting / sales)
5. HR / Director

(No, "Purchasing" isn't a "title" that was involved in the decision making process. Someone above "purchasing" made the decision and then sent them the direction to place the order)

My point is this: You should know your audience well enough to know what title(s) your decision makers carry.

So if your targeted prospect is typically the CFO, even if they have a different "purchasing process" at least they will be able to guide you in the right direction and it's a "top down referral" which is a lot better than trying to work your way up.

"But how do I found out the CFO's name? It's not on the website or on Linkedin!"

How to Use Google to Find Your Target

One easy tip to uncover your prospects identity is to simply do a search by your prospects title and their company domain name. For example...

Google: CFO + @(their domain name)

Not only will you find out who they are, but you may also quickly uncover some additional information about them before you call!

BONUS:

A lot of times you'll also find your targeted prospects email address as well.

Just be sure you don't chicken out and send an email first rather than making the call!

Hope this helps.

Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011 Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)

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