Selling Through the Customer’s Organization (Chart)
Don't have a customer org chart? You lose!
An org chart is invaluable in a complex sale. When I was coaching sales teams, I refused to help a rep with a deal unless they had an up-to-date org chart. If a rep can’t get someone in the account to give them an org chart, they should be able to build one with help from their contacts.
Org charts are so important that several sales training companies require them as a critical component of their opportunity and account management plans. More advanced opportunity and account plans (and supporting software) allow you to overlay a political map on top of the org chart so you see the relationships between influencers, decision makers, your supporters and your enemies. (By the way, if you’re in a complex selling environment and your team isn’t taking the political landscape within the customers’ organizations into account when developing a strategy to win, you need help. Yesterday.)
In a comment to Brian Lambert’s post on the Sales 2.0 Network blog, Walter McConnell reminded me about Forbes Corporate Org Chart Wiki. Try it. Think about what impact org charts and the skills to understand them would have on the outcome of your team’s sales opportunities.
Filed under: Account Management, Big Wins, Buyers, Methodology, Opportunity Management, Relationships, Sales Strategy, Sales Training Companies
Tags: Brian Lambert, org chart, political map
This is such an under-used tool. Thank you for writing about it!
When I was a sales rep, I once used an org. chart to penetrate and build an account that is, to this day, the biggest account at that location and a Top 10 account for the parent company.
Org. Charts rule!
I have run more than 200 Opportunity and Account Management programs throughout the World across most industries. A common prerequisite for participants is for them to bring along a key client’s org chart.
The vast majority of Account Managers were unable to obtain one -a strong indicator of the poor level of relationships they claimed to enjoy with their major customers!
Being able to articulate the structure and relationships between key executives was something I looked for in my previous life when hiring prospective salespeople.
If you can’t get one from your HR contacts your internal network should be able to assist in building one.
[...] A couple of days ago on Dave Stein’s Commentary on Sales Leadership talked about Selling Through the Customer’s Organization (Chart). [...]
Great post… I have never used the Forbes Corporate Org Chart Wiki. That tool alone landed you a spot in my feed reader!
Thanks for sharing!
-Brad
Hey, great idea! BUT, in practice, how do you get them? Isn’t it rude to ask? I feel like the org chart is seen as an internal document, something not to be handed out to sales people… I would’ve thought the company would feel that the sales person might just go crazy harassing everyone…
I’m not saying this because I disagree with you, I’m saying this because I’d like to know what to ask and who… I want that org chart !! How do I get it?
And, if I have to build my own, will I be forever pestering my customer of the “who’s who” of interrogation tactics, possibly ruining my chances of getting in there next time? Am I over thinking the whole thing… help……..
It’s not rude to ask, Michael. I’ll write a post about this subject in the near future. Stay tuned.