“Brains Over Bucks.”

By Jeff and Marc Slutsky

Don't waste time selling your product or service to potential clients who can't buy from you. One critical key to successful selling is to determine who is the real decision-maker. If the decision is made by more than one person, then if possible, you want to present to all the decision-makers simultaneously. Without talking to the decision maker, its infinitely more difficult to get a "yes."

Sometimes, you may find that you are forced to deal with a decision influencer. For example, when a national trade association is considering hiring us for a keynote or seminar at their convention, a committee often makes the final decision. Usually, we can't get direct access to that committee. So, we have to sell our program through the coordinator who takes it to the committee on our behalf. We know it is a much weaker sale because we cannot deal directly with the decision-makers.

Some salespeople ask, "Are you the decision maker?" The problem is everyone feels they are a decision-maker. But to get a more accurate response rephrase your question like this: "Other than yourself, who else would you need to consult before making the decision?" If they name someone else, then you have a good indication that you're not dealing with the key decision-maker. You now have determined the person you should be trying to deal with directly. It's all in how you phrase your question.

Sales trainer, Bill Bishop from Orlando, Florida, aptly illustrated the impact of using the proper phrasing of your questions. He told us the story of the young monk who asked the Abbot for permission to smoke his pipe when he prayed, but was turned down. He then noticed an older monk smoking a pipe. Curious now, he approached the older monk and asked how it was possible that the older monk got permission to smoke his pipe during prayers when he was turned down. The older monk took a long puff of his pipe and responded, "Well, my brother, when I approached the Abbot, I asked him an entirely different question. I asked if it was appropriate to pray while smoking my pipe. He informed me that anytime was appropriate for prayer!"

One of the most serious mistakes salespeople make is assuming they know if some is or is not a decision-maker. Several years ago, we knew a woman who was shopping for a car. She knew the type of car she wanted. She made a good living and was paying for this car herself. It was solely her decision. Yet, at the first two dealerships the salesmen refused to work with her until she brought her husband back with her. The third dealership treated her like a real customer. The salesman took her for a test drive. They negotiated the final sale. That dealership not only got that one sale, but over the next several years that same dealership got seven more sales from her relatives.

Street Fighter Action Plan

• Determine early on if you're dealing with the decision maker.
• If you're dealing with a decision influencer, determine if it is possible to contact the decision-maker directly.
• If dealing with a committee, find out all you can about the committee members and their decision making process.
• Provide each committee member with original promotional materials.
• Ask permission to address the entire committee or each individual committee member.
• Make no assumptions about decision-makers until you gather the accurate information.

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