Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers

Don’t Assume the CIO Is a Governance Expert

The plain truth is that not every CIO you encounter will be an expert in IT governance. Their range and depth of knowledge on the subject will vary widely, depending on their individual experience, their personality, their education, and their organization. As Thornton May puts it, “I’m not certain that all CIOs have a good feel for how IT governance works in practice.”

This represents an opportunity. Smart IT suppliers should develop high-level content about IT governance and include it in their sales presentations.

Since you know that IT governance is a crucial area and you cannot assume that every CIO brings the same level of knowledge, experience, and interest to the table, you should take responsibility for raising the subject and leading the conversation.

Like it or not, IT suppliers need to step up and provide thought leadership in this area. The easiest and most practical way to generate thought leadership content—which can be presented in the form of white papers, executive summaries, case studies, or panel discussions—is by mining your own history of customer experiences.

Your history and that of your sales organization are vast reservoirs of stories, anecdotes, lessons, and cautionary tales that can be converted into thought leadership content. Don’t be shy about leveraging the wisdom you’ve already acquired in your relationships with other customers. Take it as an article of faith that your audience is intently interested ...