Happy Hunting Grounds
Most companies focus on selling to one functional area in an account (IT for example). The VP of IT might have a pain that she wants to solve, with a specific cost of pain identified. However the IT problem alone is not enough to justify the investment required and the VP of IT is alone in the battle for approval of funds. The project dies.

Silos
The same underlying problem that is behind the IT pain may also be causing pain in other functional areas (sales, engineering, etc.) but the sales rep doesn’t know how the problem affects other functions because he is only calling on the traditional hunting grounds. The rep speaks the language of this silo, the IT fiefdom, and is comfortable here.

Closing the Biggest Deals
Get out of the functional area in which you traditionally spend most of your time and find others who are impacted by the same underlying problem. Since they are in different silo’s they will describe the problem in a different language. However if the you can speak the language of all these silos then three good things can come out of it:
1. The combined cost of the pain in all affected silos justifies a larger investment.
2. The support of people in several silos broadens your base of political support.
3. The combination of #1 and #2 above may put the issue on the CFO and CEO’s radar and elevate the level of consideration and support.


Today, problems that were previously covered in a sea of cash are now exposed. Finding problems to solve is easier. Finding the money is harder. This will help get you to the senior people who can still get money.