06 Oct 3 Principles of Value That Engage With the C-Suite

Value means a completely different thing to the C-Suite than it does to the rest of us. To them, value means insight. The kind of insight that challenges their perspective on business and the way they run it.

This kind of insight can be created by achieving three core principles. First of all it must hold some form of credibility. If it’s not credible then it won’t hold the attention of any C-Suite executive and thus you won’t make it to the boardroom.

Secondly, it must actually be valuable in itself. By this, I mean it should be useful and relevant to their challenges or goals. Third and finally, it should be different enough to hold their attention. If you tell them what they already know then they won’t see any new value in it.

Let’s explore these three principles in more depth:

1. Have credibility

This is one of the most important pieces to C-Suite engagement, and one that many people fail on. Credibility, when selling to the C-Suite, doesn’t come from the positioning and authority of your brand. It comes from creating an independent standpoint.

This means being able to communicate through third party endorsements and praise from the people you’ve done business with.

When you come in from a standpoint of “selling”, it’s very hard to achieve credibility because the C-Suite already have their guard up. Getting around this requires you to have an independent entity to communicate through.

2. Show real value

As I said above, value to the C-Suite is much different than value to the rest of us. They’re not interested in features or benefits, rather what serves them at a strategic level. They think and act strategically.

Value can come in the form of insight, which means presenting a logical argument for them to change what they’re doing and shift to what you’re suggesting of them instead. For this to work a strong, logical argument is essential.

3. Present something different

Can you challenge the C-Suite and show them a new and different way of doing things? Are you showing them a new perspective?

You’ve got to be able to bring something fresh, new and truly different to the table in order to get their attention.

Now, I’m not suggesting that everything you bring to them has to shake up their world, but it has to be sufficiently different enough to gain their attention.

Conclusion

If you try to present the same message to C-Suite executives in the same way that everyone else is then you’re not going to get very far.

It’s much better to build a message built on the three principles above than follow what everyone else is doing.

If you can bring these principles together and link them back to your main differentiator then you have a great foundation for your messaging to the C-Suite.