Marketing Profs

No matter what your sales experience, you can likely appreciate the challenge that sales professionals face when selling to executives in the world's largest corporations. But what does it take to sell to an executive in a small or medium-sized company?

Professionals who sell to this group are notorious for strategically peppering their pitch with “bottom line” objectives and promises of a significant return on investment (ROI). Whatever it takes to get your foot in the door, right? But then what? Nowadays, it seems ROI just isn't enough to get the deal done.

More and more we hear that even big brand companies are challenged with how to sell to executives at this level. There you are, armed with a wealth of sales knowledge and experience, but your audience is not responding according to plan. This issue's dilemma asks, How do you sell the CEO (or other executive) beyond the promise of a return on investment?

Not interested in the ROI on this dilemma? Let us know what keeps you up at night. What dilemma do you take with you when you leave the office? Your peers would love to help. Write to us and ask our SWOT Team about your dilemma. Tap into the collective strength, wisdom and experience of this group. It works, and you could win a free copy of our book, A Marketer's Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing.

Revisit our previous dilemma—read below for your peers' best advice for dealing with a territorial sales team.

Unite and make a difference!

• Give advice about this issue's dilemma.
  
  
• Read your peers' responses to the previous dilemma (below).
  
  
• Submit your own dilemma.

This Issue's Dilemma

SWOT Category: Internal Weakness

What advice can you give on how to sell to CEOs of SMBs?

I have years of experience selling large and complex technology solutions to executives in Fortune 500 companies. Recently, I made the switch to working for a company that sells exclusively to companies with less than $15 million in sales.

• Email
• Print
• Save

• Page 1 2
• View article on one page