a. Start higher than you think you need. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a CEO, a superintendent, a mayor, city manager etc. They may kick you to someone else in the organization which is great. Influence flows downhill.
b. Treat gatekeepers (and everyone) like gold. If sincere, after an interaction, sending a sincere compliment to the boss about the gatekeeper to his/her boss in an email and copying the gatekeeper on the email.
c. Use jujitsu email. If the top person (or more likely their gatekeeper) tells you that someone else handles what you are selling, ask if they can forward it to the correct person and copy you on it.
d. Don’t use a script. Be real. Don’t be afraid to stumble. Human is better than scripted.
e. Take notes on everything. A CRM is useful, use it to Note Everything – especially the stuff that is important to them, even it has nothing to do with the sale. Don’t just use a CRM to note sales stuff. Note the personal stuff so you can remember it and build the relationship.
f. Be patient. You likely will not get a sale on the first call. It can take multiple outreaches and sometimes months and even years on some deals. Also, as a general rule, the bigger the organization, the longer the process.
