As a result, I’m discontinuing my C-Suite Prospecting* focus and instead getting back to what it takes to successfully access middle management decision-makers in this roller coaster Obama Economy. While last week’s disappointing new jobs reports revealed we are still steeped in the doldrums of a struggling economy despite government bailouts and some optimism in major industries.

Small to medium size b-2-b business owners and decision-makers I called and spoke to recently about the possibility of a Second Recession perched on our near term doorstep made some interesting comments.

Overall, their collective opinions concerning their 6 month sales strategies and goals wouldn’t change their tactical sales prospecting activities. In other words, unless economic indicators dramatically shift for the better, it is business as usual and just staying the course.

Nothing radically different but just staying active in their local business networks such as BNI, Chambers of Commerce and their online communities such as Linkedin.com. Expanding and working their existing networks, trade association affiliations and their online presence.

While business as usual may seem to be a safer course of action, I am going to suggest in the next few blog posts some tactical strategies and techniques to increase market share and improve sales prospecting performance and results.

I apologize to those of you who were subjected to my C-Suite Prospecting diversion and who are seeking hands-on how-to’s for more efficient tactical prospecting methods. I’ll stick to my knitting and look forward to your candid and timely feedback.

*For the few who are interested in C-Suite Prospecting, here are two must-read books. Selling to the C-Suite by Nicholas A.C. Read and Stephen J. Bistritz, Ed.D., Mc Graw Hill, 2010, ISBN #: 978-0-07162891-4. Also, Escaping the Price-Driven Sale by Tom Snyder and Kevin Kearns, McGraw Hill, 2008, ISBN #: 978-0-07-154583-9.

These books provide substantive new content backed up with supporting documentation as to how and why to pursue prospecting in the boardroom domains. They include invaluable scripts and preferred wording to achieve the exalted position of ‘trusted advisor’ with C-Suite deciders.

So, what does this have to do with C-Suite Prospecting, the theme of this blog, for the coming months.  It takes courage and tenacity to step outside one’s comfort zone into the challenging arena of boardroom decision-makers especially if you have made a living calling on mid-level managers.  In this tight economy decisions formerly made by mid-level managers have been kicked upstairs to the COO and CFO’s desk.

I adopted this inspiring motto as my motivator to have the courage to take action when my entrepreneurial instincts whispered to me to test a new concept or analytic technique, rather than doing nothing and remaining inside my comfort zone.  

Megatrends, a 1982 best-seller, featured 10 trends most likely to change our lives. One research technique used to substantiate the author’s claims inspired me to apply it to my (then) new sales discipline of C-Suite prospecting. 

Content analysis was first used by military intelligence to collect and analyze public attitudes from printed newspapers. During WW2, military intelligence readers, conversant in Japanese, Italian and German studied newspaper editorials from combatant cities to interpret the psychological impact of bombing raids on civilian populations. The resulting increase in bombing raids was credited with shortening the length of the war and saving millions of Allied lives.

In 1983, I applied this technique to corporate annual reports to drum up business for my infant marketing consulting practice. A stockbroker provided current annual reports from multiple CEOs in the computers, communications and chemicals industries.

In one annual report, that of a Midwestern computer reseller, the CEO’s message to stockholders cited the ‘spoked-wheel concept’ repeatedly as his breakthrough initiative for his forthcoming nationwide expansion. There was absolutely no doubt who took credit for this concept!

When I solicited his business, I praised his brilliant ‘spoked-wheel concept’ in my letter and again, in my timely follow up phone call. His ego got the best of him, as he flew to Orlando a few days later, to meet with me to explore our potential to become one of his regional distribution points.

Since then content analysis techniques have enabled me to mine gems from corporate annual reports which have served me well to ethically access C-Suite deciders.  Is this a brazen misuse of content analysis?  Well, I prefer to credit intelligent risk-taking as inspired by the proud SAS motto: Who Dares…………………………Wins!