A simple, powerful framework for executive communication. It links a market shift to a unique strategic response, then frames it with clear negative and positive outcomes. This structure ensures the message is strategic, not just product-focused, and can be delivered in two sentences.
Sellers often adopt an overly formal, academic persona when speaking to executives, which creates distance. In reality, executive conversations are simple, direct, and unpretentious. Drop the jargon and complicated words. Your goal is clear communication, not demonstrating your vocabulary.
Stop trying to convince executives to adopt your priorities. Instead, identify their existing strategic initiatives—often with internal code names—and frame your solution as an accelerator for what they're already sold on doing. This dramatically reduces friction and speeds up deals.
Don't be afraid to surface problems to executives, as their job is almost entirely focused on what's not working. Withholding a problem is unhelpful; clarifying and framing it is incredibly valuable. Your champion isn't offending their boss by raising an issue, they're demonstrating strategic awareness.
Don't just hand your champion a perfectly polished soundbite or business case. The act of creating it together—getting their feedback, edits, and "red lines"—is what builds their ownership and conviction. This process ensures they internalize the message and can confidently sell it on your behalf.
When reviewing a shared business case, look for red ink—comments, changes, and edits from the buying team. This signifies ownership and conviction. A document with zero changes indicates shallow discovery and a lack of internal buy-in, making it a powerful negative signal for the deal's health.
When you need to influence a decision-maker you can't reach directly, craft a "forwardable email." You're not writing an email *to* your champion; you're writing it *through* them. The content is tailored for the end recipient but sent by your champion, effectively "renting" their internal credibility and reputation.
The design of your business case sends a powerful signal. A document covered in your company's branding screams "sales material" and is perceived as biased. Instead, use a plain white page with the customer's logo and list the internal buying team as the author to make it feel like an internal, co-created document.