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3. Find the Decision-Makers Before Your Competitors Do

  • Writer: Claudius
    Claudius
  • Jul 8
  • 2 min read

A few weeks back, I watched a talented AE build a great relationship with a prospect. Weekly calls, excitement about the product, alignment on the use case. In short, everything looked good.


But when it came time to sign?The deal stalled.


Turns out, their main contact was a manager with zero budget authority. And the real decision-maker? Already talking to a competitor.


That’s the danger of being late to the power map.


If you want to close big deals faster and avoid getting boxed out you need to find decision-makers early and engage them with purpose. Here’s how.


Why Do Deals Really Slow Down?

It's not usually the product. Or the price.

Most deals stall because:

  • You're not talking to the economic buyer

  • You’re relying on one person to sell for you

  • You haven’t mapped their internal buying process


Fix it by engaging the right people, earlier.


Step 1: Spot the Real Decision-Makers Faster 🎯

Titles lie. Budget control doesn’t.


Look for people who:

  • Control or influence budget allocation

  • Sign off on contracts or legal terms

  • Speak in outcomes, not just features


Pro Tip: If you hear “I’ll run this by my team,” you’re not at the top of the decision tree yet.

Step 2: Use Smart Questions to Uncover the Buying Process

Asking “Are you the decision-maker?” is a dead-end.


Ask these instead:

  • “How does your team typically make a decision like this?”

  • “Who else usually weighs in on solutions like ours?”

  • “What’s the usual process after a demo or proposal is shared?”


These questions surface the real stakeholders—and give you the roadmap.


Step 3: Multi-Thread Early and Often

One contact = one point of failure. Great sales teams hedge that risk.


How to multi-thread:

  • Identify at least three relevant stakeholders, ideally across Sales, Ops, Finance, and IT

  • Engage the economic buyer early, even if it’s indirect at first

  • Customize outreach by role. Don’t send the same deck to the CFO and the RevOps lead


Pro Tip: If your champion resists making intros, try:“In our experience, bringing [IT/Finance/Legal] in early helps avoid delays. Should we loop them in now?”

Step 4: Align With Their Internal Buying Process 🚀

Don’t let approvals kill momentum. Map the process early and guide it when needed.


What to do:

  • Ask: “What typically happens between ‘we’re interested’ and signed contract?”

  • Identify legal, security, and procurement steps upfront

  • Offer to help the buyer navigate their own process


Pro Tip: If they’re unsure, offer a simple framework:“We’ve found that teams your size usually involve [X, Y, Z]. Want to bring them in now to avoid delays later?”

STRATEQS' Perspective: Control the Process, Don’t Wait on It

Stalled deals aren’t a mystery. They follow patterns. And they’re preventable.


Winning teams don’t just sell to a contact. They sell into a company:


  1. They find decision-makers fast

  2. They build consensus through multi-threading

  3. They drive the buying process proactively

  4. They remove internal friction before it becomes a blocker


Let’s Map the Power and Accelerate the Close


On our first strategy call, we’ll:

  • Audit your current pipeline for decision-maker risk

  • Build a stakeholder mapping strategy for your ICP

  • Create deal playbooks that drive internal alignment and shorten time to close


Let’s stop losing to competitors because they got there first.


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