Read the March Issue of Top Sales Magazine for tips on selling to C-suite executives. Catch a sneak peak of the article here:
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted more than where and how we do business — it is also affecting who we do business with. Since early 2020, buyer access has been changing.
Between virtual selling environments freeing up leadership’s time and tightening budgets gaining more attention, members of the executive team are participating in sales calls now more than ever before.
A Chorus study has even found that C-suite participation in meetings and calls is up 108% since early 2020 (Chorus.ai, 2021). Chances are you have witnessed this firsthand. And if you have not yet, the odds are high that you will find an executive decision maker on the other end of your sales call before too long.
Engaging Buyer Leadership Demands a Larger Sales Undertaking
Sellers have been vying for this level of access to the key decision makers within buying organizations for decades. Now that it is becoming more commonplace at earlier stages in the buying journey, many sellers are facing tough questions and conversations for which they have not prepared. A key indicator that salespeople overall are not prepared for the decision makers? That same Chorus study saw an 81% drop in C-suite meeting and call attendance from the first interaction to the second, some of which can be attributed to lack of engagement.
There is no room for subpar selling when a C-suite executive is directly involved. The bar is raised on all accounts. High-level executives have less time, have far less patience for ambiguity and irrelevance, and hold a warier ear toward your sales conversations and pitches. And rightly so: Globally, organizations have suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. As businesses rebound, C-suite executives are looking to selling organizations like yours to prove your solutions are worth their cost and can yield real results.
This is a time when stepping up your game is essential. If selling organizations want to connect with elevated buyers, they must elevate their value proposition messaging too. So let’s consider a roadmap to help your selling teams get started.
Access the full article, and more from other thought leaders, download the 2021 March Issue.