What is stakeholder mapping?

Stakeholder mapping is a representation (written or visual) of all the key stakeholders involved in a deal or customer account. It helps sales and customer success teams understand who is involved in the partnership, what their priorities are, where they fit in the organization, and how to tailor communication to each stakeholder.

Why is stakeholder mapping important?

Especially in complex or enterprise partnerships, sales and success teams often need to get buy-in from multiple stakeholders throughout the customer journey – from individual end users of the product to executive decision makers who hold the budget.

A stakeholder map helps you understand what each of these stakeholders care about and the influence they have over the decision making process, so you can best align your solution to their priorities, improve multi-threading, and mitigate risks throughout the deal.

How do you create a stakeholder map?

There are many different ways you can approach stakeholder mapping, but keeping it simple is best. Here’s some of the basic information you’ll probably want to include about each stakeholder:

• Their name and job title / level
• Their role in the deal or partnership (end user, decision maker, etc.)
• Tier of importance / involvement in the deal or partnership (so you can prioritize your outreach and communication)
• The priorities and metrics/KPIs they care about
• Your next steps with each stakeholder
• Other relevant information as needed depending on your organization (existing relationship notes, contact info, etc.)

Get a free stakeholder mapping template

We put together a proven template to help you get started with stakeholder mapping. Feel free to customize the columns based on the information you need about each stakeholder. Fill out the form below to grab a copy for you and your team!