For small-scale commodity purchases, such as shoes, office supplies, electronic gifts, and electronic consumer products, the decision maker is usually an individual. However, if it is to sell high-end products and equipment to large companies, such as selling SMT (surface mount technology) patch production lines, or selling mining machinery, medical equipment, etc., these purchasing decisions involving major projects are rarely made by one person, because once purchased, the impact will be very large, not only affecting the company itself that purchases the equipment, but also affecting downstream companies and surrounding communities. When a purchase decision involves a large number of people, it is impossible to focus on one person and hope that he can make decisions independently. At this time, if we focus on everyone who has an influence on the decision result, the success rate will increase.
These people include decision makers, influencers, decision supervisors, insiders, and sources.
1. Decision makers
Decision makers are the final decision makers in the purchase decision. They have the power to accept or reject you, and they are responsible for their decisions. They rarely make decisions without external influence because they will be influenced by the opinions of people around them. The decision maker may be the CEO, or the president, or the financial director.
2. Influencers
Influencers are people who the decision maker will listen to. Although they cannot make a purchase decision directly, they will provide information that is sufficient to influence the purchase decision and ultimately affect your sales results. Influencers may be product managers, purchasing managers, factory inspection quality management personnel, etc. In the communication with the customer company personnel, the person who speaks and asks the most questions may not be the one with the greatest influence. The most influential person may be the person who sits quietly and rarely speaks during the factory visit or the meeting.
3. Decision-making supervisor
What is the role of the decision-making supervisor? Large companies usually delegate power because senior management usually cannot personally participate in every procurement process. Most of the power will be delegated to the purchasing supervisor, who will not participate in the detailed evaluation of the product plan, but will participate in the final purchase decision. Decision-making supervisors usually do not like top-down sales strategies. They will rely on the professionalism of their subordinates and rely on their subordinates to come up with the best plan to complete the procurement decision.
4. Insiders
Insider is someone in the client company who really wants you to provide products and services, and makes your success their success. If your product is selected, they will benefit, and if your product is rejected, they will be mediocre. We need to find out who can benefit from our products. For example, product managers, marketing managers, purchasing managers, etc. are all likely to become your insiders. The higher the level of the insider, the greater their influence on purchasing decisions.
5. Sources
The source may be an administrative assistant or the general manager’s secretary. They may know what your opponent is doing, or the company’s budget situation. They may also know when the decision maker will return to the office. Establish a relationship with the company’s internal sources, and you can obtain a lot of intelligence inside the client company, so that you can be more targeted when formulating sales strategies.
When the organizational structure of the client company is very complex, try not to adopt a strategy of directly attacking the top level of the company, because they have no time and energy to deal with small projects. They will only come forward at the critical moment of the company’s project and when dealing with key major issues.