Your initial contact may be unaware of implications for other stakeholders

Hello Subscriber,

Just because something is obvious to one person, doesn’t make it obvious to anybody else!

Today, we’re looking at what happens when the first person we speak with is unaware of implications for other stakeholders. Let’s call them our “initial contact”.

Sometimes, these conversations with our initial contact are because they contacted us. In situations like this, it’s likely that there’s a specific reason that led them to get in touch. And for them, that’s the topic of most interest, regardless of who else might have an interest.

Maybe it was you who approached this person. You did your research and clarified what might be of greatest interest to this individual. You were successful in having this first discussion. Well done! But again, there’s a risk that you stay focused in your conversation on the topic that gave you the success in setting up the opportunity to meet and talk.

It’s probably already obvious to you that a range of stakeholders might ideally be involved in discussions about what you’re selling. But it might not be obvious to your initial contact.

Who else might have an interest in what we’re talking about?

The key message in today’s email is that it’s your responsibility to identify the people who might become key stakeholders. Just because it’s obvious to you that other people might ideally be involved doesn’t make it obvious to everybody. And it might not be obvious to your initial contact.

So here’s a key question that you can ask: “Who else might have an interest in what we’re talking about?”

And for maximum success in a situation like this, ideally, you will have already done your research before the meeting. You will use the list of typical stakeholders that you created yesterday as a prompt. You might do your research using the following:

• Their company's LinkedIn page

• The page on their website where team members are introduced

• Your CRM or marketing records

• Conversations with colleagues or customers who know about the company or person you’re speaking with

You might then ask: “Who else might have an interest in what we’re talking about?”. And because you’ve done your research, you can then prompt your initial contact with suggestions about roles or even specific people.

Coaching Your Initial Contact

Of course, when you get your initial contact talking about these additional stakeholders, you can prompt them further to begin to identify potential priorities and needs.

When you prompt people like this, it’s a form of coaching. You’re trying to help them to make the connections in their thinking that are obvious to you. But instead of simply telling them, you’re inviting them to make the connections themselves.

And when you identify these potential stakeholders and their priorities, you might try to arrange to meet them. This will give you the best chance to include their needs and priorities in your increasingly compelling proposals!

Here’s one area of practice to emphasise today

Coaching Focus

How might your sales team leader help you with today’s area of practice?

1. Review some of your scheduled conversations today and help you to research the key roles and people.

2. Practice asking some of these questions in some very short role-plays.

3. Have a coaching conversation about asking your initial contact: “Who else might have an interest in what we’re talking about?”

Reminder: One area of practice to emphasise today

If you have questions or comments, it would be great to hear from you. Just hit reply and send me an email.

Have a great day!

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