How Printers Can Use Internal Champions to Reach VIPs

I’m working with a client to promote a new service. Our door-opening strategy is to have an internal person in the prospect’s company – in our case, the marketing manager – hand-carry my client’s offer to the target CEO. In sales parlance, this type of carrier is called an “internal champion.” These are internal advocates who have high influence in the prospect’s organization. Leveraging internal champions helps you get past gatekeepers and reach highly guarded executives. In addition, using a champion increases the odds that the VIP will pay attention.

Let’s talk about how to find the kind of internal champion a printer might use to gain access to a CEo or high-level print buyer.

FINDING INTERNAL CHAMPIONS

The obvious question is, how can printers find people who are good internal champions – people with access to and influence with the CEO or senior print buyer?

The best place to start the process is to go wide.

In my client’s case, the marketing manager has both access and influence. For a printer trying to gain access, it might be the Chief Financial Officer of the target company who has the CEO’s ear.

Start by searching job titles for the companies or industries you want to reach. Cross-check the information to make sure it’s current, and then assemble your list.

FILTERING INTERNAL CHAMPIONS

Now that you have a nice list, you’re going to create a campaign – mail, email, DMs, etc. The goal is to find champions who are receptive to your offer and are willing to take a risk to share it with their CEO.

For my client, the best internal champion is a senior-level or executive marketing manager who is well-connected in their company, can get a one-on-one meeting with the CEO, and understands the CEO’s priorities and goals. We’re looking for someone who is considered a trusted voice in the company.

Now, we realize that not all managers have access like that. Even someone with the title “Chief Something-or-Other” may not have that kind of relationship with the CEO.

That’s why we filter during this stage. Can this person carry the offer to the CEO? If not, we move on.

This isn’t the time for an A/B test. We’re just looking for the best choices within a large group of people with the same job title.

TESTING THE MESSAGE

Now we drill down.

We have the list of the best subjects. What kind of messaging will they respond to?

This is the time to run ads targeting different “pain points.”

One pain point for a marketing manager could be that the CEO *thinks* the marketing department can do everything internally. In contrast, the marketing manager knows it would be best handled by an outside entity like my client.

Second, the marketing department may be too busy, lack expertise, or not have the right tools for a project like the one my client offers.

A third pain point might be that, if the referral to the CEO is successful, the marketing manager can gain recognition or improve the odds of getting a job promotion.

Examples of pain points for a senior marketing manager might be job frustrations, impediments to getting work done, desire for career advancement, navigating communication blocks, team leadership, department silos, budgets, getting recognition for results, and work-life balance.

By focusing on their pain points, we can identify marketing managers with the right attributes and pluck them out of the crowd.

REFINING THE MESSAGING

Once we see which ads and messaging are landing, we begin to test words and images.

The goal is to find one ad or sales message that performs best – the control – and test others against it. That way, you’re always building on success. This is A/B testing. You alter only one variable at a time, always keeping the top performer to compare against.

As you get farther into this process, you can bring back old controls and test them against the new winners. Testing old controls allows you to stair-step your way up, building an arsenal of winning ads and messages.

Having those winning ads on hand is a huge time saver for printing companies who are trying to market efficiently.

MOVING FORWARD WITH THE WINNERS

Now that you have a handful of winning ads or sales messages, you can place them strategically in the places where your target internal champions spend time and are in a receptive mood.

Don’t default to the places you usually post. Think about where these ideal folks hang out, Look for places where they have the time and attention to consider your offering. Let them get to know you without the clang of noise in the background.

HOW PRINTERS CAN FIND INTERNAL CHAMPIONS – THE REST OF THE STORY

Printers know that any new sales method is not going to be a slam dunk. Today’s selling cycles are longer, and it’s typical to lose what we thought were hot prospects without warning. The nature of selling means cutting a wider swath than ever before and keeping people’s attention throughout the process.

And, you can’t just FIND the right prospects. You need the skills to attract them, present the offer, and convert them into buyers.

However, that’s a story for another day.

For now, I recommend that printers add internal champions to the marketing toolkit. Test this idea yourself and see how quickly you can gain access to your ideal customer.

This process is a numbers game. Be sure to keep your master list growing, and revisit it regularly to find new internal champions.

To learn more about how printerws can leverage advocates to soften up print buyers, check out my post How Influencers Can Help Printers Get Better Marketing Results