How to Connect With C-Level Executives

Connecting with C-Level executives is essential to boost your sales and crack more deals. As these executives are the key decision makers, establishing a rapport with them will help market your brand better.

You need to follow strategies like highlighting product benefits, asking intriguing questions, and sending personalized messages.

Table of Contents

1. Connect With Professionals via Social Media

It is estimated that around 62% of CEOs were present on at least one social media platform in 2020. This figure marked an 8% increase from the previous year, when 54% of executives were on social media.

How to reach out to C-level executives on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter?

Follow company profiles and personal pages
Focus on the type of content they share and create
Interact with the content actively
Develop a connection and build trust with the executives
Tag them in the content you create to improve engagement

It might come as a relief to know that more top-level executives are engaging on social media platform, especially LinkedIn and Twitter. The gradual change stems from employee sentiments, with 81% of employees believing that leaders interacting on social media are better equipped to handle the operations of companies in the future.

2. Initiate a Personal Conversation

Leaders and recruiters are always happy to see individuals reach out. Of course, it depends on the way you approach them and your purpose. Although messaging them seems like the most impactful method, a shocking 57% of C-level executives prefer phone calls.

How to initiate a conversation with C-level executives?

Drop a direct message
Talk about how you appreciate their business efforts and content
Ask for guidance or tips
Discuss your products or common interests
Politely ask for contact details to take the conversation forward

The best platform to initiate a conversation is LinkedIn. Four out of five people on the platform are responsible for driving business decisions, allowing you to reach out to relevant people and top executives.

3. Be Moderately Persistent

There is a fine line between persistence and relentlessness. If the executive isn’t available to chat, ask them for a stipulated time during which you can contact them. 4 to 5 PM is a suitable time to call C-level professionals or prospects.

How to reach out?

Be a little persistent about highlighting your brand but don’t come off too strong
Ask for a suitable time to discuss business
Don’t extend the conversation if the executive is busy
Schedule a follow-up call
Ensure following up once in two weeks

4. Conduct Thorough Prospect Research

Always research properly about your prospect before touching base. Scout through their profile on multiple social media platforms to understand them better and talk to them about topics that interest them. Research from the American Psychological Association concluded that deep conversations with strangers have the potential to form strong social connections.

How to explore research areas?

Learn about the company’s activities and offerings
Determine how your services might help them improve business
Identify their problems
Present your value proposition

Talk about how your services can solve a problem

5. Practice Active Listening

The ideal talk-to-listen ratio for successful sales calls is 43:57. While it is important to remain proactive and contribute to the discussion, it is not advisable to talk throughout or listen passively.

How can you engage them better?

Listen to the executives carefully to understand their needs
Reply honestly to the questions without being aggressive
Let them talk freely and avoid interrupting them
Clarify their doubts while promoting your brand
Adjust your sales pitch according to the conversation’s context

6. Offer Business Insights and Statistics with Stories

Facts and figures can do wonders when delivering a pitch. So can stories. It was found that after a presentation, 63% of attendees remembered the stories while only 5% recalled the stats. Narrating relevant stories can help drive sales and increase conversions.

How to leverage insights and stories?

Offer valuable statistics
Provide case studies, graphs, and market data
Present market reports on how your services helped other businesses
Showcase Testimonials, positive customer reviews, and ratings
Offer the necessary information to help choose your brand

Wrapping Up

In all its essence, keep one thing in mind: C-suites are people, too, looking for marketers who could genuinely offer what they need. So make it a point to craft precise sales pitches and show actual testimonials. Facts speak louder than empty promises. Ensure you don’t give out assurances that you can’t keep up. Similarly, C-suites appreciate a well-prepared sales executive. It doesn’t matter if your sales pitch didn’t go through the first time, but if you’re prepared enough to etch a mark in their minds, there are chances you might be the first person they call in case of a requirement. Let your key takeaways be the following points: