I once read the story of the time when Elvis met The Beatles. Legend has it that it was an awkward encounter for both sides, lasting only minutes. Everyone assumed that these two kings of their own domains would have endless experiences in common and stories to share.
The image seemed to be that they would almost speak a language that only they understood. But alas, it wasn’t to be.
I don’t know why, but I often think of that encounter when I think about salespeople pulling their own senior execs into sales situations to meet the customer’s exec. It’s often called, “like-rank selling.” It can work quite well for salespeople, but usually it doesn’t. Turns out, senior execs don’t speak their own special language, don’t often have experiences in common and don’t have stories to share with each other.
That’s why the salesperson and exec must choreograph these meetings well so they yield their desired results. Here are six dos and don’ts to help:
Don’t accidentally neuter your salesperson.
Execs are used to running the show. But this is not their meeting, it’s the rep’s! I can’t tell you (literally) the number of calls I get from client salespeople that start with, “Can I tell you something off the record?” Then they proceed to tell me how they never want to take a certain exec into their accounts anymore because the exec simply took over the meeting (hmm, speaking of “The King”). Be mindful that as an executive, you will naturally want to be in control. Try to temper that tendency a bit, and you’ll do just fine in customer meetings.
Do have a purpose for being there.
This may be the biggest rule violation. Far too many like-rank meetings happen either because the rep thinks, “I gotta get (my exec’s name) in to see (customer exec’s name)” or the exec says to the rep, “You gotta get me in to see (such and such account).” If your rep wants you there, you must demand that he/she spell out for you what role you are to play. Likewise, if you request the meeting, make your purpose and role painfully clear to the rep.
Do your homework before going in.
Spend some time on the account’s Website. Pre-brief with the rep on the current and historical relationship between the two companies. Most importantly, ask – no, grill – the rep on exactly how the meeting has been positioned and exactly what expectations the customer might have coming into the meeting. I constantly exhort salespeople never to let their execs get blindsided in customer meetings. Unfortunately, they don’t always listen.
Do use the opportunity to increase your salesperson’s “currency” at the account.
You walk a fine line here because you don’t want to patronize your rep in front of the customer. One of the easiest ways to make this happen is for the rep to say, “I’ve asked (Your Name) to join me today because…” That positioning signals to the customer that their rep has the internal clout to command resources at your company.
Do use the meeting to learn about the customer, not to pitch your company.
Salespeople and execs alike assume that what the customer really wants is for the exec to come in and tell the company story. T’aint so! Sure, there are specific circumstances that can demand this. But the best way to leverage customer meetings is, as we like to say at Stapleton, “to leave the product at the door, step back, and go into homework mode.” Then both rep and exec alike (the rep must participate in this) proceed to do just that.
Do prepare the important stuff (hint, that’s not usually your PowerPoint presentation).
We all have things that, well, “send us.” This is mine! Here’s the drill: my client orchestrates a meeting with Big Customer X. They spend weeks working on their presentation. As a final check they “run it by Jerry.” Jerry, in turn, annoys the you-know-what out of the client by drilling and drilling … and drilling on the context for the meeting, on exactly what expectations the customer might have, and most important of all, on exactly what language the salesperson is going to use to get what I call the “contract” for the meeting at its start (after the usual warm-up, of course). Meanwhile, the client is pressing me to study and edit the presentation. In short, the most important thing to prepare for this (and, frankly, any) customer meeting is the exact language – yes, the rep must role-play it – that will be used to contract the meeting.
Follow these somewhat non-traditional approaches and watch your salespeople line up to invite you into their accounts.
