What You Need to Know About Decision-Maker Job Changes

The first month of this year has whizzed by and our lives are back in full-force after the holidays. By this time, we’ve most likely forgotten our New Year’s resolutions (sorry diet it was nice knowing you), probably already need a vacation (Hawaii anyone?), and are getting serious about hitting our sales goals for the year (Club, I see you).

Speaking of sales goals, there’s also something you should know about last month.

What’s going on with decision-makers?

In the last three years, a large group of decision makers changed jobs in January. This includes both internal moves and jumps to external positions. According to our internal data at LinkedIn, we’ve seen that decision-makers in North America historically are 65% more likely to change jobs in the month of January than any other month. In other words, this translates to approximately 15% of yearly jobs changes.

If we take a step back and think about this job-changing trend, it seems intuitive. The end of the year is a time to reflect and reevaluate and it allows people to take time to interview for new roles.  But the search may have began earlier.

Based on some internal research we found that job applications actually peak in late fall which leads to a big influx of new hires in January. For top decision makers this move probably took time and thought. It’s very likely the intent to move was decided months ago, and you could have been in the loop earlier.

What does this mean for you?

Chances are, the time you’ve spent building relationships with decision makers may have gone  to waste if your key contact has left. They no longer hold the budget into your accounts and now you need to find who does.

Luckily, there is usually more than one person involved in the buying process. The latest CEB finding notes that there are 6.8 stakeholder involved per B2B deal. That means if one person left, you still may know a few other people who can help you out.

Also, if you have a strong relationship with a decision-maker who has moved companies, you might have a shot at an entirely new account. A TeamLink intro to a new client could be the way to go.

What should you do now?

So if you’re reading this now, is it too late? Not necessarily. There are still plenty of steps you can take to make sure you are set-up for success.

1. Reach out to your clients to receive the latest updates of what’s happening their organization. It’s time to be proactive in building and maintaining your relationships.
2. Start establishing multiple decision maker relationships at your accounts (also known as “multithreading”). The more people you know, you are less likely to drop the ball if one buyer leaves.
3. If you are a Sales Navigator user, begin saving leads to make sure you are up to date on decision maker job changes going forward. With email updates on key events for your leads, you’ll make sure to never miss a job change again.

To learn more about decision maker job changes, make sure to check out our latest marketing video explaining the impact of these events here.

Source: LinkedIn Internal Data. Decision Maker Job Changes analysis spans 2013-2016 data. Decision Makers are defined as Director-level and above in North America (USA, Canada)

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