Selling to executives training helps sales professionals engage CXOs and senior decision makers with credibility. It covers researching executive priorities, earning access through champions, structuring short executive meetings, presenting insight rather than product, building ROI and risk-based business cases, handling executive challenge and keeping sponsors engaged through long, budget-constrained buying decisions.
- Recommended: 2 days in person, or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, customised to your offer and executive audience
- Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended with executive coaching
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: selling to C-suite training, CXO selling skills, executive sales conversations training, selling to senior decision makers
Where and how: selling to executives training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why executive access decides more deals every year
Budgets are tight and more decisions stall with no decision at all. When a purchase needs new money, it needs an executive who believes the return is worth the risk.
Sellers who stay at the user or manager level often lose deals they never knew were at risk. Selling to executives training helps your team reach the people who own the budget, and give them a reason to act.
79.0% of sales leaders find buyer budget constraints challenging, and 82.4% say the same of losing deals to no decision.
What participants will be able to do
Think like an executive
Frame conversations around growth, cost, risk and strategic priorities rather than features or tasks.
Earn access the right way
Work through champions and existing relationships to secure executive meetings without bypassing your contacts.
Bring insight to the table
Share a relevant point of view on the executive's industry or business that they have not already heard.
Run a tight 20-minute meeting
Open with purpose, ask high-value questions and close with a clear, executive-level next step.
Build a credible business case
Quantify return, payback and risk in the executive's own numbers, with assumptions they can challenge.
Keep sponsors engaged
Maintain executive involvement through the decision with concise updates and value reviews.
Who should attend
- Enterprise account executives working on large or strategic deals
- Key account managers and client partners who need executive sponsors
- Presales and solution leaders who present to leadership teams
- Sales heads and business unit leaders who meet CXOs regularly
- Senior sellers moving from mid-market to enterprise accounts
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Inside the executive mindModule 1 · 90 min+
- What CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and COOs are measured on
- How executives filter who gets their time
- The difference between user value and executive value
- Exercise: executive priority map for one target account
02Research and insightModule 2 · 2 hours+
- Reading annual reports, earnings calls and investor presentations
- Spotting strategic priorities and pressure points
- Crafting a one-line insight that earns attention
- Workshop: write an executive insight brief
03Getting the meetingModule 3 · 90 min+
- Using champions to open doors
- Executive-ready emails and introduction requests
- Leveraging your own leaders as peers
- Practice: request an executive meeting through a champion
04The executive meetingModule 4 · 2.5 hours+
- A 20-minute structure: purpose, insight, questions, next step
- Speaking briefly and letting silence work
- Handling challenge, interruption and 'what is this going to cost'
- Role-play: meetings with a CFO and a CEO persona
05Building the business caseModule 5 · 2 hours+
- ROI, payback and total cost of ownership explained simply
- Quantifying risk reduction and strategic value
- Presenting numbers in a one-page executive summary
- Build: a business case for a live opportunity
06Sustaining executive sponsorshipModule 6 · 90 min+
- Sponsor roles through the buying decision
- Short executive updates that get read
- Value reviews that lead to expansion
- Plan: a sponsor engagement plan for one account
Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design
This two-day design prepares senior sellers for the twenty minutes that decide whether an executive becomes a sponsor. Each participant works on one target account and one named executive. They map what that CEO, CFO or CIO is measured on, mine annual reports and earnings calls for a sharp insight, request the meeting through a champion, rehearse the meeting against facilitators playing demanding executives and build a one-page business case. The capstone is a boardroom meeting with a panel of senior leaders.
Participants can explain their executive's priorities, write an insight brief grounded in public data and request a meeting through a champion.
- 09:30–10:00Twenty seconds with the CFOEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00What they are measured onGroup challenge
- 11:15–12:15Annual report treasure huntHands-on lab
- 12:15–13:00One-line insightSkill drill
- 13:45–14:30Executive insight briefBuild sprint
- 14:30–15:30Getting the meetingRole-play
- 15:45–16:45The 20-minute structureDemo & practice
- 16:45–17:30What I will stop sayingReflection
Participants can hold a composed executive meeting under challenge, present a one-page business case and plan to sustain sponsorship.
- 09:30–10:00Silence drillEnergiser
- 10:00–11:00Meeting the CFORole-play
- 11:15–12:15The CFO-proof business caseBuild sprint
- 12:15–13:00Strategic value beyond ROICase clinic
- 13:45–15:15The boardroomSimulation
- 15:30–16:30Keeping the sponsorBuild sprint
- 16:30–17:30My 90-day executive access planAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 4 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 90-day sponsor engagement follow-up. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is selling to executives training?
The recommended design is two days in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, followed by a 90-day executive access plan. It also runs as four live virtual sessions of three hours each over two weeks, with executive role-plays in breakout rooms and a boardroom panel on video.
What activities are included in selling to executives training?
Participants work on one real target account and one named executive. They run an annual report treasure hunt, test one-line insights on a facilitator playing the executive, practise asking a champion for an introduction, face a CFO who interrupts, and finish in a boardroom meeting with a panel of senior leaders.
How we deliver it
Executive-level role-plays
Experienced facilitators play demanding CXO personas who interrupt, challenge assumptions and ask for numbers.
Designed with ADDIE
We study your deal sizes, typical executive buyers and value propositions before building cases, templates and practice scenarios.
Real accounts, real business cases
Participants research real target accounts and build insight briefs and business cases they can use immediately.
Optional one-to-one coaching
Senior sellers can add individual coaching sessions to rehearse a specific upcoming executive meeting.
Tailored versions
For IT services and GCC client partners
Focuses on engaging global CIOs and business heads, vendor consolidation discussions and proposing transformation programs.
For industrial and capital projects
Covers selling to promoters, plant heads and CFOs, with business cases built on capacity, uptime and payback.
Executive presence add-on
Adds a session on voice, posture and composure under pressure for sellers who present to boards and leadership teams.
How we measure impact
Impact is measured through ADDIE evaluation. A pre- and post-program assessment on AssessAll checks executive communication, insight and business-case skills. Within 30 days, managers review each participant's insight brief and business case and observe an executive meeting where possible. At 60 and 90 days we track indicators agreed with you, such as executive meetings held, deals with a named sponsor, deal sizes and no-decision losses.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
How do you sell to C-level executives?
Sell to executives by focusing on their priorities: growth, cost, risk and strategy. Research their business, bring a relevant insight, keep meetings short and structured, and support your proposal with a clear business case in their numbers. Selling to executives training helps sellers practise each of these steps with realistic CXO role-plays.
How do you get access to senior decision makers?
The most reliable route is through a champion who already trusts you and can explain why the executive should meet you. Other routes include introductions from your own leaders, industry events and a well-researched, insight-led request. The program teaches sellers to earn access without going around their existing contacts.
What do CEOs care about in a sales meeting?
CEOs care about whether you understand their business, whether your idea affects priorities they are accountable for, and whether the meeting is worth their time. They want insight, brevity and a clear view of return and risk. Product details matter far less at this level than outcomes and confidence.
How do you build a business case for an executive buyer?
Start with the business problem and its cost, estimate the improvement your solution can deliver and set out investment, payback and risks. Use the executive's own figures and state your assumptions openly. Keep it to one page, with detail available for their finance team if needed.
How do you speak the language of ROI?
Speaking the language of ROI means expressing value in financial and strategic terms, such as revenue, margin, cost savings, cash flow, risk and time to value. Sellers learn to convert features into these outcomes and to discuss numbers confidently without overstating them.
Is this program suitable for newer sales professionals?
This is an advanced program, most suited to sellers who already manage complex deals and want to move up to executive-level conversations. Newer sellers usually benefit first from consultative or solution selling training, and can then build towards executive selling as their deals grow.
Can the training be delivered virtually?
Yes. The recommended virtual format is four live sessions of about three hours, with account research and business-case work between sessions. Executive meeting role-plays work well on video, which also mirrors how many executive meetings now take place. In-person delivery is available across the regions we serve.