To gain intelligence on hard-to-reach buyers in departments like IT or HR, try calling a sales representative at that same company. Salespeople are often collaborative and willing to talk shop. They can provide valuable internal context, intel on decision-makers, or even a warm introduction that bypasses traditional gatekeepers.

For a new product, don't choose between targeting executives or end-users; do both simultaneously. While mapping the C-suite (top-down), engage lower-level employees to gather intel and build internal champions (bottom-up). This dual approach creates pressure and relevance from both directions.

Dedicate call blocks to connect with junior employees at a target account. The goal is not to book a meeting with them, but to gather intel on internal challenges and key players. Use this information to craft a hyper-personalized message for the actual decision-maker.

Rather than approaching executives first, prospect the individual contributors who will actually use your solution. By creating internal champions at the user level, you generate a 'gravitational pull' that brings you into executive conversations with pre-built support, making decision-makers more receptive to your message.

Instead of waiting years to develop industry expertise, new salespeople should call lower-level end-users at target accounts. By simply asking about their roles, challenges, and industry, reps can quickly learn the specific language and patterns needed to speak credibly with executive buyers, bypassing a long learning curve.

Instead of failing with hard-to-reach C-suite targets, new reps should engage easier-to-access, adjacent personas (like insurance brokers). These conversations serve as low-stakes training, rapidly building the specific industry language and knowledge needed to credibly approach senior decision-makers.

To find the true influencer, ask how a low-level problem affects high-level business goals (e.g., company growth). The person who can connect these dots, regardless of their title, holds the real power in the decision-making process. They are the one paid to connect daily actions to strategic objectives.

Bypass C-suite gatekeepers by interviewing lower-level employees who experience the problem daily. Gather their stories and pain points. Then, use this internal "insight" to craft a highly relevant pitch for executives, showing them a problem their own team is facing that they are unaware of.

Instead of approaching leaders first, engage end-users to gather 'ammunition' about their daily pains. They may not have buying power, but their firsthand accounts create a powerful internal case (groundswell) that you can then present to management, making the approach much warmer and more relevant.