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O P I N I O N
Cracking the code
Gaining access to executives is not easy, but there’s plenty of opportunities to show value, establish credibility, and, in the end, make the sale.
T he most effective way to gain access to CXOs is through a recommendation from someone in the executive’s company. Many executives said they would grant a meeting to a salesperson, if that recommendation came from a credible source within their own organization. This highlights the importance of building company-wide relationships that ultimately open doors to the executive suite.
Steve Bistritz GUEST SPEAKER
From my research, 84 percent of executives said they would usually or always meet a salesperson if recommended by someone internally, indicating that establishing relationships at lower levels of the organization is critical before trying to access a senior executive’s calendar. One CEO explained he would grant a meeting, “when I see or hear something that might be applicable in my world, or at the request of some of my cohorts around here.” These “cohorts” are part of the executive’s influence network, those people who may be a friend of someone in the executive’s inner circle, an outside consultant, or a lower-level employee within the organization who has credibility with the inner circle executive.
In some companies, getting calendar time with a senior executive may only take place if you contact the executive assistant or the executive’s secretary. You simply can’t get on the executive’s calendar by contacting them directly. In that case, you may have to either use a sponsor or treat the gatekeeper as a resource to help you schedule a meeting with the executive. The techniques that can be used to access those executives include the following: ❚ ❚ When there’s an organizational change in your com- pany, suggest having a meeting to explain the new structure.
See STEVE BISTRITZ, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER May 21, 2018, ISSUE 1249
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