Here’s the thing: deals are tougher to close right now. Gong data shows that:
- Deals are taking 10% longer to close
- The # of stakeholders involved has increased by 54%
- Buyers spend 62% more time talking about price & budget
What does this mean for you? You cannot afford to be single-threaded in deals. Here are 3 steps to get to power in every deal (and never get stuck below the power line again).
Step 1: Take the Lead
Between you and the buyer, YOU are the expert on how to buy your solution. Take the lead and coach your buyer by building a “stakeholder hypothesis” before the intro call.
Find everyone on LinkedIn who should be part of the buying process based on the last 5-10 deals you’ve closed.
Now you can get specific with your ask in Step #2.
Step 2: Sell the outcome.
Buying is infinitely more risky than selling. Use multi-threading as a way to de-risk the purchase for the buyer and to help them get a better outcome.
Try this line when you're multithreading on a call:
We’ve gone through this process over a dozen times with [example clients]. Do you mind if I share how I’ve seen [persona] get the [typical outcomes] on a project like this?”
We’re getting the perspectives of [likely champions] + [likely technical buyers, etc.] + [likely economic buyer]
Do those sound like the right folks to you? Great, I suggest we get [stakeholders] on our next call.”
Always suggest the right people, then have the prospect validate your suggestion. You take the lead on the multithreading path in a deal.
Step 3: Use “give to gets”
Strategically use “give to gets” early in the sales process to incentivize your prospect to help you multithread. Whenever the prospect wants something extra (e.g. a demo), ask that we loop in power.
Here's an example of how that might sound:
Happy to schedule a demo. Before doing that, can we align on what a successful outcome looks like for you?
And if we’re able to make that happen, can you help facilitate an intro to [executive stakeholder] so we can get them looped in?”
