The enthusiast effect

Sellers also seek out enthusiasts within thebuyer's IT department. Enthusiasts are technical staff who buy in to avendor's vision. Vendors love enthusiasts for providing a hinge onwhich the door to sales opens. They let themselves be oversold. When avendor says CRM can transform the business, the enthusiast willrejoice in having found an ally. To a different end but with the sameverve, enthusiasts unwittingly deliver the vendor's pitch with an airof objectivity the vendor could never hope to attain.

In Boot Camp, these IT enthusiasts are called sponsors, and attendeeslearn that 70 percent of sponsors will help the rep recruit a "powersponsor" - an enthusiast authorized to spend big chunks of money."When a vendor influences an IT manager, more or less they have theirfoot in the door," Wetzel's Siebold says. "The IT manager's reportingback to us. Would we choose a different product if the IT manager isthat passionate?"