“A sales professional should always try to find the decision-makers in the organization. The decision-makers have the least knowledge of the situation and are therefore more likely to believe whatever the salesperson says.”

Have you ever submitted such a well-groomed proposal and/or delivered such a smashing presentation that you were sure your customer would move forward?

A few days go by... no big deal.
A week goes by... maybe they’re traveling.
A few weeks go by... maybe they’re on vacation.
A month goes by... they’ve selected somebody else.

Where did you go wrong?

One concept that has always helped me throughout my career is the notion of selling higher – selling your proposition to those higher in the organizational food chain relative to your main contact. Granted, this idea has certainly made its way around the block several times, especially in the B-to-B world. But in all my experience, I’ve never seen any risk-based rationale behind it. Here’s my take.

In my first blog post, I defined value as the equivalent of benefits divided by risk. Seeing as risk and value are inversely proportional, a fall in the former would therefore result in a rise of the latter, thus increasing sales. As value-based professionals, we should always strive to mitigate risk in our value proposition. Doing so on behalf of our customer should be no exception.

I’m going to make a simplifying assumption and say that all organizations can be split three ways – line workers, middle management and executive management. Line workers are usually looking for ways to make their jobs easier to do, faster to do, less boring, etc. and are therefore typically open to changes – or risks – in this capacity. On the other end, executive managers are commonly forward-thinking and actually paid to take calculated risks.

Things are very different for the middle, however. Consider some common middle-management titles. Often times, the name “manager,” “director,” or even “vice president” will precede or follow their job function on a business card. These people have budgets and are often evaluated on their effective utilization of company resources. To some even, changes that are proposed from “the line” could actually threaten their professional existence. Given this reality and their need for internal control then, why would middle management knowingly put forth an interest in buying and using your product – a risk – when it’s usually in their best interest not to take them? The impetus was likely caused from above, that’s why.

And that’s why selling higher is so important. To find someone who is high enough to have the motivation and the financial incentive – beyond the job description – to think about results, not process, is the key toward greater selling success. The next time you see an opportunity, or receive an RFP, think. Who’s it coming from? What are their risks involved in purchasing my product? Can I sell higher? Should I sell higher? Selling higher may not only help you sell faster, it might just help you sell period.