Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am trying to get an appointment with a major software manufacturer, but have been unable to do so. I sent a registered letter to the ceo a couple of weeks ago and he did reply in an email telling me that he would be forwarding my letter to the appropriate team. how long should i wait for a response from his team? and if anyone has tried this before and been successful i would love to know how they went about doing it.

The longer you wait in the sales cycle the less enthusiastic they become and the less they see the relevance for what you are selling or the more time they have to solicit others for similar concepts.

It is niche ideas, products and services that are the backbone of large business new growth. If they cannot recognize your value then that means you need to move on because someone else is looking for what you do at this very moment

Good Luck-

Shonika

Thank you very much for the advice. I will be sure to apply it.

Hi,

Also trying to reach these "big heads" in Big corporations. Here are some books I found very helpful...
Selling To VITO (The Very Important Top Officer) by Anthony Parinello

Getting to VITO (The Very Important Top Officer): 10 Steps to VITO`s Office

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.
Best of luck . Magda

Pick up the phone, stop the email.  Tell the person you have to talk to them now, and tell them why they need to meet with you. 

Mr. CEO we have this opportunity, and we can save you money, or save your staff time, or improve your bottom line through....and ask for the meeting...if he/she says "I will pass this on to ....", tell them great, I think it would be a great idea if .....was included as well in our meeting, will .... or .... work for you, and ....  go for the close again. 

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www.donedealleasing@gmail.com

Sometimes the old "Is Friday at 1pm or Monday at 9am better for you?" routine works, but most CEOs are wise that. Here are some other tips for getting an appointment with a CEO or other top executive in a large company:

Call into the main number and ask for the CEO by name. That person will almost always have an administrative assistant taking the calls. Make sure you get that person`s name and use it often during your conversation - people like to hear their names. Speak to the assistant as if they were the CEO. But don`t give them the whole pitch, and don`t get into gory technical details, just address them with the same level of respect you would the CEO and communicate the benefit your product or service offers the company. Then ask if you can get a 5 minute call on the calendar of the CEO. The assistant often manages the CEO`s calendar. If they do not agree, politely ask the assistant for a  recommendation as to how to go about getting an appointment.

If you can`t an appointment with the CEO, ask who the CEO usually delegates issues related to your product or service to in the organization. Ask the assistant how to get on that person`s calendar. Ask if that person has an assistant and if so, get the name and phone number. Administrative assistants to the CEO tend to know more about the organization than anyone else in the company. If you can get that person to help you understand how business is conducted, you can sometimes uncover a wealth of information that will be extremely helpful to you during the sales process. Lastly, ask the assistant if it is OK for you to call back and ask for more help later. They will usually oblige as long as you do not make a nuisance of yourself.

If that doesn`t work, try the same approach but ask for different people within the organization. If it is the head of product development you think will ultimately make the decision on your product, ask for that person. Don`t stop making calls until you find someone that will speak to you. Even if it is not the right person, you will be gathering useful information along the way. Sooner or later you will either get an appointment with the right person, the wrong person who may still help you, or discover that there is no need or interest in your product. Which is also very important information.

Also be sure to reference the names of the other people you have spoken to within the organization as you make more contacts. People are often more willing to speak with you if they know you understand their internal processes and have gone through the appropriate channels.

Don`t be afraid to ask whomever you speak to what the best way is to secure an appointment and with whom they recommend you meet. Large organizations have multiple `gatekeepers`. You need to navigate through them, not around them. The basic principle is do not be single threaded in the organization. Try to establish a deep and wide list of contacts and make yourself a map the organization so you can effectively navigate it. And, ask everyone you speak to how to get an appointment and/or how they perceive the value of your solution to the organization.

Good Luck,
Kregg