Strategic executive engagement is a core building block in any account-based marketing strategy. Done skillfully, it can unlock opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else.
Founded by ABM experts, Boardroom Insiders provides marketers with leading-edge insights to help them engage more effectively with target executives. In that work, we’ve learned five secrets for forging lasting connections with C-suite executives.
Secret #2: Ditch the personas and embrace authenticity
We’ve all experienced having someone talk at us rather than to us. If it turns you off, what do you think it does to the executive you’re targeting? Most C-level executives have gotten to where they are, in part, because they’re adept at reading people, and they can smell persona marketing a mile away.
Persona marketing relies on making assumptions about people, and when those assumptions are laid bare, they tend to be less effective, if not offensive.
Executives are more complex than you might think. Real connection happens when you open yourself up to someone, and that only happens with authenticity.
Rather than approaching an executive with a persona in mind, begin with an honest conversation. Get to know them, their passions and their pain points. Listen attentively and make suggestions when the opportunity presents itself. Deep down, everyone wants to be heard and understood.
The takeaway: Like all relationships, executive relationships should be grounded in truth. Focus your engagement on who your executives really are. It’ll help you connect the dots, rather than guess where they are, and that’s where the real value is.
Did you miss our Master Class Series Webinar where we broke down all of the Secrets for building strong relationships with C-level executives? Catch up here!
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