7-POINT CHECKLIST TO

WIN EXECUTIVE BUY-IN

You only get one shot with executive buyers, and the stakes are high.
One misstep could send your entire deal out the window. That’s because few
sellers know how to sell to senior executives.

Follow these steps to boost your success rate in the most

important meeting(s) in your pipeline:
Here’s how: Use the messaging framework below.

• Offer a unique point of view: Show how your solution

1. Don’t confuse role with title solves a problem in a new, different, or better way.

a. If you don’t know people’s roles, you’ll operate based on

• Provide provocative industry insights: Introduce a
new trend or issue the exec hasn’t even considered.
their titles. And that leads to incorrect assumptions about
who has decision-making power.
• Competitive benchmark: Offer them a benchmark
comparison against similar companies.
b. Action: Talk to people inside the buyers org to figure out
two things: 1) Who is close enough to the problem to do
something about it, and 2) Who is involved in the decision
making process. 3. Keep the conversation flowing with
targeted questions
a. Do that by asking strategic sales questions that focus on
Here’s how: Ask the key questions below to uncover
vision, growth, market differentiation, pressures, and
pivotal data.
productivity. That’s what the C-suite cares about. It’s
• How do you currently make decisions? what holds their attention.
• Who plays the role of decision maker?
b. Action: Prepare 3-4 insightful questions that focus on the
• What do they experience in that role (pressure from customer’s high-level goals.
leadership, a lot of independence around finding
solutions, frustration from reps, etc.) c. Here’s how: Ask questions like the ones below.
• How have you made purchasing decisions in • How do you want to position your company in the
the past? market three years from now?

• What does this issue cost you in terms of resources,

quality, output, revenue, employees, time, etc.?

2. Maximize their time • What do you see as the biggest challenge that
would prevent you from reaching [name their
a. Wasting time is the fastest way to lose trust with strategic goal]?
executives. The first three to five minutes in your
d. Caution: If you ask discovery-level questions or too many
meeting are critical. You never want them to wonder,
questions, your win rate will drop. Why? Because senior
”Why am I here?”
decision makers have discovery fatigue. Don’t ask
b. Action: Immediately clarify why this meeting matters to standard questions, ask them strategic questions no one
this person. You’ll earn the right to influence them for the else can answer.
rest of the meeting.
 c. Here’s how: Talk about your solution in a way that
connects with their high-order business problems and
strategic opportunities. Maybe that’s competitive
differentiation and opportunities that are still undetected,
or top-of-line revenue goals and scaling the business.
Here’s an example of how we think about this at Gong:

What strategic topic can you tie your solution to?

Coaching (Tactical) Competitive Differentilation (Strategic)

• Attracts mid-level managers • Attracts VP-level
• Not frequently discussed at • Discussed frequently at
executive-level meetings executive meetings
4. Solve for external factors • Thought about “every now • Thought about every day at a
and then” as “something we viceral level

a. External factors include anything outside the control should do”

of your C-level decision maker. That might be industry

issues (e.g., regulations, competitive dynamics, business
models) or company issues (e.g., differentiation, stock
6. Uncover their hidden needs
price and performance). This is the stuff that scares
execs. And it’s where you can communicate the most a. Executives are always looking for an edge. Alert them to
value — where both the problem and the solution threats they haven’t foreseen or opportunities in hiding,
are unknown. and you’ll unlock a powerful persuasion method: loss
b. Action: Reference specific external factors early in the aversion, which drives urgency.
conversation to demonstrate that you understand their b. Action: Discuss an external trend that threatens their
business and establish your credibility. status quo.
c. Here’s how: Increase your industry knowledge c. Here’s how: Talk about what the market is doing, then
before your meeting. Read press release statements, tear down their status quo (respectfully). Executives
thought leadership posts, and social media, and become urgency-driven when you show them why their
leverage intelligence through your contacts elsewhere status quo is no longer viable.
in the organization.

5. Mention their strategic initiatives Focus your message on “tearing apart the status quo”

a. Are they trying to increase market share, grow

POINT POINT
revenue, cross-sell/upsell, or expand into new markets
A B
through mergers and acquisitions? Identify their
upcoming strategic initiatives, then talk about how The real power is focusing your Most sellers focus their pitch
message on how unsustainable on “getting you to point B” (i.e.
you’d support them. Point A is. benefits)

b. Action: Understand which initiatives are essential to

their growth plan. Make the connection between those
initiatives and your solution, and show your prospect the
d. Caution: If Point A is your status quo and Point B is the
impact you’d have on the initiative (as well as their
result of implementing your product, focus on reshaping
department’s credibility and their professional standing).
their view of Point A more than on building up Point B.
7. Paint their desired future state

a. Pull your solution story together. Include the external

factors that shape their strategic business initiatives, and
how you help them resolve their hidden needs. Make the
path from their current state to their future state clear.

b. Action: Build a business case with relevant before and

after customer stories.

c. Here’s how: Start with the before, making sure they see
themselves in it. Then build the after story — what
happens once they implement your product or service.
Make sure it’s targeted and relevant to their business
use case.

d. Caution: Don’t lead your future state discussions with

ROI. The buyer will focus on evaluating your formula and
assumptions, and that’s not productive. Instead, use ROI
to introduce your before and after stories, or co-create
the ROI with the buyer, using their numbers.

Before and After Case Study

Before After
• Won 20% of competitive deals • 2.5x increase in competive win rates
• Average discount rate: 13% • From 20% and 70% competitive
win rate
• Average discount rate: 8%

Want to equip your team to deliver better C-suite meetings?

Game on.

But first you need to see what’s happening inside your sales
process — and what’s really driving sales.

That’s easy… if you have Gong’s Revenue

Intelligence Platform.

Book a Demo

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