Navigating Stakeholder Dynamics In Negotiation

We closed a $100K deal after 4 months and 12+ meetings. Every stakeholder played a specific role, and knowing these roles made all the difference. Here’s how to navigate each one: 1/ The Champion Your biggest advocate internally. It’s critical you build an exceptional relationship with this person. Treat them like an extension of your team, and give them the proper support so they can influence the org internally. If you don’t have a Champion, the deal gets 10x harder to close. 2/ The Coach They help you navigate the internals of the org, but take a more passive role than the Champion. While the Champion actively sells your product internally, your Coach might not have direct sway but knows how to help you position yourself. Don’t mistake your Coach for a Champion. 3/ The Key Decision Maker If your product costs a meaningful amount of money, the Key Decision Maker typically has title of Director or above. They are very busy and delegate most decisions making to their team. It will be difficult to get 1:1 time with them given their schedule, but if you’re able to do it, it’s one of the quickest ways to move a deal forward. Plus, they can give you insight into what they care about. 4/ The Economic Buyer In smaller orgs, the Economic Buyer and the Key Decision Maker can be the same person-typically the head of the department you’re selling into. In larger orgs, they are likely different people, with the Economic Buyer being on the finance side. They control the budget and care about ROI. This person isn’t interested in your product features. 5/ Process Folks Think procurement, security and legal. For these folks, they just need to check the box to proceed. Never steamroll them or treat them like obstacles - they hate that. If you run into blockers, jump on 1:1 calls with them to progress the deal. Ask your Champion to help if all else fails. Winning deals is about understanding what each role values and tailoring your approach to meet their needs. What’s been your biggest challenge navigating buying processes?

When I ask transformation leaders what consumes most of their time, the answer is almost always the same: stakeholder management. 🥵 In my conversation with Hardeep Kaur at Merck, she shared something that shifted my perspective on this challenge. "I don't want to call it politics because that has a negative connotation to it. I call it corporate intelligence." This simple reframing turns something many of us dread into something strategic and purposeful. It's not about playing games – it's about gathering intelligence to navigate complex human dynamics. Hardeep's approach is refreshingly straightforward: 1️⃣ Map stakeholders by influence and impact (high influence/impact = co-create; low influence/impact = just inform) 2️⃣ Check alignment constantly, not just at the beginning ("Are we still aligned on where we want to go?") 3️⃣ Be willing to actually stop initiatives when alignment disappears (yes, even when your pride and ego are involved!) My favorite insight was a ‘cancellation test’ – if stakeholders keep canceling meetings, you immediately know there's an alignment problem. Sometimes the signals are that simple if we're paying attention. What's your go-to technique for building "corporate intelligence" in your organization? This week’s episode of The Only Constant with Hardeep Kaur; “When to Stop a Change Initiative: Navigating Misalignment and Strategic Drift” is out now. Links to listen in the comments! 🎧

One of the trickiest parts of RevOps isn’t a system or a process. It’s navigating when two stakeholders want two completely different things and both think theirs is the top priority. You become the referee, the air traffic controller, and the peacemaker all in one. Here’s our go-to approach for managing conflicting requirements: 🔶 Listen first — Meet 1:1, dig into their goals, pain points, and definitions of success. Most people just want to be heard & valued (good life advice) 🔶 Find the overlaps — Even clashing priorities usually share common ground. 🔶 Bring the data — Facts cut through opinion and emotion. 🔶 Prioritize transparently — Use effort vs. impact to decide what happens now vs. later. 🔶 Set guardrails — Define non-negotiables and keep everyone in their lane. 🔶 Document everything — No “but I thought we agreed” moments. The best RevOps leaders aren’t just process builders. They’re trusted, neutral decision-makers who get everyone moving toward the same goal — even when the starting points are miles apart.