Kensei Partners

Have you ever felt really good about a deal you were working, put it on your forecast and bragged about it to your boss and colleagues only to hear that “priorities have changed” or have the client ask “can we circle back on this at the beginning of next quarter?”  If you have (and we all have), then I almost guarantee you were selling to someone below the Power Line.  This is one of the biggest issues in sales.  Many of us are selling to people who can always say no but can never say yes.   Sometimes there is nothing we can do about it but most of the time there is.

If you’re not familiar with the power or the Org Chart I suggest you get started.  Every company has an Org Chart.  The Org Chart is the foundation for any strategy you want to develop when trying to get into a new account or manage an existing one.  It shows you what the client looks like, how the different departments are related, who reports to who, and where the person you are dealing with sits on the Power Line. The Power line is a line on every Org Chart that separates the people who can make decisions (or have heavy influence on them) and people who can’t.  The best way to get an org chart is to (ready for this…?) ask for it. You have to earn the right to ask for it and you need a good reason.  You can’t ask for it on the first call and your reason can’t be “because I know you’re not the person who is going to sign this contract.”  I usually ask after the person I am dealing with tells me about the decision making process and who is involved and then starts asking me for details on my solution.  It goes something like this “I’d be happy to give you some details about the solution we can offer your company.  Would you mind sharing with me your org chart so I can get a sense of how your organization is structured which will help me give you a better picture of the total solution we can provide?”  The reason I ask for it early on in the sales process is because just by asking it helps me understand whether or not the person I am dealing with has any chops (authority).  Usually people above the power line (who can make decisions) are more willing to give it to you.  Ultimately an org chart is really just a list of names and titles that with some due diligence on your part you could put together yourself.  However, people below the power line treat the org chart as a top secret file that will ruin the company if it were to get out.  Just by monitoring someone’s reaction to my request I can usually tell.  Also, try to get them to actually send it to you instead of just telling you about it.  The physical act of them sending you the document is a strong indicator that they are serious and one that I consider a very good buying sign.  If they don’t send or can’t send it to you see if you can build it with them.  if they are willing to build it with you then you might not be  dealing with true ‘power’ but you are dealing with a good ‘coach’ and someone who wants to see you be successful.

Once you have the org chart start coming up with legitimate reasons why you want to meet certain people in other departments or ideally above the power line.  If I have to deal with someone below the power line then I usually ask them questions about the overall strategy/direction/priorities of the company including growth goals and long term plans.  I ask these type of questions for two reasons: 1) because I genuinely want to know and need to know so I can align my solution with the overall direction and priorities of the company, not just a specific division and 2) because people below the power line usually don’t have a ton of insight into these questions and it opens the door for me to ask them if they will introduce me to someone (above the power line) who can give me the insight I need to develop my solution.   I believe that one of the main reasons people don’t like referring us to people above them is because they’re afraid of what we’re going to say and we will make them look bad.  If you ask them legitimate, quality questions with good reasoning they are more willing to make the introduction to people who can give you the insight you need.  It doesn’t work all the time but I found it to be extremely effective when done right.

The last thing I will say is about the org chart and going above the power line is that it takes a certain amount of confidence to pull it off.  Act like you’ve been there before.  Try it out the next time you’re dealing with a prospect and see what happens.  I guarantee you will be more effective in your sales if you can leverage the org chart and understand the power line.  Good luck and happy selling!