February 2009

Smart Prospecting: Know Your KBI From Your TABG

You scored a meeting with a key prospect! Way to go! The company? Oh, they’ve been on your radar screen for weeks. They fit all the criteria of an “ideal” client for your company. The prospect? Assistant V.P. over there, you think. You’ve talked to him several times. He’s enthusiastic. Apparently they have a big job coming up and he thinks you’re the best fit.

But can he sign on the dotted line and seal the deal? If you’re not sure, you haven’t done your homework. Before you walk into that meeting, determine how much buying influence your prospect really has.

While roles, titles and areas of responsibility vary greatly from company to company, prospects generally fall into one of four categories. Key Business Influencers (KBI) and Business Influencers (BI) have either sole or shared decision-making authority for their organization. You’ll need their blessing in some fashion before you do business with them.

Non-Players (NP) have little or no direct influence on corporate buying decisions. Then there are the Talks a Big Game (TABG) types. TABGs may have the ear of a KBI or BI, but they have no authority to direct business your way. A TABG should never be your main point of contact in an organization.

To determine where along this spectrum your prospect fits, ask him or her a few key questions about their role and the purpose of the meeting:

• Who makes the buying decisions in your company for my services?

• Shall we include them in this meeting [if someone other than your prospect]?

• In this meeting, if I’ve met your needs and answered questions and concerns to your satisfaction, what’s the next step?

Admittedly, it can be tricky to nail down the decision-making hierarchy of your prospect’s organization over the phone. But this extra bit of homework will give your sales calls a much higher chance of success by ensuring a business influencer is involved.

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