Benefits decisions are made by a group, usually the owner, HR, and the CFO, and any one of them can derail a deal your champion supports, regardless of how strong your relationship may seem. Relying on a single champion leaves you exposed, so learn how to work with your champion to get the rest of that group engaged in the conversation.
The risk of a single champion
Having an inside champion gives you someone who believes in you, will open doors, share information you’d never get on your own, and advocate for you when you’re not in the room. Unfortunately, there are serious limitations when that champion is the only person you know.
- Your contact can leave the company or move into a different role.
- Your contact can get overruled by an owner or CFO who has never heard your case firsthand.
- Your contact may have less influence than their title suggests or than they may have implied.
Let’s imagine a scenario that will likely sound familiar. A producer spends four months working with an HR director who likes the strategy, agrees with every recommendation, and promises to take it to leadership. The week before the final decision is made, the CFO sees the proposal for the first time, looks at a number without the full story behind it, and tells the owner to stay with the incumbent. After being ghosted by the HR director, the producer eventually finds out by email.
The exposure exists even if you initially win the account. If your relationship with a client runs through one person, the account is only as secure as that person’s job. When they leave, you start over with people who never chose you.
Meet the other players who make the benefits decision
A benefits decision is usually made by a collective group that includes the owner, HR, and the CFO. But that decision will be influenced by anyone else whose opinion the organization values, including, in a family-owned business, a family member who never shows up on the org chart.
Each decision maker and influencer is listening for something different.
- The owner is thinking about overall business strategy and what the business can sustain over time.
- The CFO wants a number they can predict, defend, and that fits in the budget.
- HR carries the administrative load and hears every employee complaint when something goes wrong.
A typical champion only represents one of those perspectives well. If you depend on them to present your case to the others, you’re asking them to address concerns they don’t own to people who will push back harder on them than they ever would on you. Each decision maker needs to hear directly from you how their primary concern will be addressed.
How to find out who makes the benefits decisions
I hear the same excuses all the time as to why producers don’t ask who all is involved in making the benefits decision, and they usually revolve around the same theme that things are going well.
Producers fear rocking the boat. However, you must engage all the decision makers from the beginning.
The simplest way to learn who else needs to be involved is to just ask. A direct approach is the most effective way to go. Ask:
“Who else weighs in on a decision like this?” followed by “How have these decisions been made in the past?”
The first question gets you names, and the second shows you how they work together, including who makes the final call.
If the buyer hesitates or is evasive, that may work to your advantage. Hesitation from a champion is a clear sign you don’t yet have them as strongly on your side as you thought. At this point, ask:
“I get the sense you may have a bit of doubt yourself. If there is one thing holding you back, what would that be?”
“Rocking the boat” is in everyone’s best interest. It leads to an open and honest conversation. Big decisions are complex; breaking them down into small steps that keep the conversation moving forward avoids wasted time for everyone.
How to get all the players in the same room
The credibility your champion has inside the organization is invaluable. It will get you meetings you would likely never get on your own and escalate your own credibility at the same time. But don’t leave the champion on their own to make this happen. Make it easy for them by suggesting specific next steps.
Ask your champion to organize a meeting, get agreement on who should attend, and give them an agenda for the meeting, including what the meeting will accomplish. With this, they can forward it to the other decision makers without having to explain everything from memory.
Inviting their peers into the same room could be another point of hesitation for your champion. If that happens, once again ask what’s behind the hesitation. Sometimes they’re protecting their own role in the project, and sometimes they’re worried about how a senior leader will react, and either answer tells you what to address before the deal can move.
Check your pipeline for single-contact deals
Bringing every decision maker into the conversation early is how you protect a deal before it reaches the final vote.
Go to your CRM and open up your pipeline. For each opportunity, count the people at each organization you’ve spoken with directly. Any prospect with only one name on it needs to be asked the two questions about who is involved in the decision-making during your next conversation, followed by a request for your champion to set a meeting with the rest of the group.
But don’t stop with prospects, run the same exercise on your current clients. To protect your book of business, start with the clients closest to renewal. An existing client relationship limited to one person carries the same risk as a prospect relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people are involved in an employee benefits decision?
A benefits decision typically involves the owner, HR, and the CFO, and sometimes a COO, controller, benefits committee, or family member. For a specific prospect, ask your contact who else weighs in and how past decisions were made. Those two answers will give you the names and the dynamics between them.
What should a producer do if their contact won’t introduce them to other decision makers?
Ask what’s behind the hesitation. Your contact may be protecting their role in the project or worried about how a senior leader will respond, and either concern can be addressed once it’s out in the open. If they still won’t make the introduction, treat the opportunity as a higher risk in your pipeline.
How do you ask about other decision makers without undermining your champion?
Frame the question around the decision process. Asking “How have these decisions been made in the past?” invites your contact to explain how their organization works and positions them as the person helping you get it right. Then ask them to make the introductions, so they stay at the center of the process.
Content originally published by Q4intelligence
Photo by YULIN STUDIO