Hey there 👋
Why do sellers s*ck at getting to power?
They know execs make decisions and have budget discretion… but I’ve yet to talk to a sales leader whose team *doesn’t* consistently spend too much time below the power line 🤨
We’ve all lived it.
That great seller builds amazing champs and a strong business case, then fails to get the deal done late stages because they’re missing a key exec stakeholder.
Time kills all deals, so it’s too late once it’s identified.
My best guesses:
1) It feels easier. Below the line folks “get it.” They get the product, speak the same language, and seem like they have the right motivation to get the deal done.
2) Fear. They’d rather be wrong with a peer than an exec, and since they don’t usually deeply understand their world as an AE or CSM, they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing or getting that no from the all-powerful leader.
3) Deal execution. There’s not enough sales leaders who require, coach, and train AEs & CSMs on the fundamentals around exec engagement. It’s a cheat code on deals and they’re leaving tons of money on the table by not operationalizing this lever.
Do you agree with these or think there’s something else going on? 🤔 Will share some tactics from sales leaders below on how to fix this.
- Ross
In this newsletter:
- Masterclass recap: elite account planning + stakeholder mapping
- ICYMI: templates to up-level your team’s deal execution
- How many sellers/sales leaders actually map stakeholders?
👑 Masterclass: Driving Elite Account Planning & Stakeholder Mapping
Is it me, or is just plain old sales-led sales back?!
With 500+ revenue leaders signed up in a week for our session yesterday on how to bring better multi-threading, stakeholder mapping & account planning to their teams – I think we have our answer.
Sorry, but your passionate end-user isn't enough to get by anymore. You need that AND…
- Executive-level buy-in
- Elite deal execution
- Strategic acct planning
…if you want to consistently hit revenue targets in 2023 and onwards (for both new biz and existing customers).
Back to basics. I love it.
One of my fav tips from the session: build your account plans WITH your champion or customer… just ask them! Building it collaboratively will both be easier and enable you to focus on the right priorities / reach the right people.
(For more tactics from the pros, check out the masterclass recording!)
🧰 Templates to Up-Level Your Sales Team’s Deal Execution
ICYMI, sharing a few templates we’ve created to help B2B sales teams map stakeholders, build business cases, and drive urgency with next steps on every deal.
👥 Stakeholder mapping template for identifying & prioritizing key stakeholders and mapping their priorities
🎯 Business case template for aligning exec stakeholders, identifying key goals/challenges & use cases, and making your champions look like rockstars
✅ Mutual action plan template for creating a shared path to success with your buyer, driving urgency & accountability from interest → close → implementation & beyond
(Shameless plug: you can also do all this & more in a single workspace with Accord 😉)
📊 Poll Results: Stakeholder Mapping
During the masterclass yesterday, I ran this poll asking attendees the question “Do you map key stakeholders today?”
Not too surprised at the results (as you could probably guess from the intro to this newsletter 😉) but it just further confirms that there’s a big gap in consistently getting to power on deals.
If your team is also looking for ways to get better at this, happy to show you how 100+ GTM teams drive repeatable account plans + multi-threading with Accord. Grab time here.
Thanks for reading From Vendorship → Partnership 👋
Ross Rich (CEO and Co-founder)
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