Multi-thread, because the person on the call rarely signs alone

Multi-thread, because the person on the call rarely signs alone

You can run a flawless call, build genuine rapport, and still lose the deal to a person who was never in the room. In any business worth selling to, the decision is made by more than one human, and the one you are talking to is often a champion rather than the buyer. If you only ever sell to your champion, you are one reorganisation away from losing everything.

So make stakeholder mapping part of discovery, not an afterthought. Ask who else cares about this problem, who controls the budget, who would have to live with the solution day to day, and who could kill it. "When something like this moves forward at your company, who else is usually involved in the decision?" is a normal, unthreatening question, and the answer is gold.

Once you know the cast, work out where each one stands. Your champion is on your side but cannot sign. The economic buyer holds the money. There is almost always a sceptic, the person who will pick the proposal apart in the meeting you are not invited to. Arm your champion to win that meeting, because they will be selling for you when you are not there.

The mistake is going wide too aggressively and burning your champion. Do not go around them, go through them. Ask for the introduction, give them the language to make the case internally, and make them look good. A champion who looks smart for bringing you in becomes your strongest advocate.

Single-threaded deals feel comfortable because one relationship is easy to manage. They are also fragile. The deals that close and stick are the ones where three or four people inside the account want it to happen.

INTERVIEW EWOUD: Tell me about a deal you lost because you were single-threaded, and a deal you won because you multi-threaded well. Who do you always insist on meeting before you will commit to a proposal?