As you can see, depending on the technical and financial influence of your product and service, there are many groups that can be involved. Also, the impact your proposal has on their organization will determine how many of the above groups will get involved.

These people generally will only be involved for a short time, and then not be involved at all after your proposal has been accepted.

The keys for these groups are the following.

· They judge the measurable and quantifiable aspects of your proposal.

· They are mostly box tickers. They have certain specifications that have been set up beforehand, and they tick off whether you meet those specifications or not.

· They can and will make recommendations

· They cannot say yes, but they can say no, and their vote carries quite a bit of weight.

The users often develop many of the specifications for a proposal. This group acts as the gatekeepers to ensure you have met those specifications. You need to understand who these groups are. It is often difficult to get to know them personally, because they are usually only involved for a short time during the proposal phase.

The key to this group is understanding that they are usually part of any proposal that will alter the way your prospect will do business, because of your proposal. However, you need to be aware of their influence, and if possible make every effort to meet and understand how they operate during the decision cycle.

Ian Dainty has been involved in selling and marketing for over 30 years. Ian started his business career with IBM. He has owned, grown and successfully sold two technology related businesses. Ian has trained thousands of sales, marketing and management people on strategies for opening new account, selling to small and medium sized businesses, as well as managing large Fortune 500 companies.