Promo Insiders: Find the (Real) Decision-Maker
Jason McCracken of Eagle Promotions, an ASI Media 2025 Distributor Salesperson Finalist, offers tips for saving time and closing more sales by starting this important conversation early in the process.
Any Sales 101 training worth its salt should include a section on identifying the decision-maker. But doing so quickly and effectively takes experience, savvy and determination.
Have that conversation early, says Jason McCracken of Eagle Promotions (asi/185320). The 2025 ASI Media Distributor Salesperson Finalist leans on his experience in procurement at T-Mobile – where he handled all promo purchasing for the entire company – to close more sales in promo.
“It takes the same amount of time to close a $500 deal as it does to close a $500,000 deal,” he says. “You might as well try to shorten that time to close and make people’s lives easier. … Unless you have procurement on the backend signing off, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
On this week’s episode of Promo Insiders, McCracken shares tips for researching how a company is organized, reading between the lines and finding out critical information without coming off as too salesy. “You can do it in a disarming way,” he says. “No one wants to be sold to. They just want a friend, someone they know they can trust.”
Key Takeaways
• McCracken emphasizes that closing a small deal takes the same effort as closing a large one, so it’s essential to engage the person who can actually approve the purchase. Often, the person you’re speaking with may influence the project but not control the budget – procurement or executive assistants to senior leadership may hold the real authority.
• Distributors often mistakenly focus on titles like “Head of Marketing” without understanding the internal decision-making structure. McCracken advises asking early on who else needs to be involved in the approval process and not assuming that the first contact is the final decision-maker.
• Rather than sounding salesy, McCracken recommends a friendly, conversational approach to uncovering decision-makers. Complimenting the contact’s efforts and asking about their team dynamics helps build rapport and opens the door to deeper insights without triggering resistance.
• McCracken shares a real-life example of landing a $1 million Amazon contract within 48 hours by responding quickly and listening carefully to the client’s urgency. His ability to meet the client’s timeline and need was key to securing the deal, which is now projected to grow to $10 million.