How to sell to a CIO
Before I took up the role of CIO at The Warehouse I was a partner with Deloitte Consulting. As with most professional services firms, my role was a mix of selling and delivering services to clients. Because of this, when I joined The Warehouse I was quite open to meeting with potential service providers to see what value they could add to us.
I was unprepared for the onslaught however. Every week I get a number of phone calls and emails from companies who have a great product or service to sell. When I respond to these calls I find that they never provide me with value for my time. As a result, I now work diligently to avoid all and any approaches from companies wishing to sell me something.