Like a lot of young single people, after college, I spent more than a few evenings with friends at the local tavern. One night in particular, I recall ordering a drink and looking off to my left where I met the eyes of a particularly attractive woman. I smiled. She smiled. I laughed. She laughed. Something was in the air. Clearly, a connection had been made. And then I stepped toward her. And she stepped… past me.

I was confused to say the least. Hadn't I made contact? Hadn't I started up a conversation -- albeit a silent one? Then I looked to see where she was going.

And yeah, you guessed it. She was going by me to talk to the strikingly handsome six foot guy who'd been standing behind me the whole time.

This humorous (and somewhat humiliating) story may seem out of place on a business blog, but is it? When I look back on various sales efforts, I've found that, like my younger self at the bar, less successful sales and marketing teams have spent too much time and effort messaging to someone who isn’t even listening.

This short video not only captures this concept, but it also gets you to ask: Who should I be targeting my message to? Because while you are likely targeting the right company, you may also need to reach beyond the obvious people in that organization to achieve success.

But how? And who?

Here are a few tips for helping find and connect with the influencers -- the right people --
in an organization.

1.    Look beyond the top exec

Just because someone at the top is going to make the decision don't get caught up waiting to get on their calendar. There are usually several influencers in any purchasing decision. Look at your past successes to identify the titles of people who were involved in previous sales deals and source those titles for your current opportunities.

2.    Use inbound interest to identify companies not individuals

Sometimes the people interacting with your website are not the people you really want to be talking to. However you can use this sign of interest to recognize opportunities in companies. If you can identify the company expressing interest, and then source the titles for your influencers and buyers in this company, you can often shorten sales cycles.

3.    Listen via social

Today, people are social. They talk openly about their pain points and needs. Conduct searches on Twitter and other social channels to find people you can help with your product. You can use this tactic to identify companies with need and source the right people with titles to generate business.

Naturally, these are only three ways to help your sales efforts find an audience that's ready to hear you, and more importantly, able to work with and help you.

But what works for you? (And I don't mean when you're trying to buy someone a drink.)

See how Data.com can help you connect with the right people.