5 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling to C-Level Buyers

Some B2B air compressor sales leads are more valuable than others. Also known as C-suite executives, C-level buyers are among the most valuable sales leads. They consist of high-ranking corporate executives like chief executive officers (CEOs), chief operating officers (COOs), chief financial officers (CFOs) and chief information officers (CIOs). Because of their high-ranking positions, they tend to have purchasing authority. If you're planning to sell to C-level buyers, however, you should avoid making the five following mistakes.

#1) Overlooking Gatekeepers

Gatekeepers are a concern when selling to C-level buyers. As previously mentioned, C-level buyers are high-ranking corporate executives. Therefore, many of them have assistants or receptionists who answer the phone on their behalf. If you happen to reach a gatekeeper, you need to convince him or her to patch your call through to the C-level buyer whom you are calling. Otherwise, the difficulty of landing the sale has gone up.

#2) Insufficient Research

You'll need to research C-level buyers and the companies for which they work before contacting them. Failure to perform due diligence in regards to research will ultimately result in fewer sales. Prior to contacting a C-level buyer, research his or her company online. You may discover that the C-level buyer's company had a new round of financing recently, which is a positive sign that the C-level buyer is ready to make a purchase. Sales triggers such as this can help you target C-level buyers with better success.

#3) Overly Personalized Sales Messages

While personalized sales messages can prove useful, you should use caution to ensure that your messages aren't overly personal. If your sales messages are too personal, C-level buyers may perceive them as being creepy. You can still personalize your sales messages when contacting C-level buyers regarding your air compressors, but maintain a professional attitude that focuses on the C-level buyer's company rather than his or her personal life.

#4) Poor Value Proposition

With a poor value proposition, you won't generate many sales when contacting C-level buyers. C-level buyers don't want to waste money on unnecessary products and services. Rather, they want to buy products and services that can directly benefit the companies for which they work. If you use a poor value proposition, C-level buyers will fail to recognize the benefits of your B2B company's product or service, in which case they won't buy it.

#5) Contacting at the Wrong Times

Don't make the mistake of contacting C-level buyers at the wrong times. You have to remember that C-level buyers are responsible for running their own companies. As a result, they don't have a lot of free time to talk to vendors and sales reps. Therefore, you should experiment by contacting C-level buyers at different times, as well as days of the week, to find the best schedule.

However, it will be much easier to get to the C-Level suite to sell your air compression products and services by using the SalesLeads Project Reports. These reports will be your guide letting you know if air compressors is part of their identified project. If so, you have a reason to call and a reason to speak with the C-Level person.