Too often, sales reps want to “cut to the chase” by going straight to the decision maker and making their pitch. However, in most organizations these days, the decision maker is connected to and supported by a network of team members, many of whom can influence the outcome of the deal.

This network of people will often serve cross functions and departments within the customer organization. However, your relationship with each of them will still impact your ability to grow the trust level you have with the decision maker.

At CloudCoaching International (CCI), our experiences have helped us identify four tips to help sales reps penetrate this network and build relationships that will help grow your business with this customer.

1. Identify the Players Within the Circle of Influence

This widening network of contacts is sometimes referred to as the Circle of Influence, and it can be broken down into four categories.

Financial focus: This is usually someone with financial authority (purchasing/procurement manager, CFO, etc.) who can give the final ‘yes’ for the purchase. They are looking for savings and focused on budget constraints. If they don’t trust your ability to deliver a solution that's within the budget, they can block the deal from moving forward, even if the Decision Maker likes some aspects of your offer.

Functional focus: This person might be in involved in operations or some other production related activity. The Decision Maker may be the one to green light the purchase, but this person may be primarily responsible for implementing the solution and using it every day. If you want them to support your proposed solution, you will need to spend time building trust with them and understanding their needs, so they will be assured you can deliver the consistency, productivity, quality and reliability they need.

Technical focus: This person could be associated with any team or department within the organization, though they are often found in IT. Wherever they are, they are highly concerned about the fine points of any proposed solution. They will want the specs; they will compare all options; and they usually prefer the latest and best technology. They are not particularly price sensitive; they could be willing to pay top dollar as long as they are convinced that your solution is delivering the best value.

Gatekeepers: These persons are admins who support any of the key people you need to talk to, including all of the above, along with the Decision Maker. They are primarily interested in making their boss successful. They provide services that will help the boss be more efficient and reach important goals. For that reason, one of the things Gatekeepers do is limit access to the boss.

Keep in mind that when Gatekeepers block your way, it isn’t personal. They are doing their jobs, that’s all. But, even though the Gatekeeper may seem like a small cog in the machine, it's critically important that you build trust with them first, because if you don’t, you’ll never get the chance to build it with the decision maker. The best way to build trust with a Gatekeeper is to communicate through your attitude and actions that your goal is to help their boss be successful. It may take some time to build this level of credibility and trust, but once they understand that you can provide value to the boss, they will be much more cooperative with you.

2. Expanding Relationships Starts With the Account Plan

Developing an effective strategy for building relationships across the organization starts during the account planning process. It is here that you begin to map out everything you possibly can about the structure of the customer’s organization. Don’t just limit your research to the Decision Maker; develop as much background as you can on everyone in the Decision Maker’s Circle of Influence who could have an impact on the sales process.

You can start this process by getting to know a Gatekeeper. This person may be hesitant to grant you access to their boss, but they are usually willing to answer general questions about the way things work inside the organization. You can also learn a lot about the Decision Maker’s network through resources like Data.com, LinkedIn, and company website. Once you have identified even a couple of members of this network, you can begin building relationships.

3. Build the Trust Relationship the Old-Fashioned Way: Earn It

Once you have developed a comprehensive contact list for your target account, you go about building relationships with these people in exactly the same way that you would with the Decision Maker. These people may not be decision makers, but they are still your customers, and you need to treat them as such by:

1. Focusing on helping instead of selling
2. Asking good questions and being a great listener
3. Discovering what they value, and making sure they receive that value
4. Thinking outside the box and finding ways to meet their needs

4. An Important Caveat

You must keep your behavior consistent during all your interactions across the customer organization, and provide everyone with the same level of respect and support that you would give the Decision Maker. If you neglect to treat a gatekeeper or an influencer with the same level of consideration that you provide the decision maker, it will get back to the decision maker. At that point, you will lose your credibility with them and may also lose the account.

Developing skills to deepen trust with everyone in the customer organization is just one component of the Sales Mastery processes and tools perfected by CCI. In this series, we're sharing strategies and skills to help differentiate your organization from your competitors by creating a strong brand based on collaborating with the customer to help them achieve their most important objectives.