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Casual Articles - Identifying the Key Decision Makers
If you are a struggling small store owner fighting for customers in the face of stiff competition then, for goodness sake, concentrate on customer service! This is one area of your offer where you need spend no (or very little) money to get it right. You are dealing with your fellow human beings who are willing to hand over some hard earned cash for your products, so treat them with respect.Disrespect"Of course I treat customers with respect", is what many shopkeepers will say. No you do not, or at least many of you do not. I know from personal experience, and so do thousands of others, that customers in shops are often treated as an inconvenience. They get in the way. They ask awkward questions. Sometimes they buy things and then complain. Worst still, others do not buy anything and still complain. Some customers treat your shop like a meeting place, others just buy one newspaper a week and nothing else. Some of you might say: "look, I do complain about customers, but never on
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him
1) Determine a person’s ability to plan. Does the person who called the meeting have a clear goal and a specific plan to achieve it. People who do, recognize the value of preparation and can be trusted with larger projects.2) Measure teamwork. How are the participants working together? Are they making methodical progress toward an agreement, decision, or solution? Are the more skilled participants helping the others? Is the group working toward a result that benefits everyone? People who work as a team contribute more to productivity.3) Demonstrate communication. How well do the participants state their ideas? Do they speak clearly? And do they pay attention when others speak? People who communicate well avoid problems such as misunderstandings and arguments.4) Determine how people think. Are the participants offering ideas that logically follow what the last person said? How innovative, practical, or useful are the ideas? Are people focused on details or major projects? Are the
First, you may be having difficulty identifying the decision-maker. Secondly, you may be blocked from getting to the person who can really make the decision. Third, many people feel anxious or uncomfortable when they’re actually in front of a senior level decision-maker. We’ll discuss strategies to help you in all three of these areas.
Let’s talk about the first area, identifying the decision-maker. Think about the people at your prospective client as falling into one of two groups. The first is the decision-maker. This may be a single individual, or if you sell a variety of products, there may be multiple decisions-makers. The decision-maker is the one who can, as the name would indicate, actually make the decision to buy your product or use your services.
The second, and much larger group, includes supervisors, users of the product and technical experts. We’ll refer to this second group by the acronym S(supervisors)-U(users)-TE (technical experts) or SUTEs. These are people who can influence the purchasing decision but don’t actually have the authority to make the decision. That doesn’t mean that they’re not important. However, their needs are different than those of the decision-maker, and we will need to cultivate our relationships with them differently. It’s important that we don’t get confused about who does what. Those who claim they are the decision-maker often do so in the hopes that we won’t circumvent the process by going over their heads. Others claim to be the decision-maker for ego reasons, or simply because they feel that they might be able to make the decision. Unless we’re sure about the level of influence each individual has in the company, it’s very hard to maximize our effectiveness.
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him o
No matter how hard you try, in business you simply can't please everyone. You could have a highly trained customer service squadron and an award-winning product, but still you'd have some buyers who just weren't happy. The bad news is that unhappy customers are more eager to share their experiences than happy ones which could spell disaster for your business.There is good news, however. Unhappy customers who receive satisfaction can become your biggest allies. The trick, of course, is discovering how to satisfy their needs so efficiently that they'll forget whatever caused their disappointment in the first place. Here are some ways to make that happen:1) Be a Good ListenerWhen someone complains about us, our first instinct is to get defensive and to distribute blame. Most of the time we start doing this even before the other person has finished their argument. When that happens, we may misjudge the situation, offer inappropriate resolutions, or appear insensitive to our customer
Let’s talk about the first area, identifying the decision-maker. Think about the people at your prospective client as falling into one of two groups. The first is the decision-maker. This may be a single individual, or if you sell a variety of products, there may be multiple decisions-makers. The decision-maker is the one who can, as the name would indicate, actually make the decision to buy your product or use your services.
The second, and much larger group, includes supervisors, users of the product and technical experts. We’ll refer to this second group by the acronym S(supervisors)-U(users)-TE (technical experts) or SUTEs. These are people who can influence the purchasing decision but don’t actually have the authority to make the decision. That doesn’t mean that they’re not important. However, their needs are different than those of the decision-maker, and we will need to cultivate our relationships with them differently. It’s important that we don’t get confused about who does what. Those who claim they are the decision-maker often do so in the hopes that we won’t circumvent the process by going over their heads. Others claim to be the decision-maker for ego reasons, or simply because they feel that they might be able to make the decision. Unless we’re sure about the level of influence each individual has in the company, it’s very hard to maximize our effectiveness.
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him
1. Affiliate programs. In an affiliate program, you mostly act as a middleman between your partner company and the buying public. You will be promoting the goods and services that your partner merchant company sells, and in return you will receive a percentage of the sales you generate. Alternatively, you can also advertise your partner merchant’s site, and will be paid according to the number of people who you can redirect.2. Paid Surveys. All companies who wish to stay competitive have to conduct market research. The internet allows these companies to conduct these surveys at a reduced cost. If you fit the demographic profile that is required for a particular survey, you may choose to participate and be compensated accordingly. While most paid surveys do not pay much, participating in a bunch of them is a good way to make some extra money.3. E-mail processing. You will be asked to perform a few tasks concerning an e-mail, or a group of e-mail messages. You will most likely be paid ac
The second, and much larger group, includes supervisors, users of the product and technical experts. We’ll refer to this second group by the acronym S(supervisors)-U(users)-TE (technical experts) or SUTEs. These are people who can influence the purchasing decision but don’t actually have the authority to make the decision. That doesn’t mean that they’re not important. However, their needs are different than those of the decision-maker, and we will need to cultivate our relationships with them differently. It’s important that we don’t get confused about who does what. Those who claim they are the decision-maker often do so in the hopes that we won’t circumvent the process by going over their heads. Others claim to be the decision-maker for ego reasons, or simply because they feel that they might be able to make the decision. Unless we’re sure about the level of influence each individual has in the company, it’s very hard to maximize our effectiveness.
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him
Writing a good invitation is vital for the success of your survey!1. The title of the email should be short, convey your message and incite some interest on the respondent’s part. Look at it from the respondent’s point of view. 2. Identify who you are and how you have their email address. Remind them if necessary, that they are a member of your list, group or that they have agreed to participate. 3. Briefly tell them what the survey is about, how long the survey will take and why they should participate. An incentive ($$) is always a good idea. If there is an incentive, tell them what it is. 4. If there is a drawing put a link to the Rules / Legal page. Tell them you will publish the winners and do that when the study is done. 5. Put the link on separate lines with a space above and below. Give them instructions on what to do if clicking on the link in their email does not work. 6. Use plain text (.txt), not HTML. Keep the line spacing at about half screen o
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him
1. Spend money on decent quality business cards. Home made cards just don't compare to the quality of professionally printed cards. Your cards reflect your business - do you really want your cards screaming cheap!2. Always hand out two business cards – one for the prospect and one for them to handout to a colleague.3. Enter your business cards in Free Lunch draws at restaurants.4. Make your card unique in size, shape or texture. You want your card to stand out from the crowd. There are very nice folded cards that will provide more room to detail your services.5. Leave your business cards everywhere you go – leave one on the table in a restaurant, post a few on community bulletin boards.6. Tuck one of your business cards inside of library books – especially books related to your services. Perhaps someone who is researching databases will decide to save him or herself the trouble and will hire you instead!7. Include business cards with your invoices, or bill p
The first step is to make sure that we fully understand what we mean by decision-maker. The bottom line is that the decision-maker is the individual who can make the decision without further approval. Think of it this way, when you submit your invoice, who will have to sign off on it in order for you to get paid? That person is the decision-maker. Never lose sight of that target. That’s not to say that you want to just exclusively focus on influencing him or her. That would short sighted. Decisions are not made in a vacuum and any good decision-maker is going to want input from those who are likely to be impacted by the decision to buy your product or service.
How do we identify the decision-makers? One method that we will discuss in more detail later, is to purchase contact names from a list broker. An alternative to this is to hire a recruiting researcher to develop an organization chart on a company that’s a top prospect. The executive search community has used this practice for many years and there’s no reasons why you can’t make it work for you.
If you’re targeting specific industries you might want to consider using any of the larger contact list brokers. They do a good job of keeping their information current and the price is very reasonable. Like most marketing firms we keep a list of these firms close at hand.
It’s also important to remember that the decision-maker is likely to change over time. Just because a person is the decision-maker today, doesn’t mean that they’ll play the same role the next time around. There are a number of factors that will influence this. For example, the more you’re asking them to spend-the higher the decision will be made in the organization. Similarly, as business conditions become more difficult, the higher the decision is likely to be made. Another factor is your personal history with the client. If the company knows you or your firm they may feel more comfortable delegating the purchasing decision down in the organization. If you’re an unknown entity, the opposite is often true.
One of our clients sells a training program to a large multi-national bank. When they started working with the bank, the decision to use their service was made at an extremely high level. As the company became more comfortable with the supplier the decision making process became less arduous and was delegated to more junior level people.
This presents its own unique challenges. How does one remain in contact with the senior level individuals when they’re no
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