Why Business Owners Don't Want to Meet with Sales Reps

According to the Harvard Business Review, large business owners typically do not meet with sales representatives. This is largely due to the nature of business to business (B2B) sales, differences in communication styles, and a lack of trust. Small business owners may be easier to contact, but they will still be skeptical of the sale. With the amount of telemarketing calls, emails, and texts business owners receive every day they will likely write off your pitch as “another salesperson” or a scam.
Business owners don’t want to be pitched. They want a conversation, going over the benefits of the product or service to their business as well as the cost and maintenance required. 

According to the Big Swift Kick, business owners have a big picture mindset while many salespeople have a one-track mindset. Business owners consider all their options and will likely choose what has the best return on investment (ROI) for their company. Salespeople focus solely on the sale itself, not considering the time and investment necessary to implement said product or service. 

The article suggests salespeople practice a peer-to-peer sales strategy. For example, if you have a meeting with a business and they will have the head of HR present, you should too. This becomes difficult when meeting with business owners because it’s likely that the owner of your company will not agree to be present at every sales meeting. 

Statistics on Sales:

• 68% of buyers don’t want to meet.
•  88% only purchase from a “trusted advisor.
•  66% want a clear return on investment (ROI).
• 95% require financial justification.

How to Sell to Business Owners:

1. Deliver something of value.
   If the business does not have a need for the product or service you are offering, there isn’t any value for the business.
2. Offer something of further value.
   This could be an exclusive offer or deal for the business you are selling.
3. Include the executive assistant.
   Assistants are not “gatekeepers” they are a valuable business resource to gather information about the business.
4. Secure the meeting.
5. Connect, don’t pitch.
   Conversational sales meetings deliver better results than pitch-based meetings.

Though many business owners don’t want to meet with salespeople, it is not impossible to secure a meeting. There are many products and services that are beneficial to business owners, it is the sales representative’s job to show the value to the business owner.

Sources

"Why Can't your Workforce Sell like the CEO"

https://bigswiftkick.com/sales-consulting/cant-salespeople-land-big-deals/

"How Your Top Salespeople Land Hard to Get Meetings"

https://hbr.org/2016/05/how-top-salespeople-land-hard-to-get-meetings

"What CEOs Want to Talk About. HINT: It Ain’t Your Product."

https://www.gitomer.com/what-ceos-want-to-talk-about-hint-it-aint-your-product/