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Ten secrets of successful CEOs who sell
by Anthony Parinello
Some heads of companies love to take matters into their own hands when it comes to selling face-to-face. Others choose to delegate selling authority – and in so doing cheat their organizations out of a great deal of selling “impact.” My question: What does the first group know about selling … that the rest of us wish we knew?
Here, based on dozens of interviews with some of the most successful, hard-charging top executives in the country, are ten actions that CEOs who sell do right on a regular basis. If you’re a CEO, business owner, or company president (or even if you’re not), consider working these strategies and tactics into your daily routine.
Secret #1: CEOs who sell know their ideal prospects.
CEOs who sell hate wasting time, so they target the people and groups most likely to buy from them. Wasted time in the sales process adds to the cost of sales and extends the critical time-to-revenue benchmark. Bob Palmisano, CEO of MacroChem, learned about targeting ideal prospects early on, at Bausch & Lomb, Playtex and Mobil Oil: “You must figure out very quickly how you fit in with a given prospect. You must back away quickly when what you have doesn’t fit what they need.”
Important: CEOs who sell have no qualms about calling the organization’s top person to find out – quickly -- whether there’s a potential fit. That means you should be willing to do the same. Pick up the phone and sell to the top!
More Important: identify all the sales currently in your forecast that are taking too long to bring to closure. Pick up the phone and call your peer, you’ll quickly find out what’s taking so long.
Secret #2: CEOs who sell understand that other CEOs use similar criteria to buy and sell. CEOs who sell take the same energetic, visionary approach to buying as they do to selling. Once you see a CEO make a buying decision, you’ll know a lot about how that person goes about the process of selling. (And vice versa.)
If you were to pick up the telephone and call Mike Borer, CEO of Xcel Pharmaceuticals you would most likely get shunted to one of Mike’s direct reports. Why? Because Mike’s strong background in finance tells him that “ownership and accountability while following the chain-of-command” is what works. He believes in his people and trusts them to help him in both the buying and the selling process. He has to! The organization he leads operates in a market where strict government regulation is the norm. Therefore, he looks for tight specifications and high degrees of accuracy in all value propositions that come his way, and he gets lots of help from his team of experts.
The moral of this story: Work with the target CEO’s buying and selling criteria – not against them.
Secret #3: CEOs who engage in selling like having the final say.
Even when they delegate, successful CEO’s are the final approvers of every initiative with which they come in contact. “Directors” (their direct reports) are empowered to conduct the fact-finding and make decisions/recommendations, which the CEO must approve. They manage a tight circle of influence and authority.
Here’s what Andrew Horowitz, CEO of The Estate Management Group, has to say on this topic: “My persistence and my ability to identify and clarify sets the pace in my organization. Everything echoes back to me.” Andrew never settles for what he calls a “stopper” in a sales situation or decision process. As he puts it: “Failure is quitting.”
Andrew’s organization deals with high net-worth individuals and he sees his mission clearly: “My only job is to make my customers rich -- not keep them from becoming poor.” Andrew takes responsibility in a dramatic way, no matter how much he delegates. You should too.
Secret #4: CEOs who sell model the ideal sales process personally and consistently for others in the organization.
Who plays the role of a model salesperson better than the head of the company? No one! Here are just a few of the important thoughts on the ideal sales process from the CEOs I interviewed. These are fundamental selling lessons that these leaders share with everyone in their organization.
“Yes, you need to sell -- but you don’t need to sell everyone.”
Karin Bellantoni, CEO, I-Mark (Karen was emphasizing the importance of focusing on the right prospect.)
“Follow up and persistence is critical. Answer and return all phone calls.”
Doug Simon, CEO, Mobility Elevator & Lift Co.
“Forget the typical ‘ice-breaker’. Get down to the real business issues first.”
Keith McCumber, CEO, DayLite Systems
“Constantly ‘blitz’ your territory.”
Cask Nicholson, CEO, Team America
(Note: at Team America, a territory blitz is a concentrated effort to reach out and contact a high number of prospects or existing customers in a short period of time. You can do it by sending a letter or e-mail first, and then picking up the telephone or making a series of in-person calls.)
“Always ask permission before you start to take notes. It lets the other person know that what they’re saying is important to remember and it clears the issues of confidentiality.”
Joe Mancuso, CEO, The CEO Club
(My personal favorite strategy, and one I used during my interviews for this article, sounds like this: “I’ll be taking notes during our conversation; if you want me to strike anything out let me know.”)
“Always be clear on the fact that you are here to sell.”
Bob Posten, CEO, Landis Strategy & Innovation
“Aim high. It’s best to cast a bigger net into your territory.”
Kevin Dyevich, CEO, Comfort Direct
Kevin’s point is a particularly important one. Think of the last big deal your organization landed; now take the total time it took to get the deal and divide that number by the amount of the sale. Now, do the same with the smallest sale. Finally, compare the numbers. If you’re honest, you’ll find that big deals are always more worthy of your time and effort.
Secret #5: CEOs who sell establish personal visibility within the marketplace and the community as a whole.
Jennifer Ash, CEO of Tomco Tool & Die, operates in an industry dominated by men. When she took over the job of CEO, Jennifer had to learn metallurgy, the marketplace, her company and how to relate to her prospects and customers -- and she had to do it all quickly. She pulled it off. Jennifer’s advice on how anyone can become familiar with (and therefore more valuable to) the organizations they sell to is direct and to the point: “Join and participate in professional organizations that relate to what it is you’re selling.”
In other words, become visible in your community of potential prospects and existing customers. Volunteer your time to a professional organization and get on the mailing list of associations whose members can purchase your products. Consider joining five organizations. “If you don’t,” Jennifer warns, “one of your competitors will!”
Secret #6: CEOs who sell personally monitor changes in their marketplace. Sure, this is extra work. But it pays off - and if you’re the head of the organization, it’s already part of your job description.
As Joe Mancuso, CEO of the CEO Club, has some great advice: “Become a super information processor; open all of your mail, watch the telephone log and visitor’s log, read the business journal, spot a growth industry, organize a customer focus group, travel and attend.”
Again: There’s a good chance you’re already doing all this if you head up your own company, but it never hurts to ask yourself: “How does this information affect our selling process?”
Secret #7: CEOs who sell constantly build upon interpersonal relationships to secure one-on-one loyalty from customers.
Bob Posten, CEO of Landis Strategy & Innovation, put it this way: “I had to get real about what I was doing for my customers. I had to use what I was selling. Then was I able to articulate what I did accurately to my prospects and customers one-on-one.” Once Bob did that, he earned the loyalty of his customers, and was able to build new market share quickly for his business. Bob is an expert at building loyalty by making deposits into the “relationship bank account” – rather than withdrawals.
Perhaps we should all check the balance in that account from time to time.
Secret #8: CEOs who sell have a crystal clear understanding of their vision.
Of all the business leaders I interviewed for this book, Howard Puttman, past CEO of Southwest Airlines stands out as the ultimate “champion of vision.” (before you internalize what follows I believe it’s important to note that while writing this feature article Southwest Airlines is the only American owned, major air carrier that’s showing a profit) Here’s what Howard has to say about vision:
“Vision is critically important when it comes to training your customers on what your mission statement really means. It’s critically important when it comes to showing your marketplace and your team members. And it’s a critically important part of the process of making sure all your team members become salespeople.”
How clearly do you articulate your vision to your organization, your prospects and customers? Are all your team members selling?
Secret #9: CEOs who sell make intelligent decisions quickly and independently.
Joel Ronning, CEO of Digital River, makes decisions for his company based on a fascinating equation: “Experience + Intelligence = Intuition”. To this, Joel adds a high degree of fearlessness, and puts the all-important element of time in front of every decision he makes. In other words: When does a given outcome have to take place? What has to happen before then? What choices must be made now in order to bring about the necessary results? Follow Joel’s lead. Look at the opportunities in your organization’s sales forecast and ask yourself: when does an outcome need to take place, what has to happen beforehand, and what processes are under your control right now to make the results you, your prospects and customers want. There is no replacement for taking action and closely monitoring the result.
#10: CEOs who sell stay focused and like people who can do the same. Isn’t it amazing what the power of focus can accomplish? In the field of medicine, a focused beam of light performs laser surgery that is less intrusive and less destructive than doctors of thirty years ago could have dreamed possible. And in your own career -- you have the opportunity to take the power of focus and use it to change everything.
Emil Wang, CEO of Latitude Communications, is big on focus: “Come at me with what you’re selling – but be honest and stay on purpose. Be very clear as to what you want from me, and don’t ask me premature questions. If any anyone regardless of title, sounds ‘flaky,’ I’ll dust them off.” Translation: further your own agenda … by sticking to the prospect’s. That may be the ultimate CEO selling secret!
Anthony Parinello is the author of the best selling book, Selling to VITO, the Very Important Top Officer. For additional information on his speeches and his newest book: Secrets of VITO, Think and Sell like a CEO (Wall Street Journal Best Seller) call: 1-800-777-VITO or, visit his web-site: www.sellingtovito.com Adapted from Think and Sell Like a CEO, by Anthony Parinello. Copyright (c) 2002. All rights reserved. Catch Tony Parinello’s live Internet talk-show on www.wsradio.com every Friday from 9 to 11 AM Pacific Time
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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Anthony Parinello
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