Accessing the Economic Buyer when they know they need the problem solved but want no involvement

David Chimenti

I’ve been working deals where economic buyers are not at all technically inclined, and as such, run from a lot of tech conversations.

I’m talking to them about the correct high level initiatives, hitting the right personas with the right messaging, but the corporate structure within them space I sell in has been acquisition heavy leaving former business owners now with bosses and the possibility of losing credibility or worse so they don’t want to touch it.

I’ve been good at getting them to send me in the right direction with endorsement, but I am trying to get them back into the sales process a step earlier than they ever want to be and I think my strategy hinges on positioning value at this unique time.

What are some tips/tricks to lure them into a demo 2 in a discovery > demo 1 > demo 2 (which I want to do discovery/demo 2 with EB) > negotiation > close type of structure (I tried to keep that brief so cut out some stuff after the demo 2 spot I’m looking to pull them into)

John Kaplan

Great question.

I like how you are getting to the EB early, that is not easy to do. One thing I like to do is think about EB Engagement as a process not an event. I like to think about 3 stages with the EB.

1. Early
2. During
3. After

Early - David you understand this one by your comments. I like how you talked about understanding the language of the EB and in your case you are being careful not to be too technical, focus on initiatives and getting an endorsement to talk to more people in the org.

One thing you might consider when trying to keep the EB engaged after your initial call is to summarize with something like "Ms. EB I am pretty confident we have a solution which will align your company's technical requirements to the business initiatives you have shared with me. I am going to speak with the others that you suggested. If I find that we have an impactful solution, will you allow me to come back and share it with you?" Most of the time people say yes. If they are uncomfortable they will say something like, "Hey I am not the one that is going to use this solution so you really need to sell it to the folks I suggested." Stick to your guns, make it clear that you know that the others are responsible for the technical requirements and decision, you just want to make sure that it aligns with the business impact expectations that she shared.

During - This is where you come back and do what you committed to doing above. I always try to do this (before) I validate the technical requirements to make sure that there is urgency around what we are talking about vs. technical people kicking tires on a demo. "I've met with your folks and have mapped the technical requirements to the business initiatives we discussed. I want to share those with you to make sure they are aligned with your expectations." Then its good ask, "If we are able to demonstrate our capabilities in a highly differentiated way to your people and make sure that we are positively impacting those business initiatives in a measurable way, is there any reason you would not move forward?"

After - This one is the easiest and most rewarding of the EB engagement. This is where we come back and share proof points of how our solution is helping them achieve their business initiates with measurable impact. I also like to give all the credit to her people. Who does not like to hear that?

In fact, we can all go back right now to previous deals that we have done and execute this "After" with the EB, even if you have never met them! Tell the story of how her people did an unbelievable job connecting the technical requirements to the business initiatives with xyz results and thank them for allowing you to work with such a great team. If you can't do this with your previous deals, their future is probably at risk.

So not only do you get great proof points, but the people you speak glowingly about become Champions for Life! As someone once said to me, "You don't need the credit, you need the money!"

At this point, I gave you more information than you asked for. Sorry about that, but it is such a great topic! One thing we did not discuss is the role of your Champion in your scenario. I will let others chime in here.