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Orchestrating the Buying Committee 9:29 Lena: You mentioned the "Champion" being someone who pushes the deal through when you're not in the room, and that feels more critical than ever. I was looking at some research that says the average B2B buying group now has between six and ten decision-makers. It’s not a single "yes" anymore; it’s a consensus.
9:46 Miles: It’s a total team sport now. And honestly, that’s where a lot of reps get stuck. They find one person who loves the tool, they focus all their energy there, and then they’re blindsided in month five when a "Security Architect" or a "Procurement Lead" they’ve never met suddenly vetoes the whole project.
10:03 Lena: It’s like a game of minesweeper! You’re moving along, everything feels great, and then—boom—hidden stakeholder. How do you actually manage that many people without losing your mind?
10:13 Miles: You have to move from "selling" to "orchestrating." This is where Account-Based Selling, or ABS, really shines. Instead of just targeting one person, you treat the entire account like its own mini-market. You coordinate with marketing and customer success to "surround" the account with relevant messaging.
10:30 Lena: So, the CFO gets a case study about ROI, while the IT lead gets a white paper on data security and API integrations?
2:48 Miles: Exactly. You’re tailoring the "concept" to each stakeholder. There’s a framework called Conceptual Selling that focuses on this—understanding that people don’t buy products; they buy a "concept" of a better future. The CIO’s concept of a better future is "zero downtime and total security." The VP of Sales’ concept is "hitting quota and reducing rep turnover." If you try to sell the same "efficiency" pitch to both, you’re going to fail with at least one of them.
11:06 Lena: That makes so much sense. But it sounds like a massive amount of work for the rep to keep track of all those different threads.
11:12 Miles: It is, if you’re doing it manually. But high-performing teams are using AI to map the org structure and track engagement across the whole committee. If the AI flags that the "Legal Lead" hasn't opened any of the contract drafts, or that the "Economic Buyer" has suddenly stopped attending meetings, that’s a massive warning sign. You can't just hope they're on board; you need data-driven visibility.
11:33 Lena: And you need to test your champion, too, right? I read a great tip about "testing" the strength of your champion by asking them to do something. Like, ask them to introduce you to the Economic Buyer or share the internal evaluation criteria.
11:47 Miles: Oh, that’s a classic move. If they won’t act, they’re a "coach," not a "champion." A coach gives you information, which is helpful, but a champion moves the needle. If your "champion" says, "I can’t get you a meeting with the VP," you don't have a champion. You have a fan. And fans don't close deals.
12:05 Lena: It’s also about building trust quickly. When you’re dealing with ten people, you don’t have time for a three-month "get to know you" phase with every single one. You have to use things like "Social Selling" and "Omnichannel" outreach to build credibility before you even hop on a call.
12:20 Miles: Right, and trust in 2026 is built through transparency and expertise. It’s not about being a "back-slapping" salesperson. It’s about sharing non-gated insights—maybe a quick video or an article that addresses a specific industry trend—without asking for anything in return. You’re earning the right to their time by proving you’re a value-add, not just a time-sink.
12:42 Lena: It’s interesting how "Consultative Selling" has evolved. It used to mean "ask a lot of questions," but now it feels like it means "diagnose the organizational complexity and help them find a path through it." You’re almost like an internal project manager for the buyer.
13:01 Miles: You hit the nail on the head. You’re helping them navigate their own internal "Paper Process." You’re asking, "Who else needs to sign off on this?" and "What did the legal review look like for the last tool you bought?" By being proactive, you’re reducing the friction for them. You’re making it easy for them to buy. Because let’s be honest, buying enterprise software is a nightmare. If you can be the one who makes it less painful, you’re going to win.
13:28 Lena: And that ties back to the "Simple" in SNAP Selling. In a world of overwhelmed buyers, the salesperson who can simplify the complexity and provide a clear, frictionless next step is the one who gets the deal.
9:04 Miles: Absolutely. If your proposal is sixty pages of technical jargon, it’s going to sit in an inbox. If it’s a three-page business case that speaks the language of the CFO—NPV, IRR, payback period—you’re going to get a signature. You have to translate your features into the financial outcomes they actually care about.