Accessing Executives

There are a number of conclusions you can draw from the data above.  One thing is clear--it’s tough to get meetings with senior executives.  These are the people in organizations who truly have the authority to make decisions, so everyone wants their time.  You are not the only salesperson calling on these people. In fact many senior executives receive several sales calls everyday.  We all know we’ll be more successful if we have more of these meetings with senior decision-makers, so how do we earn these appointments?  Here’s what top performers tell us helps them earn more meetings with senior executives.

• Ask for advice.  People naturally want to help others.  The ideal situation is to receive an introduction from someone inside the firm of the executive.  You may have garnered that initial contact (with the executive’s co-worker) through some form of networking.  Then you can politely ask for advice: “If you were me and you wanted to schedule a short meeting with Ms. Big, what approach would you take?”  You’ll be surprised at how willing people are to help you if you merely ask.  If you have an advisor like this, be sure to keep that person updated on your efforts and continue to thank them along the way.
• Use benefits.  This executive you’re trying to earn time with has an agenda.  He’s trying to make the company money, or save the company money, or grow the business in some manner.  You need to tie the reason for your meeting to that executive’s agenda. “I’ll be in Chicago that week.” is not a reason to meet from the executive’s perspective.  There’ll be a lot of salespeople in Chicago that week, and the executive is not going to meet with them just because they’re there.  Mentioning that you’ll be in the area can help, because people do want to make others’ lives easier.  But it still only makes sense to meet if the meeting addresses what’s most important to that executive.  So when asking for the meeting in your phone, email, or voicemail correspondence, be sure to highlight benefits of the meeting for that executive:  e.g. to bring you up to speed on how your competitors are using technology to reduce delivery time OR to share ideas on how to reduce your administrative burden so you can spend more time on your core business.  
• Demonstrate conviction.  This executive is busy and important to the organization.  Is it really “worth it” for Mr. Big to spend 15-30 minutes of his valuable time with you?  If your answer is not an emphatic YES!..then you have some work to do.  If you’re not sold that the idea of a meeting is a good idea, how are you supposed to sell this concept to someone else?  Your passion and enthusiasm (or lack thereof) will certainly come across in your delivery. If you need more conviction with regard to your product or service, observe how your firm’s top salespeople do it or survey some of your company’s happiest clients.  Less confident salespeople ask for meetings with phrases like: maybe if you have the chance OR if it’s possible over the next few months…Confident and passionate salespeople recommend getting together because it’s the best possible use of that executive’s time:  “Based on what I’ve learned about your strategy, and our team’s ability to improve product quality with others in your industry, I recommend we get together for an initial brainstorming session.  Would you like to meet at your office or mine?”