Selling the C-Suite: The “Four Knows”

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)

In a prior post, Why You Can’t Sell to the C-Suite, I shared my experience of being a sales target during my recent tenure as a CMO.

The quick summary: I received over twenty-five unsolicited contacts per week – over one thousand in a year. Of these, about 98% didn’t work. Today, I want to discuss the approaches that did work.

Selling the C Suite Winning LosingI need to first make clear, in boldface: I am not a sales expert. My intent here is to offer some perspective from “the other side of the desk,” based on my own experience and that of other executives with whom I’ve discussed this topic. I expect that readers will have additional insights to share, and I invite you to do so in a comment below.

Let’s start by reviewing, as we apparently must, the table-stakes: Continue reading “Selling the C-Suite: The “Four Knows””

Why You Can’t Sell to the C-Suite

(Reading Time: 3 minutes)

I’ve recently completed my tenure as Vice-President of Marketing for one of the largest confectioners in the US. Like most executives, I was the target of a huge number of sales calls, most of them cold.

And if my experience was representative, then the modern sales industry is in trouble. Even as they tried to sell the C-Suite, I observed disturbingly low levels of forethought, professionalism and effectiveness.

If you’re a sales professional trying to reach the CMO – or any other executive – here are the things that are working against you: Continue reading “Why You Can’t Sell to the C-Suite”