In our opinion (and the data back us up), referrals are THE most effective executive sales and marketing strategy.
Just think in terms of the temperature of your calls.
Cold calls to executives leave you flat; empty, at a dead end with nowhere else to go. But a warm call, the ones that were set up by someone you know who wants you to meet and executive that they know, leave you with realistic possibilities and likely opportunities. In fact, 70% of referral calls lead you to qualified prospects. And even if they don’t result in an actual executive sale, the other 30% can lead you to someone else who knows another target executive.
Referral selling builds upon the executive relationships that you have nurtured and your past successes. If you have proven yourself as trustworthy, able to help your customers, sincerely supporting their success, why wouldn’t they want to introduce you to a C-Level friend or colleague? It only enhances their value within their own network and allows them to repay you in part for the time and energy and focus you have leant them in your dealings together.
When you are trying to sell to the C-level, you are placed under an executive microscope to be examined through an executive’s lens of different needs, expectations, and demands.
Most executives base their purchasing decisions upon a few key criteria that relate to both their personal success and the success of their company. To effectively sell at this level, you must be able to clearly link the value of your solution to what executives care most about in at least two areas:
- Financial. First and foremost, most executives will analyze the financial impact on their business related to the key revenue, margin, and profit targets that they are held accountable to hitting in the next six to twelve months. Very few leaders will invest in a product or service that does not have a strong (and fairly reliable) return on investment.
- Business Productivity. In addition to “running the numbers” to ensure that the investment makes financial sense, executives also want to feel confident that your solution will improve business efficiency and effectiveness in a way that aligns with the current strategic priorities. This includes making sure that your approach makes sense for their specific industry, culture, timeline, and leadership team.
