The biggest take-away from our TeleSmart 10 methodology certification for corporate inside sales teams has been the realization that many of them are selling to the wrong people. The hierarchy and power structure change at a faster pace in today's corporate environment than ever before. This power shift increases your chances of going down the wrong selling path and talking with people who have No Power, No Potential, and will get you No Purchase Order. We call these people No-Po's.

A No-Po has a specific role and responsibilities within a mid-size or enterprise market, but has no authority, nor influence in making anything happen. Depending on the specific vertical, the size of the sale and the product, you may be calling people with titles such as Engineers, Administrators, Consultants, Executives, Managers and Directors. Though they may possess powerful-sounding positions, in reality they are sophisticated gatekeepers that stand between their company and you, the vendor. They can be difficult to navigate around because, though they are not Receptionists, Executive Assistants or Department Secretaries, they hold roughly the same level of power when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

It's no wonder, however, that we call on these No-Po's. They are a necessary part of our sales discovery process. The key is to identify early in the sale that you are talking with a No-Po and to learn how to navigate around him or her in order to speed up your sales cycle and thus, close more opportunities. It's when you hang out with them too long, ignore warning signs and fear going above them that you prolong the sales cycle.

When we are selling by phone and dialing up to 60 calls per day, we risk rejection every time we pick up the phone. It’s rare when we connect with live voices and extremely unusual when we talk to someone who knows our product/service and even likes it. The phone is a non-visual medium so visual cues and body language that instantly communicate a lack of power are not visible. Therefore, we must learn to listen for No-Po red flags like these: