A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a young sales guy who wrote:

if you get the chance, could you possibly write about tactics that you have used to get into a companies face? (What do you do as the sales guy with the Jigsaw Info?

I know we all have our secret tactics, but I guess me being in my mid 20's and working with some older sales men, they do seem to go about sales the old fashioned way (knocking on doors etc). They would most likely ridicule me for using a site like Jigsaw/Linkedin.

My approach has been email/phone/mail, and of course Jigsaw helps me with this. If what I'm asking goes against salesman code 101, just ignore my request!

As much as I like ranting about sales topics that are somewhat tangential to Jigsaw, please allow me a week to try and tackle these questions. Jigsaw does pay the bills, after all. (Well, sort of pays my bills- I do live in Silicon Valley.)

First of all I like how the emailer above says “get into a companies face.” Even though his English is questionable (like most sales people I know), he is correct in targeting a company first. If you asked me how to get into a CEO’s face I would refer you to a dentist. Even though you can get a CEO’s email and direct dial telephone number from Jigsaw, don’t be “that guy” that war dials at the highest level possible without preparation. Pick a more reasonable entry point, or several (Jigsaw usually has many), that are at the director, manager or even individual contributor level and find someone in the organization that will answer some strategic questions for you as to what the ultimate decision maker is trying to accomplish. Because you’re not necessarily trying to sell them, they are more likely to open up and help you match your widget with their needs, which is the whole ballgame. Then you use what you learned to arrange a carefully scripted call with the CEO, who will listen to you because you are spot on target with your 15 minutes.

As far as the “old fashioned salespeople” that would “mock you for using Jigsaw/Linked In,” these people are your job security. A recession is coming and grandpa will get the pink slip donkey punch first. The key elements of the sales revolution taking place are all the new communication techniques and information sources that are available to a salesperson (and the customer). You need to be an expert in all of them. Use whatever combination, order and cadence of telephone, email, text, online contact or in–person introduction that works the best for you- try them all. We have salespeople “knocking on our door” at Jigsaw- they sell office supplies and our Admin sends ‘em packing. The days of the silverback (like the gorilla) sales guy doing deals on the golf course and the strip joint are over.

People tell me all the time that “even if I can’t get to the exact person I’m looking for on Jigsaw, I get by the gatekeepers and into the right floor or building.” This is really the whole point of the service- to get you to the starting line. How you run the race from there is up to you.