There’s one thing that most salespeople tell us about when they are in the Value Wave Business Accelerator program. It’s the lack of ability to get the decision-maker’s name when calling a company.
Now, I totally understand the rationale behind why many companies have a ‘no-name-policy’ and don’t share the buyer’s names with callers. It saves time and stops hindrance-calls when they aren’t wanted.
But they also miss out on so many opportunities that great companies like yours have available for them.
How else are they supposed to know about the new products out there that will save them tons of money, if they don’t let suppliers in on their new products. The old response’ we’ll call you if we’re interested” no longer can apply, because the changes happen so quickly, no company can ever keep up.
When trying to find decision-maker’s names, I always suggest on-line searching first. Put in the job title of the person who would buy at that company into a search engine like Google. ‘Procurement Manager ABC Ltd’ in speech marks will bring up any reference to them, probably giving you the info you require.
Check out their LinkedIn page too, learning about what they do now and anything about their job function and roles as it stands today. Go onto their company page on LinkedIn to see what’s happening. It keeps you up-to-date and may offer you some insights and ideas on what to talk about, particularly if their recruiting or expanding their operations.
If you are searching for information over some time, let Google Alerts proactively send you specific information about their company.
All of this will open up chances for you to find out more about the decision-maker. If all this fails, you can call the company. Ask something like this:
“O, hi, I’m Wade Younger from The Value Wave. I wonder of you could help me?
I’ve got some important information about training and development, and the changes that are happening over the next few months. Who would be the person to whom I should send it?”
If there’s a no-name-policy there, you can ask ‘What would be the best way to get this important information to the right person?’
If they say for you to send it to an ‘inquiries@’ or ‘help@’ email address, enquirer how you will know that it’s got to the right person. It may fall into a black hole, and, as someone who knows how valuable this information is, you want to ensure it gets into the right hands.
Some gatekeepers will tell you to send it to them and they will pass it on. Thank them and get their name, so you can politely follow up in the near future.
When you get the decision-maker’s details, it gives you a great chance to add value immediately and identify how you can build that relationship in the future.
Wade Younger, MBA, CSP, CSM, TEFL