Dirty secrets about meeting with the C-suite.

Gurus talk about the importance of meeting with C-suite decision-makers.

But there are also some dirty little secrets they don't mention! If you're a consultant here are 3 insights/lessons you may find useful ...

Lesson 1: You'll be told you need to understand the decision-making process. The reality is that many C-suite decisions don't work with a formal process. There's a lot of gut feeling involved. With multiple stakeholders, emotions and politics can play a big part.

Lesson 2: You'll be told to get meetings with the C-suite 'decision maker(s)'. This is good advice. Remember to get the best mileage you must keep conversations at a strategic level - big problems, project vision, objectives, and measures of success. Don't waste the meeting by overly pitching your firm, unique process, or solution. A good high-level value proposition statement is usually enough.

Lesson 3: You'll be told to find the criteria being used to select a partner. These can differ a huge amount between the proposal evaluators and the C-suite decision-maker(s). The C-suite decision-makers look at the high-level guidance offered and prioritise a consulting firm's reputation. The proposal evaluators look more at the firm's experience, detailed recommendations, and track record of results.

To successfully engage with the C-suite, consultants should recognise that intuition (not logic) often guides decision-making at this level. So focus on guidance around strategic topics, and keep in mind the different priorities of the C-suite and lower-down proposal evaluators.