Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Chapter 59. Selling to VITOs (Very Important Top Officers)

Anthony Parinello

VITO Selling

VITO is the Very Important Top Officer, the person with the ultimate veto power . . . the CEO, president, or owner . . . the person who cares most about the top, middle, and bottom line, and the person who is most interested in what you and your ideas and solutions can do for their entire enterprise. VITO is the person you need to sell to!

Whether we like it or not . . . whether we want to admit it or not . . . whether we choose to do anything about it or not . . . VITO always has the VETO power over whether your stuff actually gets bought, or gets kicked out the door. No matter what anyone else in the buying enterprise has to say about some salesperson's offering, VITO can (and often will) kill that offering on a moment's notice.

This is a fact of sales life. You are better off accepting it, and adapting to it, sooner than later. If you feel any hesitation about updating your sales process so that it reflects this core selling reality, you should consider these six indisputable reasons why VITO really does equal VETO in your world, and why you must contact VITO first.

VITO CREATES EVERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE

By definition, an important initiative at VITO, Inc., only becomes important when VITO buys into it. Every critical goal, plan, and objective at VITO, Inc., has VITO's DNA in it. Sure, others in the organization can feed the suggestion box, but VITO decides what's hot and what's not at any given ...