“Can you provide me with a way of distinguishing a decision maker versus someone who is not. I find it frustrating that I meet prospects who tell me they are decision makers but in the end they don’t appear to be able to buy without consulting with others, typically people above them in their company.”
Thanks for your question, distinguishing between what we call a Sponsor and a Power Sponsor is one of the most important skills to have in selling, particularly when selling into large businesses.
The people we call Sponsors will provide you with information and can do some internal selling for you , but they cannot actually buy. What they can also do though, is provide you with access to what we call the Power Sponsor aka Power. “Power” has enough influence (regardless of title) and authority to buy it if they want it, even if unbudgeted. Power can also take you anywhere in the buying organisation you need to go; and can and will negotiate the steps leading to a buying decision.
