
This guide will serve as a resource to help direct your discussion about executive positioning. This guide is in place to provide structure and guidance only. There is no expectation for you to review everything on this list at any set time; please use at your convenience.
Feel free to click on the links below to jump to the relevant section. Have a great conversation!
Discussion Questions
The following topics and questions are meant to provide a conversation guide for the Sales Rep to introduce their product and its features to the Emissary. Please don’t feel like you have to cover every question in detail (or at all). The goal is to provide sufficient background for the Emissary to help as much as they can.
- Name / job title / what I know about them / my understanding of org chart
- Describe who you have spoken with at your target account.
- Describe any business cases you have identified for your product.
- Describe any RFP or proposals that have been sent out.
- Describe the current stage of the deal.
- Describe how you think the deal is going.
- Do you feel like you’re speaking to the right stakeholders?
- Do you have a champion?
- Does your champion have the influence necessary for the deal to progress?
- Who is the decision maker for this vendor?
- For each of the major decision makers:
- Where are their organizations located?
- How technically adept or engaged are they?
- How do you they make decisions (e.g. is this individual more technical or relationship oriented)?
- How did they rise to the seniority they’re at now?
- Where did they come from before the target company?
- Who are their counterparts in other orgs?
- Who do they work with regularly? Who do they like working with? Who do they not like working with?
- How are new ideas brought into the organization?
- How did the last big vendor get brought in?
- Which employees do the decision makers speak with regularly? Who has influence over the decision makers?
- How are responsibilities delegated among their direct reports?
- Is there someone that they trust more than others in their organization?
- Who do they report into? What is that relationship like?
- For each of the people the client is speaking to at the target account,
- What is their credibility in the organization? How was this credibility generated?
- Are they seen as an innovator?
- How risk-averse are they with vendors?
- What was the last big project they delivered?
- What was the last vendor that they brought into the organization?
- How responsive are they to email?
- How can I manage to get the answers and information that I need to make a sale?
- What will make them comfortable with a decision?
- How much do they need to be pushed and managed? How much will they want to control the situation?
- Are there any risks associated with initiating conversations with someone a level above the current contact(s)?
- Are there politics around advancing the discussion to a more senior member of the organization?
- What is the relationship between the current contact and the decision maker(s)?
- Who is the set of people that the client should be reaching out to?
- How should the client reach out (email, phone, text, direct mail)?
- How often should the client follow up?
- What messaging will catch the attention of the person?
- How likely is it that each person will respond?
- Should the client reach out through admins?
- Are there any hot button topics that will cut through the noise?
- Are there any hot button topics that will result in negative reaction?
- What timeline should the outreach have?
- How can the client demonstrate that they are interested in the target company and can be a helpful problem solver?
- Are there any “hacks” to getting the attention of certain people?
- Are there any upcoming events that would be useful to connect with?
- What is plan B for if those people don’t respond?
- Are there any weeks or days of the week that are definite “no send” times?
- Are there any times or days of the week that will increase the likelihood of a response?
- Are there politics around advancing the discussion from the client’s current contact(s) to a more senior member of the organization?
- What is the relationship between the client’s current contact(s) and the decision maker(s)?
- Review draft of outreach text / messaging and edit
- Check that tone of language matches that of intended recipient
- Check that length will be read by intended recipient
- Check that problem or case study is relevant and will grab attention
- Review talking points for a phone call
- Confirm ROI numbers are sufficient for interest
- Are there any gift or event policies at the target company?
- How do you think the decision-makers would react to a gift from a potential vendor?
- Are there any events that would be particularly appealing to the decision makers?
- Are there any creative ways that vendors have gotten their foot in the door that have worked in the past?
- Are there any creative ways for the client to get their product in front of the target company?
- Are there any topics that the intended recipients are looking to learn about that the client could enlighten them about?