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!

Those who occupy the C-suite have too little time and too many strategic decisions. The patience-threshold of those at the top of the corporate pyramid is very narrow. The successful ones depend on staff and trusted advisors to lighten their decision-making burdens so they can focus on what really matters most to fulfill their CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CMO or other Chief duties and expectations.  

The conjunctive noun: value-adder carries obligations. The higher one climbs up the corporate ladder the greater the expectation of shared value. Deliver high value often and others will seek you.

Value, at this stage, is relevant, accurate, insight that enables Chiefs to consistently make informed, correct decisions. Time and outcomes reveal whether a decision is correct or incorrect.

Notice I said: insight, NOT information. This distinction is important. Information is a free, readily accessible commodity that may be true or false. Staff credentials carry the expectation of skilled Information-gleaning skills when accessing the World Wide Web and its seemingly infinite resources.

Insight is information with a dose of expertise from first-hand experience or substantiated secondary sources. Insight is the platinum standard in the corporate or C-Suite information game.

The expertise of the insight provider must be established as a credible, trustworthy source; otherwise, the shared insight of the bearer is of marginal value.  The very first challenge of a value-adder is to establish trust-worthiness as a reliable, consistently accurate insight-provider.

This process begins outside the domain of C-Suite occupants. Often, it begins with a subordinate. Sometimes it arrives on the wings of a peer.  Even someone in another company or institution who the C-Suite occupant knows and respects can be the bearer of relevant insight.

Becoming a value-adder of insightful information is a disciplined process one must acquire and repeatedly exercise to master. Recently, I overheard a truism of our instant gratification society:

“In a society where average is the standard few people are willing to sweat to achieve excellence.”

Becoming an excellent value-adder of insightful information sought after by C-Suite occupants requires sweat equity plus the application of disciplined rules. These I will share in my next blog posting.

A recently completed 2009 Boardroom survey confirmed an interesting trend. Decisions, formerly delegated to mid-level operations managers are now being made at the top or executive level. 

In this period of tight money, boardroom executives are frequently making decisions about interim financing.  With easy money sources drying up in our uncertain economy dominated by government bailouts and bank failures, senior executives across all sectors are handling finance-related activities.  At least, until some degree of consumer confidence is restored and demonstrated with more robust retail sales, which are unlikely to happen until 2011.

So, how do you begin this process?  Why not add this activity to your 2010 Business Resolutions? Make it a priority!  Add this 2010 Resolution: I will identify and call on executive level decision-makers who will be most affected by the use of my services and products.

Much of what you already know about successfully dealing with entry level and mid-level managers still applies. However, because the stakes are higher as you ascend the corporate ladder, you need to learn some new rules of engagement plus new realities.

While What is In It For Me (WIIFM) still rings true, there is a new caveat.  It is essential to identify who at the executive level will be most affected by choosing your products and services over your competitors’ or even deciding to budget money for your purchasing category, at all.

This person’s buy-in or sponsorship has several ramifications. If the company has never made this type of purchase, then finances set aside for other capitol equipment purchases may be reduced or denied entirely, if your category is determined to be more strategically important to achieve long-range goals.

Even the lingo or language of those who occupy the boardrooms is different. Strategic implications and concepts, which affect long-range goals and objectives, are the words of the day. People at this level are concerned with multi million dollar decisions which will affect their entire organization and how they will be scrutinized by corporate stockholders and their Boards of Directors.

In my next posting, I will share the details of how my understanding of one CEO’s concept landed me a training client worth several hundred thousand dollars and a referral for a training contract with an Industry Leader.

Mount Olympus in Greek Mythology  was the mystical domain of the Gods who ruled Ancient Greece.  It is a near perfect analogy  to the Corporate Suite (C-Suite)  domain. The world of CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CMO (Chiefs) because it is these few senior decision-makers whom we business-to-business (b2b) sales professionals must gain repeated, ethical access to if we are to control our sales destinies inside corporations.

Repeated, ethical access requires learning a specific skill set to be invited back into their domains because we have something of value to add or a significant, unique contribution to make.  Once we earn their trust  (and, earn it we must)  we are approaching the status of a ‘Trusted Advisor’. OK, enough said about ‘Trusted Advisor’ status for now.  I am getting way ahead of myself!

Since beginning this blog in March 2008, my focus has been the tactical aspects of business-to-business  (b2b) sales prospecting. I make no apologies for my posting irregularity. I feel as strongly now about my then-promise of only posting when I have something worthwhile to contribute.

These Rules still apply especially in our congested blogging community. Like many serious peers, I resent time-intrusion techno annoyances, such as Twitter, which interrupt my concentration whether I am working or playing. Twitter, to me, is still an annoying, ringing phone I am too busy to answer!

In June 2009, I ranted about Twitter, in my “Twitter, Twatter, Does It Really Matter?” blog. The overwhelming response to my commentary was from ardent Tweeters who were in favor of hanging my cyber entrails from a pole in the Internet Town Square.  God love them! They are entitled to their opinions but so am I! While Twitter has gained in popularity, it is just too real-time for me and not a technology I choose to embrace at this time.

Technology to me is like a shovel in my tool shed. It is there when I need it. I am still amazed when I see busy executives wearing two or more PDA’s, cell phones or pagers draped on their belts.  They are like newborn infants with their umbilical cords tethered to their mommas.  It’s their choice but not mine!

OK, back to my 2010 topic focus of Exploring the Fascinating World of C-Suite Access. I have received many requests to share effective techniques for gaining repeated, ethical access to C-Suite decision-makers, so this is our 2010 starting point.  I am excited and I hope you will be too with my heavily researched content. Please feel free to post comments, at will.