The debate about whether to parachute into C-level (Top-Floor:Down) or work your way up through an organisation (Ground-Floor:Up) can divide opinion. Here’s some reasons why SCi Sales Group believes Top-Floor:Down is no longer a viable option:
1) It’s not just about the one’s you win
It’s also about the C-levels you have not been able to contact. What’s the impact of being repeatedly stopped by the gatekeeper? Eventually, rejecting your calls becomes a habit, or (worse) your brand becomes known as a nuisance.
Working Bottom-Up enables you to connect with the right decision maker, without troubling C-level and their gatekeepers. Not all decisions are made at Boardroom level.
2) You need to be fully informed
There is only so much (out of date?) information you can glean from the internet. There is a wealth of ‘unpublished’ insight you can only get by speaking to subordinates within the target organisation.
C-level is not the place to start fact-finding, they expect you to be fully informed when you arrive. They are the big-picture thinkers and may not have answers to your detailed questions.
3) You’re wasting everyone’s time
It can sometimes take 3-6 months to get through to your C-level target, only to find the decision is made further down the chain. You have wasted your time, and 80 calls to the gatekeeper, trying to connect with the wrong person.
Download Infographic: 5 point plan to reach C-level decision makers
Subordinate Managers below C-level are easier to connect with and less well protected. You can quickly establish where the decision power lies by talking to just a few of them.
4) C-level is now a collective
A Chief Marketing Officer does not get budget without the approval of the Chief Finance Officer, and if the budget includes investment in the CRM, the Chief Information Officer is involved.
Decisions at C-level are big decisions; they require collective approval. C-level seldom make decisions on their own – often asking for feedback from peers and research from subordinates.
Working Bottom:Up enables you to connect with other relevant departments, and get the influencers on-board with your proposition.
5) It’s not an ego trip, it’s an elevator ride
Good sales executives have big egos; they need it for a tough job that can include a lot of rejection. Ask them if they can get a meeting with a C-level exec at a major Plc and they will say “Yes”. It can become a matter of pride to just pick the phone and dial C-level directly, to prove how well-connected they have become.
So are they tempted to parachute into C-level just to prove they can do it?
For us, C-level is an elevator ride. First, find the floor you need. The journey should be Ground-Floor:Up. Practice your elevator pitch, making sure you educate people as you travel. Finally, exit at the right level… C-level is not the only stop.
Want to learn more? Download our White Paper ‘A Plan to Reach C-level Decision Makers’ or view our infographic ’5 point plan to reach C-level decision makers’.
