How to Become a CEO's Trusted Advisor—An Interview with Adrian Davis

RainToday.com's Podcast: Marketing & Selling Professional Services

If you want a CEO to consider you a trusted advisor, you have to approach the sale differently. You can't be simply a salesperson looking to sell something. You must work with the CEO to understand what's going on within the organization, uncover the benefits and risks of your solution, and develop a change management plan.

You become a trusted advisor "only when you're looking at the organization and what you're doing for the organization, not as a vendor but truly understanding what's going on inside the organization and what they're trying to accomplish and how you can help them," says sales expert Adrian Davis.

You can achieve that when you get away from the idea of presenting a typical sales proposal and instead work with the chief executive to create a business case, adds Davis, who is presenting a webinar on the topic, Proposals that Matter: How to Structure Your Business Case for CEOs, February 7.

The trusted advisor status is granted because of the in-depth work that goes into a business case, he says. It's achieved because of the confidentiality of the information that is exchanged, the honesty of looking at the risks associated with the project, the development of a mitigation strategy to cope with those risks, and truly looking at the economic benefits and costs of the change.

Listen as Davis discusses:

• Why a typical sales proposal won't work with a CEO
• What CEOs look for in a business case
• The importance of helping with change management
• The critical role ROI plays in moving a deal forward