C-Level Selling - Definition, Importance & Steps
What is C-Level Selling?
C-level selling or the executive level selling involves selling a product or a service proposal to a decision maker of any company who generally are the top level executives. C-level selling has been in practice since ages and involves high stake products or services which are either too sensitive in use or involve higher costs than usual and need the consent of any top level decision maker.
Importance of C-Level Selling
C-level selling is prospected to these decision makers as they have certain authority of deciding on the monetary terms or changing and evolving as per the need of the company and the trade. C-level selling forms an important part of product or service marketing because it involves the top management. It is often mixed with B2B marketing or business to business marketing because the executive is acting on behalf of the company under target.
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Steps for C-Level Selling
There are certain steps to master the art and science of C-level selling:
1. In depth knowledge: The sales person should have the in-depth knowledge about the product or service and must be capable to answer any queries within the legible limits
2. Experience: The C-level selling person should be experienced enough to interact with a top level executive and should not appear too nascent
3. Networking: Building high worth networks can help in fixing up the meeting and pitching the proposal before the actual sales process.
4. Focus on the monetary factors: The top level executives are often worried about the costs associated with any offering.
5. Be specific: People with much experience and knowledge attain the top positions and they avoid beating around the bush and rather focus on the main agenda. They are normally in dearth of time to attend to any involvements other than their regular operations.
6. Follow up: Sometimes the C level executives are in shortage of time and have busy schedules. The salesperson needs to maintain a perfect balance between following up for a re schedule or an order conformation versus breaching privacy and becoming annoying
7. Product or service quality: The quality of the product or service in proposal should be good enough to be pitched to a C level executive and should be glitch free.
8. Pre work: There should be at least two re checks of the actual demo or the presentation before presenting to the executive.
The C-level selling & marketing works wonders for the company if used effectively and efficiently as the deals closed are generally of high worth. The proposals generally take much time when the C level executives are involved as the proposal has to go through multiple layers of scrutiny and acceptance before the final contract to be made. This involves a great deal of patience from the seller side to stick to the initial goal of selling and not to bail out on the prospective buyer. Additionally the seller should be ready with the mandatory follow up schedules and maintain a strong position as the impression in this high level selling matters a lot and can make or break a prospective deal.
Hence, this concludes the definition of C-Level Selling along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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