In
sales, myths are created when concepts and models are used out of the context
they were originally designed for. The concept of the Ultimate Decider is an
example of this.
Selling to the small
and medium enterprise
In
small and medium size enterprises the Ultimate Decider can be found in the
person of the owner or the CEO of the company. It is he/she who decides what is
to be bought from whom. This person also has the power to commit the enterprise
to spend the necessary funds needed to acquire goods and services.
Selling to the large
enterprise
Sellers
dealing with large enterprises often find, what Andy Paul in his book “Zero-Time
Selling” calls the Actual Decision Maker. This person has the authority to
decide what is bought from whom. However the authority to engage the enterprise
to spend the necessary funds for the purchase lies with another person.
Sellers
entering late in the buying journey are though faced with a dilemma. Should
they trust the Actual Decision Maker that she/he is capable to get the
signature for the purchasing contract of the supplier of his/her choice or
should the seller follow the common wisdom of calling high and try to reach the
person who has the power to engage the enterprise?
Especially
for purchases with lower strategic value, the person with the signing authority
is usually just approving the decision made by the Actual Decision Maker. The
term Ultimate Decider is thus a misnomer in such situation. Trying to call on
this person just slows down the sales cycle. Also the chances to revert a
decision of the Actual Decision Maker are very slim.
When to call high
The
person with the signing authority is usually of higher rank than the Actual
Decision Maker. Especially for strategic deals the question though arises when
to call this person.
Stephen
J. Bistritz and Nicolas A. Read in their
book “Selling to the C-Suite” have introduced the notion of the Relevant
Executive. The Relevant Executive is the person most affected by the problem
for which you offer a solution and/or can profit the most from the offered
solution.
Based
on their research, they recommend that the Relevant Executive is either called
after a successful implementation of a project or very early in the buying
cycle. In the former case this is a very good moment to establish a
relationship which might be beneficial for future deals. In the latter case the
aim is to initiate a buying journey. At this point in time it is premature to
solicit a purchasing decision. .
The
first decision you can expect from a Relevant Executive is to acknowledge the
existence of a problem or an opportunity that merits further investigation by
the organization. The next decision in the buying journey is then about how to
carry out information collection on possible solutions. Depending on how much
the Relevant Executive is a “hands off” person, the management of the buying
journey is can be passed to at this early stage to the person who later becomes
the Actual Decision Maker. The hand over to the Actual Decision Maker may come
later, at the screening and selecting of possible suppliers. The Relevant
Executive keeps the right to engage the company in the actual purchase through
his/her signature. As one can assume that the buying journey is delegated to a
person who has the trust of the Relevant Executive, the act of signing is more
of an approval than a decision.
The impact of
corporate culture
As
we have shown in a previouspost, the way decisions are made is also strongly influenced by the
corporate culture prevailing at the purchasing enterprise. So it can well be
that the Relevant Executive role is limited to initiating the decision making
process about whether the problem merits attention and whether a solution is to
be purchased.
Conclusion
It
seems thus that when selling to large enterprises, the Ultimate Decider is a
myth. Chasing after this phantom will thus just delay or even derail your sales
campaign.
What
is your experience with the concept of the Ultimate Decider?
