To achieve enterprise sales success, tailor your approach to CIOs

Technology vendors who have been successful over the long term all have something in common: they know how to sell.

They understand that the work isn't done after the handshakes and signatures.

Over the past two decades, my five CIO tenures have taught me a lot about the enterprise sales process. My conversations with CIOs reinforce these insights.

I will tackle the relationship-nurturing piece further down. CIOs look for solutions and how you can tailor your sales approach accordingly.

CIOs sponsor and decide. CIOs don't make decisions on their own. They will usually sponsor a buying decision with key members of their team. Most companies make the mistake of going straight to the CIO without buying in from the leadership group. First, build confidence with that team. You will have a better idea of whether the product you built fits into the overarching strategy the CIO has put into place.

Begin by getting alignment on the actual deployment. How are things working? What could be better? Starting here signals that their needs supersede your own.

CIOs care about value. Make sure your return on investment is clear. People are willing to pay a premium to solve problems, but you have to be specific about what you do. Be sure that the value prop is aligned with the CIO's larger vision. CIOs want solutions for the long term, so think about how you position your product as a long-term solution rather than a reference-point solution.

CIOs suffer from tool fatigue because they have a budget that includes hundreds of applications. If you want the CIO's attention, position your offering as one that will add value over time. Show that your solution can scale and that you have a vision for the future. CIOs are wary of buying products that may disappear or be acquired.

Discuss your deployment plan. You should have a clearly articulated plan for deployment and change management. Many CIOs will say no to a solution because their teams aren't set up to deploy well. Think about how you can add value without relying on the customer.

CIO's team has been building, buying, deployment and managing solutions for a long time before you showed up. How does your solution fit into the team's process and how do you deploy successfully?

Have your references ready. Before you reach out, make sure you have a reference that is relevant to the CIO. CIOs expect to be sold to and cold-called. It's important to have a peer CIO who can reference the solution to break through the noise.