What is the difference between a decision maker and a decision influencer

There is the economic decision-maker who pulls the trigger, and influencers who have the ear of the decision-maker, such as users, technical advisors, Board of Directors, and consultants. Once you know the roles to look for, here are some best practices to identify who has the power and to whom to sell:. Once you identify the economic decision maker and influencers, get to meet with them.

To help yourself uptier, identify a benefit to your current client, as well as the senior, and include your current client. Remember that seniors are more interested in strategic issues and implications vs. Ideally, get to all decision-makers and influencers before you are competing for business so they know your name and your organization and have good things to say about you. Are you interested in selling Verizon Wireless services? We look forward to talking to you soon!

Skip to content. Home » Decision Makers vs. We use them all the time to get referrals and to avoid making bad decisions when we buy. Businesses should look at how they can create brands that are inclusive, easy to reference.

When building a brand for your business, you need to ensure that you talk to influencers, referrers and decision makers. This is a person who directly influences and directs the decision maker to make a purchase.

My daughter recently turned 12 and as such received her first phone. I was reluctant as I felt that she needed to be at least 13, however with high school looming, the fact that she takes the bus, trains at gymnastics 14 hours a week and is becoming more sociable, it is a necessary evil. My husband and I were talking in the kitchen one night discussing the pros and cons of her getting a phone which lead onto the topic of which phone. An iPhone or nothing? Why not a Samsung or a Blackberry?

Actually, does anyone still use a Blackberry? Time to compromise. My daughter, the direct influencer was able to convince my husband and I the decision makers to buy her a second-hand iPhone 6. Apple has built a brand around forward-thinking technology wrapped up in beautiful design, functionality and easy to use products. This is usually someone who you trust to give you sound advice when deciding on a purchase. You may defer to someone due to their experience, their connections or their general knowledge.

A business coach that uses our space to run her networking group by chance brought in a box of sweet goodies from one of her clients. After seeing the presentation and hearing a bit about the business, I have decided to give this new company a go.

Referrals can be a very powerful way of building a brand. Do you do anything in your business to actively promote referrals? For example, when you see gatekeepers share content that is relevant to their company or line of work, try leaving a thoughtful comment thanking them for sharing or providing your thoughts on the topic. Creating a sense of familiarity with them goes a long way in building trust and working with them to close a sale.

When researching your gatekeepers and decision-makers, check to see if you have a common connection who can make an introduction for you. Being introduced through a third party is a good way to establish credibility, and it helps you not be seen purely as a solicitor. Work with them as a valued partner, and see the dividends payout when you finally approach the decision-maker.

The influencer is traditionally a junior-level employee who's asked to research options before their superior is briefed. They don't have the budget or authority to make a final decision, but they do have the power to influence the decision maker. The influencer is usually your main point of contact at the company, and they'll pull in the appropriate stakeholders such as finance or IT throughout the sales process. To find out how much power your influencer really has , ask questions like, " Have you done this before?

This is typically the C-suite; the person who signs the check, re-allocates budget on their own, and says " yes " without conferring with anyone.

And, while it's not common, a decision maker sometimes conducts research. When that happens, make the most of the situation and keep them close. Often, the decision maker delegates the sales process to an influencer until it's further along.

In this case, work with the influencer, but keep the CEO in the loop. Show you're happy to work with their team, but regularly check in with them. Access to unlimited content has put the buyer in control of the sales process. Your account-based sales strategy needs to adjust to fit the changing behavior with your prospects, and influencers are now imperative to winning business. If you ignore them, you're missing an opportunity. The influencer is usually a junior employee asked to research solutions for their department or company.

Influencers don't have budget or authority to make a final decision, but they can impact the outcome. The decision maker is typically an executive in charge of the final decision. They're rarely involved in the research or vetting stage of the sales process. Instead, the influencer shares their research and recommendation with the decision maker who makes a choice.

When referring to a decision maker, they might possess different titles or descriptions depending on the company they work for.

Here are a few different terms that can be used to describe them, depending on their role. The self-proclaimed decision maker is a toxic prospect.

If they're offering unsolicited information, like " I make X amount of money ", " I carry a lot of weight around here, " or " The CEO and I are buddies, " chances are, this person has little influence and might be wasting your time.

Whether it's intentional or not, they're gating you from the rest of the internal purchasing process. Pay attention to those volunteering too much information about their authority.

Ask this influencer how often they meet with the CEO because strong influencers meet with executives often. If they haven't sourced solutions before or don't work with the C-suite often, find another contact. Many times, salespeople have their own definition of a decision maker, but it might not match that of the prospect. By the prospect's definition, they're the decision maker because they're deciding what to recommend to the C-suite. This person is actually the recommender.

In this case, the prospect is not being deceptive. Don't dismiss the recommender, because they're extremely valuable to the sale. Ask why they're researching a solution and who's asked them to do so.