The bottom-up strategy is to first contact the person in charge of a lower position within the customer company. The biggest advantage of this strategy is that it is easier to connect. For example, product managers or marketing managers, they usually spend time talking to you about the details of the product, and they are closer to the project operation level. Knowing that most people like to perform in front of their colleagues or superiors, if you can win their support, you can convey the value of the product to the higher-level person in charge of the company, and gain trust through the recommendation of their internal personnel, it is more effective than going directly to their CEO to recommend the product.
The biggest risk of contacting people with low positions is that you will be blocked by someone who has no decision-making power. They have no decision-making power over the company’s strategy, procurement direction and timing, and you have no way to get complete and correct information from them.
Another risk is that if they feel that adding you as a supplier is likely to affect their interests, they will neglect you. For example, he can get a higher commission after purchasing from supplier A, but there is no benefit in purchasing from you, so adding you to their supplier system will damage his original interests, and he will try to hinder you.
So, which strategy should be adopted to be effective? It is necessary to identify several key roles in the company.