Decision Makers Vs. Influencers

Originally Posted by OUTSource Sales Skip, the "anyone else involved" question can be positioned either way: 1. is anyone else involved? or, 2. who else is involved? Your comment is well taken but I much prefer the approach illustrated in #1 above. It's not so subtle a point actually because the implication is one of confidence/trust. If it comes back 'no', then your contact is making the decision on his own. If it comes back 'yes' the SR needs to clarify his understanding of the decision-making process. If you ask "who else", you're assuming that this individual doesn't make decisions and you risk denting the relationship with this individual. In point of fact, it's a milestone along the way once reached, the SR knows where they stand (ie. is this or isn't this the decision maker?). Good luck & Good selling! Pat

Hi Pat!

Oops, I made a mistake in my previous post. Sorry. What I meant to write was this:

"Who else, in addition to yourself, is involved in the decision to purchase this product." (not "beside yourself", as I originally wrote).

In my opinion, this wording ("in addition to yourself") respects the person you're speaking to - it doesn't discount them entirely and acknowledges that they have a role in the decision. But this wording also encourages prospects to pony up and share names of others involved in the decision instead of hiding this information from the salesperson.

The challenge with the question you suggest ("Is anyone else involved in this decision?") is that bazillions of salespeople have asked that question and been told "no" by their prospects, only to find out later that someone else is, in fact, involved in the decision. The reliability of answers to "Is anyone else involved in this decision?" is quite low, and I agree with you that salespeople need to know where they stand regarding the decision-maker(s).

Since I sell to individuals only one makes the decision. If mates want what I sell I speak with both - I don't sell for one to give to the other.

If it's the business that's wanted - a distributorship - I want both mates to be involved even though only one may be starting a business. I still want both to understand it.

I don't deal much in business or commercial settings BUT our products can be put into appointment businesses. We've done that a couple of times and in those cases I will only speak with the decision maker. If it were a partnership of some kind I'd have to speak with both.

For me to be successful I have to be in control and in charge of those particular dynamics.

MitchM