Selling isn’t just about features and benefits. In larger deals, having a coach — an internal advocate — can make all the difference.
Here are four ways to find a sponsor/coach when you are out hunting the big deals:
- Do your homework: Familiarize yourself with the organizational structure of the company. Understand which departments or teams would benefit most from your product.
- Target decision-makers: While junior employees might see the value in your product, they may not have the influence to push for its adoption. Focus on decision-makers who can drive change.
- Use social media and your personal network: Besides LinkedIn, don’t forget to use Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and anything else you access to learn more about your potential coach and to find common connections.
- Become an expert: We see great results from folks who create industry articles and posts on LinkedIn and X. Post something on your accounts every day and post one reply on each of the 10 most popular accounts in your space. As you become more known, it will become easier to get executive sponsors.
Here are some real life “coach” examples from the field.
- I have a friend who has been successfully selling high-end corporate software for 30 years, mostly in the Southeast. Every time he has a sales lead in Greenville, he asks me who I know there and what I can tell him about the company. I am sure he must have a coach in every mid to major city in the Southeast. He crushes it.
- Our rep in Colorado was going after a large grocery chain. He did a good job in all the standard sales areas. What he didn’t have was a coach. We thought we had the deal, so we got lazy finding a coach. Our competition got a high-level sponsor that coached them on how to win the deal. We lost that one. Bad selling on my part.
- I was trying to help sell a large water company in Mobile, Alabama. I knew that my godfather was a big-time business lawyer in Birmingham, Alabama, so I called and asked if he knew anyone on the board of the water company. He replied with a deep Southern drawl, “My brother Tommy is.” We won that one.
Working a big deal? Get a coach.
John Sterling is the Amazon bestselling author of “Sales for Noobs“ and CEO of NOOB School, an online resource for new salespeople. Previously, he helped build and sell Datastream for over $200 million. He has trained and hired hundreds of sales reps globally. Subscribe to his YouTube channel for new sales content every week. https://noobschool.org
