"The decision maker is not here" objection

I often hear "my boss needs to sign this and I can't get his/her attention today."

I always ask if I can speak with the decision maker from the get go. However that person often designates an IT person or an office manager to take care of their Telecom items and report their findings and endorsements.

Sometimes I do get to speak with a CEO or President but more often than not the IT person turns out to be my main contact.

I've learned to ask "do you endorse our service to your boss?" And they almost always say yes.

My question is how do you encourage support staff to escalate your offer on their boss's agenda?

I refer to ethical reasons why I absolutely must meet the top dog.

Also, you can ask some questions that IT managers can't answer. For instance, you can link the installation of the new server to impact on corporate strategy. The IT manager has no idea. But if you can show how your system impacts strategy, that also increases the perceived value of your solution.


Thoughts?

Originally Posted by DedicatedCircuit My question is how do you encourage support staff to escalate your offer on their boss's agenda?

If you had buy-in why wouldn't the IT manager escalate your offer to their boss... wouldn't that be the final commitment you were trying to obtain during your visit?