Stop Obsessing Over "The Decision Maker"

...and start obsessing over the decision-making process.

One of the changes in B2B selling is that, instead of decision makers making their own, often arbitrary decisions, purchase decisions today are made through a collaborative process involving multiple people and teams. This has always been a part of B2B sales, but now it's dominant. The 'decision making process' is now more important than 'the decision maker'.

Instead of this question or its variations:
"Who is the decision maker?"
"Who signs the check?"

Use questions like this:
"Who is involved in making the decision?"
"How will the decision be made?"
"What is the decision making process?"

Yes, there usually are the same old players like a main functional decision maker and the guy who signs the check. However, in the past, when decision makers would defer sales people to their subordinates, it was to blow the sales people off. Sales people were rightly trained to fight to get around this objection and obtain the decision makers' time.

Today, because executives are busier than ever, getting referred to their "get it done" contacts, the influencers, is usually the right way to begin selling into an account. Win over your internal champions and coaches first, and then you'll be perfectly positioned to win over the decision makers.

Should you ignore decision makers early? No!

Is the importance of reaching the ultimate decision makers any less important? No!

But the emphasis in the initial stages of a sales cycle should change. The focus of salespeople early in the sales cycle...
Past: 80% decision makers / 20% influencers
Future: 20% decision makers / 80% influencers

You do want to build a relationship with the decision makers early, but don't "sell" them until you've begun winning over the influencers, or at least until they've begun to agree with the value of your business case. You'll just look weak if you're pitching a business case to the decision maker that their influencers disagree with.

Related post: "Sell To Success" The All-Natural Close.