Your customers and clients are busy, often making it difficult to schedule a meeting. If you are trying to secure a meeting with a decision-maker who does not know you, it becomes even more difficult. Not many executives are willing to set aside time for a sales call without a pre-existing business relationship or an understanding of the solution you are offering.
This raises the question; how can you get some time with decision-makers? You must show through research and thoughtful messaging that you understand their pain points, what they want to accomplish and that you can provide the solution to their problems more effectively than your competitors.

You need to customize your messages. To get your sales, solutions and offerings message seen, never rely on email blasts that are not tailored to the executive, their role, or their industry. To create a personalized sales message, you must first understand your client. Who are they? What are their functions? What are their concerns? What kind of issues might they be facing? What are some key performance indicators they may be measured on? The goal is to gain some insightful knowledge about your prospective customers and clients so you can make a warm introduction.

You must provide relevant value propositions. When reaching out to decision-makers, aim to send a creative and unique message (maybe a short video), and be sure to include pertinent information demonstrating that you understand their pain points. It is important that your research will enable you to connect the dots and use the knowledge of the executive, the industry, and their activity to discover their challenges. When you have this information, you can craft a compelling and tailored message to provide value to the decision-maker.

You need time it right. To improve the possibility of hearing back from a decision-maker, always pay attention to the timing of your outreach. When executives receive a message on a topic that is on their mind, they are more likely to open it, read it, and perceive it as an opportunity to learn more. While you can’t control the timing aspect from the buyer’s point of view, you can control your message’s customization and relevancy.

When a key decision-maker agrees to speak with you, come prepared to talk about business—not just about specific products. While it may seem counter intuitive, the best conversations highlight what is most pressing to the client’s and customer’s needs and problems.

You can always look back to your initial research to create personalized and relevant messages that you can then use to engage in meaningful discussion. It is imperative that you ask questions based on what you know about the decision-maker, company and industry to unearth the important business issues or problems that are preventing the executive from achieving their company’s strategic or operational goals. And this will help you thrive.