Engaging Economic Buyers Early On for Higher Sales Conversion Rates

A major roadblock I encountered when I first began my journey to close deals was understanding the right people to communicate with, or even more importantly, the people I failed to connect with. Let me elaborate. The most straightforward approach to finalizing deals, particularly in products with short sales cycles, involves engaging individuals who possess the authority to make purchasing decisions right from the outset. Why is this approach more effective? Especially when discussing strategic business objectives, individuals at the top of a division or an entire company are aware that in order to grow a business, upfront investments are essential. Whether it's the CEO, COO, or CFO position, a significant portion of their time is dedicated to optimizing resource allocation – be it labor, time, or money. You show them a way to improve their margins, you will get closer to a successful deal.

Now, what about other stakeholders? Consider a scenario where you present your pitch to a champion, such as a Managing Director, Head of Finance/HR, or Associate, regardless of the service you're offering. While arranging demos with them might be more convenient due to their availability, it's also riskier. Following your meeting, they're tasked with persuading the C-Suite to invest in the product. Do they possess the skills to handle objections effectively? Coaching them on addressing potential objections becomes necessary, but it's not a guarantee that the deal will advance. How can they justify an investment when it comes to presenting your value propositions? While you refine your pitch every day, engaging with hundreds and thousands of companies, they lack the experience you have in your niche. It's highly probable that the moment they encounter resistance, your deal falls through. It takes a champion with a lot of credibility and enthusiasm to really push the deal through for you.

This scenario was a recurring theme in many of my deals. I struggled to establish a direct line of communication with the true economic decision-makers. While I provided guidance to other stakeholders to secure budgets, they lacked the authority, credibility, or the same level of conviction I had in the product to effectively persuade their economic buyers to fully commit.

Here are three fundamental principles I try to stick to for achieving higher conversion rates in my demos. The most important factor being early engagement with economic buyers:

1) Avoid overloading your demos with stakeholders who may have goodwill but could inadvertently hinder your deals. In other words, individuals lacking sufficient authority to promptly seal the deal.

2) Prioritize reaching out to the economic buyer first – adopting a top-down approach is typically more effective than starting from the bottom up (for non-enterprise deal sizes, though there are exceptions).

3) If immediate access to decision-makers isn't possible, refrain from delving deeply into pricing discussions. Instead, focus on arranging a subsequent meeting with an economic buyer. Introducing pricing and deal structures prematurely often leads to premature decisions before you can engage with an executive.

This strategy essentially mirrors the emphasis of the MEDDIC framework – highlighting the significance of involving the Economic Buyer early in the sales cycle. Gaining insight into their financial priorities, decision criteria, and pain points empowers you to tailor your sales approach effectively, significantly enhancing the probability of a successful conversion. If an immediate call with them proves challenging, prepare a roadmap to gain access and understand their decision-making process. In B2B sales, decisions often involve multiple stakeholders, but gaining the early support and approval of the Economic Buyer is the critical milestone and my number one priority now when I approach my deals.

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