Decision-Makers: Selling The Inside Champion

Life is full of tough choices. Some are easy, such as what kind of coffee to order (cappuccino please!), and others are more difficult like choosing a career path that will affect everything moving forward into the future. Being able to have great executive decision-making skills can help at any point in your life when times are confusing, overwhelming or difficult. For decision-making to become second nature for you, you’ll need to learn the key principles that make great decision-makers and how to identify how your customers are making decisions when it comes to buying your product, or, another company’s instead. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a process that you can utilize, and a method in which you can truly get attuned with your audience and what makes them tick. These will be concepts that you can leverage throughout the rest of your personal and professional career. After all, “It’s not who you reach, it’s what you say that counts.” Or as my friend Rich Mann says, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” So let’s dive into what a “Decision-Maker” is, how they interconnect with the “Inside Champion,” and how to become a master decision-maker so you can improve how you approach your biggest personal and business decisions without being any stress or regrets.

What are “Decision-Makers?”

A decision maker is an individual or group that makes important decisions regarding the future of a given company, project or product. They are also the individuals who make decisions every day on what products or services to buy and from which business they want to buy them from. Whether it be a new hire decision, buying decision or changing decision — whoever has the authority to say "yes" or "no" is considered a decisionmaker. It's important to note that not every decision made, customer-based or seller-based will have an immediate result on your company's success. Some may take months or even years before they yield positive results. However, this isn't something that should concern you if you are carrying out the right types of decision-making at your company. When you can effectively persuade your prospects to make the decision to buy your product over the competition, you will build loyal customers who can do all the free advertising for you.

Why are they called “Decision-Makers?”

A decision-maker might sound self-explanatory, but there's a lot more to it than just an individual who makes decisions. A decision-maker answers questions like why, how and when. Key decision-making factors are budget, resources, available timeframes and other variables. A decision can be made by an individual decision-maker or by a group involving several people with decision-making abilities. Decision-makers also need to know the best decision for everyone involved in the decision. This includes stakeholders that might be affected by it or companies that will carry out their plans or systems that will be used under the decision to name just a few of the entities involved. On top of all this, they also have to consider things like ethics (whether decisions should prioritize profit over environmental costs), risk (whilst avoiding impulsiveness) and consequences (the impact it has on various factors). Are you looking to build your decision-making skills and establish a supportive team that encompasses these strengths? At Wizard of Ads®, we can help!

Who are “Inside Champions?”

We all know the clown named Ronald who has launched a world-famous fast-food empire, but what you might not realize is that he’s been winning the hearts of “inside champions” all across America. Inside Champions are essentially your broad marketing audience. When you successfully market to these people, they become your inside champions— customers who will vouch for you and be their own decision-makers to buy your product and convince others to as well. Making the job of selling easy as a McDonald’s apple pie. Ronald discovered his champions were watching Saturday morning cartoons. He wowed them with the idea that every happy meal should include a fun toy. Ronald knew that each little inside champion rode in the back seat of a car driven by a decision-maker and when those golden arches came into view, he knew that his inside champion would spring into action to persuade the decision-maker to make a decision that resulted in a sale. When identifying inside champions, it’s important to understand that although they’re your target audience in some cases, they could also be the social circle that surrounds your target audience:

• The secretary.
• The file clerk.
• The husband.
• The wife.
• The golfing buddy.
• The friend of a friend.

These are just to name a few, but the main point is to ensure that your brand is finding its way into the minds of consumers everywhere. This can be done with consistent, engaging and seamless advertising that not only enters your consumer’s minds but stays there— and stays there so well that word of mouth will do all the work for you. It’s never a good idea to push your inside champions to make a decision, instead just focus on telling a compelling story to anyone willing to listen, as you never know who a person might know and recommend your product to.

Top Traits of a Good Decision-Maker

Now that we've gone over what a decision-maker is and how they interconnect with your inside champions, let's talk about the best decision-making techniques every decision-maker should inhabit:

• Recognize your personality traits and qualities: When you have a better understanding of who you are and what you value most, you’ll be able to make decisions based on those elements.
• Identify your goals: Having a clear picture of what you’re striving to achieve will help you make decisions that will be best to get you there.
• Take a look at all of your possibilities: Locate all the options that are presented to you and weigh out all of their pros and cons. The option that can provide the most benefits will likely be the right decision.
• Consider a variety of possibilities: There could be more options available than you realize. Try thinking outside of the box, sometimes you can create your own path.
• Keep an open mind: Avoid limiting yourself because you haven’t given other options a chance. You may be surprised how you feel about something when you take the time to learn more about it.
• Recognize that not all options are created equal: Whichever decision you make, know that each one comes with its own challenges and rewards.
• Make the most of your time: Don’t feel the need to rush your decision-making process, but also avoid spending too much time deliberating as it can cloud your judgment.
• Accept the ramifications: With every decision comes its consequences and it’s important to accept them and adapt accordingly.
• Take note of your previous choices: Analyzing how you’ve made decisions in the past will help you to see patterns and determine what strengths and weaknesses you have as a decision-maker.

These traits are relevant to not only help you as a business leader in your decision-making process but also get a deeper look into how your prospects and customers make decisions before purchasing your products.

Conclusion

Decision making is part of the fabric of our everyday lives. Some decisions are easy with minimal consequences and some are more serious and have a lot at stake, making it challenging and stressful to come to any sort of conclusion. Making good decisions is important in life, and it’s even more important when it comes to your business. Your team’s future depends on the decisions you make, so be sure to take your time and think things through before jumping into anything. A great way to start when facing any kind of major decision is to go through the various types of decision-making strategies we’ve highlighted in this article. They may require more of your time, but the risks that come with making the wrong decision, or a decision you may come to regret is far greater. If you need help making effective business decisions and to understand how your customers are making decisions, contact us today. At Wizard of Ads®, we create ads that generate an army of powerful inside champions that will help move your business forward.