Ask Who Decides in the First Call
In the first conversation, ask who else will be part of the decision, and make meeting them your next step.
Standard advice in several sales systems; it has not been studied on its own.
Why it works
If you don't ask, you find out late, often after a proposal has been forwarded without you to someone who never heard the reasons. Asking early is normal and buyers rarely mind.
How to do it
- Ask it after the buyer has told you the problem, not in the first minute.
- Ask about people, not about authority, so nobody feels small.
- If the decider is someone else, ask to meet them together.
- Offer to prepare a short summary your contact can use with them.
- Write the names in your CRM next to the deal.
What to say
Apart from you, who else will be part of this decision?
How do decisions like this usually get made here?
Would it help if I joined you for ten minutes when you discuss it with your MD?
Avoid
Asking: are you the decision maker? It can embarrass people, and many say yes when they are not.
Example
When Karan asked the HR head of a Raipur rice mill who else would decide, she said the owner's son handled all agency agreements. Karan's next meeting was with both of them, not an emailed PDF.
Practise it
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