In business, relationships are everything.
So how can you find out who knows who at the companies you’re targeting? And once you do, how can you leverage those connections for maximum and mutual benefit?
The tricky part is, those connections aren’t always obvious. You may not realize that your CEO worked with one of your key prospects 20 years ago. You may fail to see the potential for a valuable introduction between two executives on your list of targets. You may miss out on the most high-impact tools sales and marketing teams have in their arsenal: relationships and relevant connections.
That’s why we built a Relationship Mapping tool inside our BI PRO℠ platform, an advanced version of our BI SIGNATURE℠ service that facilitates a deeper level of executive research and analysis.
So, how does Relationship Mapping work?
It takes intelligence
We know from years of conducting Relationship Mapping for clients that the process is nothing without valuable, accurate and timely information. Identifying connections begins with a thorough understanding of the individual career paths of the executives you’re targeting, the companies they’ve worked for, the boards they’ve been part of, the schools they’ve attended. You must understand the timing of those positions and roles to see potential areas of overlap with other executives.
After all, knowing that two executives both went to Notre Dame doesn’t tell you much, other than they both may have a passion for the Fighting Irish. Now, if you can see that they both attended within the same general time frame, there could be a strong possibility of connection.
It takes technology
For years, Boardroom Insiders built Relationship Maps for our customers on a project basis: When clients had a need, we would spend weeks pulling together the data, conducting comparisons and putting all of that together in a document that spotlighted potential areas for connection.
That’s a long time in the world of C-level sales and marketing. And for our customers, it wasn’t good enough.
So we built a proprietary algorithm that leverages all the executive intelligence within our database to conduct the same thorough relationship mapping analysis in seconds. The result is an interactive map that illustrates which executives have the potential for the strongest connections — and, for our customers, the most potential for sharing and growing relationships.
It takes vision
We all know relationships are valuable, but they’re nothing unless you know how to leverage them. So, once you identify the possibility of a strong connection, how can you use them to make an impact?
For one, you can identify opportunities to make valuable introductions, which could go a long way toward building solid executive relationships. For example, if you can help one of your target customers build a new relationship that produces new revenue opportunities, you become seen as a trusted consultant — and your value to your customer grows.
Mapping your target accounts against your own executive team can also uncover highly effective ways to get your foot in the door. For instance, if you find out your CEO once worked with one of your prospects, you could leverage that relationship for a warm introduction. Have your CEO join the initial phone call or send the first email. You’ll reunite long lost friends and gain access to a key account at the same time. Win, win.
In business (and in life), relationships are everything. Finding them is half the battle. We’re making that process easier, withBI PRO℠.
To see how this revolutionary platform can supercharge your executive engagement strategy, schedule a custom demo today.
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