Selling to the C-Suite, Second Edition: What Every Executive Wants You to Know About Successfully Selling to the Top, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5

How to Gain Access to the C-Suite

According to our research with C-level executives, the most effective way to gain access is through a recommendation by someone in the executive’s company (see Figure 5.1). A full 84 percent of executives said that they would usually or always grant a meeting with a salesperson who was recommended internally. This highlights the importance of building companywide relationships that open doors to senior management.

Figure 5.1 Scorecard of Methods for Gaining Access to Executives

Other methods did not fare as well. Referrals from outside the organization are sometimes successful, yet more than half ...