Develop a list of the five rules you could set for yourself as a salesperson to avoid making a buyer like this angry at you? Please explain your reasoning. (250 words)

HOWTUSED THE C LEVEL TO LEVERAGE A SALE The highest-level executives at companies usually have titles that begin with the word chief (like chief executive officer, chief operating officer) resulting in a group of executives that is often simply referred to as the C-suite or C- level. Most salespeople are not comfortable selling at the C-level. There are many individual and organizational reasons for this, but my example will relate to my experience in a follow-up from an organizational meeting. Initial stumbling blocks that I have experienced start with availability. How do I get the introduction; they won't return my call? Plus, there is the fear of creating friction with my current, lower-level contact by going around that individual. The greatest challenge I have, though, is fear or intimidation in getting the meeting and then having to present. Don't get me wrong! I'm not uncomfortable talking in front of other people, but what do I talk about, and how do I know what is important to them? Selling a product or service to non-C-level types is fairly routine. My firm's marketing, product management, and other departments have provided all the right literature, samples, and talking points that the buyer or engineer is looking for when trying to better understand my product. I also have a myriad of additional competitive references, benchmarks, and examples of how other customers like them have gained efficiency, cost labor savings, and supply chain efficiencies. I'm confortable telling my story to lower-level buyers, and people like engineers, since I've a story to tell that I'm familiar with. I've created it and I'm comfortable telling it. Now, what training or mentorship have I received on how to navigate the top-level executives? None, and the same is true of many other salespeople! I didn't fully realize the impact of this issue until I started joining organizations where the owners of my customers were attending. I wasn't in their office, but I was getting face time and was able to ask some informative questions. This was a dialog that was outside my typical points of discussion to a buyer or engineer. I wasn't selling these C-level people on product features, unless they specifically asked about some details. I had a colleague trying to hand out samples; it was poorly received, and I believe he was looked at only as a product information or order taker, not a partner to their business. My approach was more fact finding on what was important to them, searching for their exact needs. I followed up by finding out who in their organization was responsible or would have the greatest impact that I should talk with. Take this instance for reference: I attended a meeting for industrial packaging companies. Topics at the luncheon were around trends and industry conditions. I had listened and tried to make as many introductions to C-level people as I could. Weeks later I was in the lobby of my customer, Duravent, starting to walk back with my distributor and an engineer of Duravent. At that exact moment, the Duravent owner walked by, stopped to talk to me, and asked what I thought about our recent meeting. The impact was not product related, but I did have the full attention of the Duravent engineer for that next meeting! He did not ask about the relationship with the owner, but I could tell that he was influenced just by the fact that I apparently knew his bosses' boss. We were able to work through the design issues that morning and the Duravent engineer specified our product, and a sale was made