AMA: UserTesting VP of Sales, Katie Harkins on Influencing the C-Suite

If you're junior at your company and a newer sales professional, below are a few ways to get exposure to the c-suite. Internally at your company: * Manage up emails * Exposure during company all hands * Shout outs * Customer Wins Shared via Slack or Email * Employee of the month nominations Externally with your sales cycles: * Linkedin * Twitter * Mantras (recaps) on what their team is requesting during the sales cycle * Wins from the contract that was signed. Example: "It's great to hear that your XXX Title on the XXX Team just increased your mobile app downloads by 60% with UserTesting. Looking forward to working with you & your team!" 

My interactions with c-suite look different per title. My CFO cares about different things than my CEO and CRO. Nonetheless, feel free to invite them to team meetings and revenue forecast calls. They won't be on all of them, but it's great visibility when they pop in if they have the time. If you're stuck in a deal, have your CEO or CRO write to the prospect or customer. Go head to head with power. Pre-write your draft so it's easy for them to copy and paste. Remember to give them context as well. I find it helpful to provide a "state of the union" on your segment or your team. Via email, this might include: * Stats on the quarter * People Updates * Top Competitors in sales cycles * Integrations asked for * Pitches this week with titles * Demand Generation that's working * Customer Wins & Quotes * Pictures from Team Events

Users // Practioners Buyers Care about: * Product/Fit for needs * Services/Expertise * Impact of Daily work * Impact on Career * Budget Business Leaders Care About: * Business problem solved * ROI/Business Justification * Who else is using it * Services to make it work * Executive Meeting Ultimately, the higher you get in an organization, the bigger your deal size will be. 

DEEP business cases are the best to influence c-suite to get more resources. If you need more Solutions Consultants assigned to your segment of the business, prove how this has helped increase ASP in the past. If you need a tool purchased for your team, craft your message around the impact of the purchase and how it will increase net new logos or increase retention for your current customers. This could be in slide form, over slack, over email or even during 1:1s. Your job starts at no and understanding why they're telling you no for now. 

Everyone in the career will be in a situation where you have 2 senior executives stakeholders who disagree with each other on your proposed strategy and you're stuck in the middle. It's only a matter of time. "Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere" -Erma Bombeck Approach it like a sales cycle. Understand where both stakeholders are coming from and propose a strategy with concrete numbers and impact. What does this delayed decision do for the overall business? If it was a problem-tunity solved yesterday, how would that impact revenue?

Below are the best habits when working with c-level internally at your company: * Be consistent * Get to know them personally * Your mindset should be you're never bugging them * Never be afraid to ask for help * Check their V2MOM beforehand to know what they care about * Put yourself in their shoes and check BambooHR to understand how big their org is? Below are the best habits when working with c-level externally during your sales cycles: * If you can't read your email on a phone without swipping, it won't get responded to. * Keep it short and to the point and easy to read * It's all about business impact and the teams you're working with underneath them

In order to align yourself to gain momentum in the leadership organization, it's all about over-communication. You're all on the same team. Also, I'm a big fan of never eating alone. Even if you're at a remote company, you can eat lunch together over zoom and talk shop. If you work at a company that's in person and you see someone you don't know in the kitchen or elevator, it's not hard to introduce yourself and an hour later slack them and say, "it was nice to meet you!" If I ever see someone presenting that I don't know, I put 15-30 minutes on their calendar to get to know them. I share relevant e-books on the industry with my CRO & SVP of Revenue Operations. I'm always an advocate for my team and keep the leadership team up to date on what's working in my segment. They're never out of the loop. In case the CEO asks, "What is Katie working on right now?" I made it easy for my boss to update them with monthly emails on projects and campaigns we're working on to drive revenue. 

Ever since I've worked in tech, I've only worked for one company where I didn't work with a founding CEO. Early in my career, I was intimidated when I would see the c-suite walk into the room. I finally realized I had nothing to be scared of. It's like you're at war and you're all defending the same country or the same company mission. I had the pleasure of sitting next to my CEO at a small startup and I would ask him how he had overcome certain objections in the past. His one- liners were great and I eventually started using them in my sales cycles to close more business. Once I learned to embrace the c-level at my organization and keep them in the loop if I needed help or if my team had wins - it was a game changer. Simon Sinek (Start with the Why author) says, "The hardest part is starting. Once you get that out of the way, you'll find the rest of the journey much easier." TRUE!

My old CRO always said, "If you're at a company that isn't hiring or growing, you're at the wrong company." Harsh, but true. Key stakeholders from other departments will consistently change as your company grows. Maybe some people move on or maybe some people get let go in today's world. It's always important to meet someone new at your company at least twice per month. This won't kill your productivity and sometimes they teach you something new that you can use with your team! Or, they might know someone in their network they can introduce you to. Get to know new hires as a person and be approachable if they have random questions. Find something relevant that you can send them that helps their career as they progress with their goals inside your organization.