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#99: How to get buy-in from all enterprise stakeholders


Read time: 3.5 min

Today, I will discuss how to pitch different stakeholders and decision-makers who often join calls deeper into the sales process. This is a big one and is very much applicable with larger enterprise deals.

Whenever there are multiple decision makers (which is 95% of the time), you have to know exactly who they are and what their titles mean. If you don't, you’re pitching blind, and you’ll never fully address the needs and concerns of everyone involved.

This is why the qualification call is the most important part of the sales process. It’s where deals are quietly won or lost.

The biggest mistake I see founders make over and over again is failing to identify all the key stakeholders and how they actually make purchasing decisions for a product like yours.

Today, we’re talking about the “A” in BANT: Authority, or the “Champion” and “Decision Criteria / Process” in MEDDPICC.

If you want real independence, earn it. Don’t beg for it with pitch decks.

~ Keith Rabois

Every deal has three stakeholders you need to win over:

Let’s look at a simple framework that will help keep deals progressing.

1. The B.U.T. Framework (Buyer, User, Technical Implementer)

• Buyer: writes the check.

• User: uses the product.

• Technical Implementer: sets it up and ensures it doesn’t break anything.

A good way to frame this in each one of these stakeholders is thinking:

“What’s In It For Me?”

If you don’t answer that clearly for each, there’s a high chance you will lose the deal.

Understanding how to use “B.U.T.” will help eliminate that.

2. Buyer’s Framework: Speed, Outcomes, Economics

This is the only language Buyers speak.

Buyers (CTO, CISO, CEO, Head of RevOps, etc.) are thinking:

• Speed: How fast does this help my team hit goals?

• Outcomes: Will this help me hit KPIs/OKRs faster?

• Economics: How does this make financial sense?

They don’t care about your product features. They care about how much better, faster, and safer their team will be and whether it’s worth the cost.

Pro Tip: Always connect your pitch to KPI’s they already care about.

3. User’s Framework: The 5 Buckets

Users need a reason to fight for you internally.

Break it down into five buckets:

1. Desired Outcome: What results do they get?

2. Speed: How quickly do they see wins?

3. Efficiency: How much better is this than what they have now?

4. Effort: How hard is it to switch?

5. Economics: Is it worth the pain of change?

In your demo, show what life looks like before and after they use your product.
The bigger the contrast, the easier it is to get their buy-in.

4. Technical Implementer’s Framework: Low Lift + High Trust

This is where most deals get quietly killed.

Technical stakeholders are asking:

• How much work is this for me?

• How risky is this?

• Will this break anything we already have?

When pitching to them:

• Show how low-effort integration is.

• Promise 1.1 support.

• Hammer security, compliance, and stability.

If you make their life easy, they’ll greenlight you faster than you think.

5. Deck Architecture Framework: Slides For Each Stakeholder

Most decks suck because they only talk to one person.

You need slides built for each of the three stakeholders:

• Buyer: ROI, goal achievement, financial impact.

• User: workflow improvements, saved time, better experience.

• Technical Implementer: easy setup, low lift, secure integration.

When everyone sees their world getting better, deals move fast.
When you only talk to one person, deals stall and die.

These five frameworks completely changed the way our clients close enterprise deals.

Takeaway:
When multiple decision-makers are involved (almost always), you must tailor your pitch to each one individually. Different people have different motivations, and they all need to hear exactly how you’re making their lives better.

Prospects are not married to your product. They care about what your product can do for them.



That’s it for today, folks.

See you all next week!

Darren

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn here! 

P.P.S. If you’re a venture-backed company interested in coaching, book a call here.

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