The average Fortune 500 company has more than 52,000 employees. Why then do most prospecting efforts stop once we have set a single qualified appointment in one of these key accounts?
If we set only one appointment in a sea of 52,000 people, we are putting a great amount of pressure on a single meeting. That prospect needs to be the exact right title, and we better hope he/she is having a good day. That means no arguments with a spouse, great traffic, perfect weather and a restful night’s sleep so the prospect is alert and fully able to understand the value of a new solution.
In addition, the sales rep must be on point because we literally are giving ourselves one at-bat to hit the game winning run in the World Series.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like those odds.
In a former life, I helped set appointments to drive multi-million dollar deals and here are the numbers that would make one deal happen:
- 40 total meetings
- Sales appointments with 18 different people
- 9 to 12 months to close the deal
Selling to key accounts takes time and wherewithal, and it’s not for the faint of heart. However, the chances for success can easily be doubled or tripled just by securing multiple meetings in the same account.
Below are some tips to help SDR teams do this.
1.) Change up the references. Use different references within the walls of the company you are targeting and list those references by functional areas you are meeting with versus by name.
2.) Shared vs. separate meetings. When scheduling time with executives in the same functional area, consider involving them in the same meeting. When scheduling with executives in different functional areas, schedule different meeting times so the value proposition doesn’t get watered down by trying to appeal to the needs of everyone.
3.) Let the sales rep share the landscape. If the prospect is curious about who else you have been meeting with, save that hook for the discovery call. Ask the rep who owns those relationships to share the details during a scheduled conversation.
Happy calling. Smart Prospecting!