How Expert Sellers Get 'Pulled Upstairs'

In most organizations, there's an unwritten rule about salespeople: Keep them at the lower levels unless absolutely necessary. After all, who wants their senior executives 'wasting time' with vendors trying to sell them something?

But what if your sales team could flip this dynamic entirely? What if instead of pushing to get meetings with decision-makers, your customers were pulling your team upstairs?

This isn't about training new closing techniques, objection handling, or elevator pitches. It's about transforming how your salespeople think about their role - from transaction-focused sellers to strategic advisors who ask questions that make customers think differently about their business.

The Traditional Trap

Most sales conversations stay grounded at lower levels because they remain purely transactional and self serving. You know the drill: What's your budget? Who makes the decisions? When do you need this by? While answers to these questions are necessary, they signal to your customer that you're just another vendor trying to close a deal.

The problem isn't that these questions are wrong - it's that they're incomplete. They focus entirely on the transaction while missing the broader business context that senior leaders care about and reinforce why they want to keep sellers at arms length.

The Expert's Approach: A Real-World Example

Let's look at how this plays out in practice. Consider a marketing services company selling online advertising. A typical seller jumps straight to audience demographics, creative assets, budget, and who the decision maker is. But watch how an expert takes a completely different approach:

Instead of starting with tactical details, they ask:

• "I know you want to talk about the media campaign and our audiences and pricing, which we'll get to, but step me back a little... I know this ad campaign is about the new flavors in your cereal. What prompted this new flavor innovation?"

This question immediately signals you're thinking beyond just selling ad space. You're interested in the business strategy behind the initiative.

They then connect to broader corporate objectives:

• "I read that your overall corporate goals for 2025 are to get more share of wallet among your consumers. How does this new product launch relate to that?"

Now you're speaking the language of senior leadership - showing you understand not just marketing tactics, but business strategy.

The expert continues exploring the broader context:

• "There are a lot of different ways that you can get the message out, and while I of course would like to help you, what other marketing tactics are you considering or plan to be part of this campaign?"

This demonstrates you understand marketing holistically, not just your piece of the puzzle.

Finally, they share relevant experience:

• "I worked with another client who did something similar and they applied marketing budgets to a combination of events, PR and online media and did a really good job getting all those elements working together for maximum impact. Is there an overall marketing budget defined for this launch? If so, how did your team determine how much to allocate to the media side of things?"

The Natural Pull Effect

Here's where the magic happens. Often, your direct contact can't answer all these questions. But instead of this being awkward, it creates an opportunity. The client realizes these are questions they should have answers to. More importantly, they recognize you're bringing valuable strategic insights to the table.

What happens next is natural… the client comes back and says something like this, "You know what? Our VP of Marketing really knows the answer to those questions and I know would want to hear about your other client example. Let me see if she can join our next meeting."

It feels like magic. But it’s not. You didn't ask to be elevated. The client chose to elevate you because you demonstrated expertise that could help their business succeed. You earned your way into that bigger room.

Building Your Arsenal of Strategic Questions

How do you develop these types of questions? Start by:

1. Understanding the broader industry context

• Read industry publications.

• Follow key trends.

• Study and find successful client stories.

2. Connecting the dots

• How does your solution fit into larger client business objectives?

• What broader challenges might the client be facing?

• How have other clients solved similar problems - with or without a solution like yours?

3. Preparing thoughtful questions

• Start with what you know about their business.

• Research their public statements and goals.

• Think about challenges similar companies face.

Your Next Step

This week, take one standard qualification question you typically ask and transform it into a strategic question that demonstrates expertise and creates value. Instead of "What's your budget?" try "How does this initiative align with your broader business objectives for this year?"

Remember, the goal isn't to avoid necessary qualification questions - it's to embed them within a broader strategic conversation that demonstrates your expertise and genuine interest in your client's success.

When you do this consistently, you won't need to ask for access to decision-makers. They'll be asking to meet with you.