Enterprise customers present some of the best opportunities to make a profit. But of course, the greater the reward, the more complicated things tend to get.
After all, with enterprise customers, you’re not only dealing with a single client or a small group. You are probably dealing with an entire business – one comprised of different decision-makers who may or may not have clashing opinions (the old “too many cooks in the kitchen” problem).
So, what do you need to consider about enterprise customers with many decision-makers? In this article, we’ll go through a step-by-step strategy to deal with enterprise customers. We’ll outline common problems—and how to tackle them.
1. Understand the Dynamics of Multi-Stakeholder Decision-Making
The first step to solving any problem is to understand it. So why do large enterprise customers tend to have several decision-makers?
Simple: in large groups, decisions are rarely made by an individual alone. A combination of parties often influence them. And each of them has unique roles, responsibilities, and concerns.
Some stakeholders or decision-makers may focus more on a product’s ROI and cost-effectiveness. Others may be more concerned about its technicalities or logistics. Even non-decision-makers may also voice their concerns. For example, the product’s end users from the customer’s team.
Large purchases also affect various areas or departments of enterprise customers. As such, businesses may need to align different departments’ needs and schedules. And if you’re a seller, you also need to understand each stakeholder’s motivations. In doing so, you can tailor your approach accordingly.
2. Map Your Customer’s Decision-Making Process
The next step is to create a stakeholder map. It will help you get a clear understanding of your customer’s decision-making process. Furthermore, without one, you risk misaligning your efforts, targeting the wrong individuals, or missing crucial steps.
List down each stakeholder or decision-maker involved and outline all their concerns. Then, rank them based on things like:
- Their position within the company.
- How much influence they have on the sale.
- How much they’ll be affected by the product.
You should be at least somewhat aware of their hierarchy through initial meetings. But it’s always a good idea to conduct extra research. It may give you further insights into the inner workings of the organization.
Or better yet, map out how their decision-making processes go in their entirety. Start with questions like:
- Which decisions need whose approval?
- Which parties’ feedback is needed?
- In what order will they be obtained?
- Which stakeholders hold the most sway?
- Who has the final say?
By doing so, you can clarify each stakeholder’s needs and values. You can then determine which parties to prioritize. Subsequently, you can then offer value propositions to each of them.
While you could always make a basic document to write things down, using CRM platforms like Salesforce or Zoho allows you to map everything down more comprehensively. After all, businesses that use a CRM are 86% more likely to outperform their sales goals.
Source: Canva template.
3. Align Your Value Proposition with Each Stakeholder
Now that you are aware of every decision-maker’s priorities, it’s time to address each of them. You may even need to create a separate pitch for different parties.
For example, imagine a cybersecurity firm pitching to a healthcare organization. They may need to craft separate presentations:
- one for the IT team on encryption protocols;
- one for the compliance team on meeting HIPAA standards;
- one for the CFO on minimizing breach-related costs.
Of course, it’s ideal to get everyone in one room and address all concerns in a single meeting. But as we know, this is not always feasible. So be prepared to host separate meetings. In each of them, prepare the appropriate resources (demos, ROI calculations, etc.) for your arguments.
4. Foster Collaboration Among Stakeholders
As a seller, you may also need to play the role of facilitator. After all, sometimes internal disagreements between decision-makers become seemingly unsurmountable. You may need to act as a bridge between these parties for the sale to proceed.
To do this, you can:
- Host joint meetings
Bring all stakeholders together to discuss goals and challenges. Be prepared with facts and figures based on the customer’s desired outcomes and past successful implementations.
- Provide a unified vision
Show how your solution benefits the organization as a whole. Address each stakeholder’s needs separately and show how your solution can integrate throughout their business.
- Anticipate objections
Address potential conflicts by demonstrating how your solution satisfies various priorities. Try to anticipate each objection and prepare arguments that rely on hard metrics.
For example, is the finance team refusing the sale due to costs despite the operations team’s approval?
You can ask the Ops team to help you convince the finance team. Prove to them that the eventual ROI will be worth the initial expense and can satisfy the needs of both teams.
5. Get Advocates Within the Organization
However, you won’t always get direct access to the higher-ups or key decision-makers. You may only have direct communication with a single team or representative (your champion). This is often true for larger organizations.
In such situations, you’ll need advocates for your solution within the organization. Determine which stakeholders want to buy your product and:
- Build trust
Engage potential champions early by addressing their specific needs. Get them excited about the value proposition of your solution.
- Equip them with resources
Share case studies, ROI calculators, and demo accounts for them to use in their advocacy. Ensure a line of communication is always open for you to help them as they present your solution to decision-makers.
- Leverage their influence
Advocates can help navigate internal politics. They may even be able to secure meetings with top-level decision-makers. Rather than letting champions handle the tough conversations, it’s always preferable to step in and help. After all, you have more experience selling your solution and the numbers to back it up.
6. Streamline Communication and Follow-Up
One of the most common mistakes I see sales teams commit?
Thinking that they only need to engage each stakeholder once. Just because you were able to convince a stakeholder in the beginning doesn’t mean they won’t have new concerns.
If you want to make the sale, you will need to constantly address every concern as they come up. This often happens with lengthy sales cycles or after changes in initial agreements, and is more often than not out of your control.
For example, departments may change their mind. Say the IT team now wants to buy the upgraded version of your product. Yet, the finance team only has enough budget for its base version. On the other hand the company could lose a big client during the sales process and can now barely afford your base subscription.
This is why it’s important to regularly update all stakeholders—whether that be in the form of weekly updates or more occasional milestone reports. Without that touch point, they may decide your product isn’t worth the cost.
Tip: you can use your CRM, customer success platform, or productivity tools like Monday.com or Trello to reduce the need for back-and-forth emails. This shows professionalism and good faith and prevents further delays in the sale.
7. Address Potential Roadblocks Proactively
Ideally, you’d address any potential concerns before they are even brought up.
Not only does this demonstrate a deep knowledge of your product and common customer concerns. You also show your customers that you are willing to work through any obstacles with them and have the experience to do so effectively.
Before you offer them a deal, prepare for common objections and address them head-on:
- Budget
Offer flexible pricing models or phased implementation plans. The value an enterprise client may bring can be worth a bit of leeway when it comes to your pricing model. This is why many businesses use quote-based pricing for large clients.
- Competing priorities
Emphasize how your solution aligns with the broader business goals. Most times it’s easy to figure out what those are – your champion will communicate them directly. If that doesn’t happen, you may need to do a bit of research and compare your findings with past customers that matched the business case.
- Internal politics
Remain neutral and focus on creating value for the organization as a whole. Don’t take sides when internal arguments arise – but be prepared to defend your solution with hard facts.
8. Build Long-Term Relationships
Your job may not be over just because the deal is closed. Some customers are quick to disengage if they do not see immediate results. This is especially true if you are selling subscription-based products.
Or some departments may not be completely satisfied with the product, even if others are.
The solution? Deliver post-sale value through:
- Troubleshooting Support
Provide software troubleshooting services for little to no cost, as well as a knowledge base, product tutorials, and their own CSM to assist with potential problems.
- Product adjustments
Be willing to adjust your services to meet shifting needs. Enterprise customers have the potential to shape how your product grows and evolves over time as they extensively use it and are able to provide feedback.
- Onboarding and training
Ensure end-users can quickly adopt the solution. Many businesses have dedicated customer onboarding managers as part of their CS teams specifically for this purpose.
- Regular check-ins
Your CSMs should further schedule quarterly business reviews to discuss progress and address concerns.
- Customer success stories
Share examples of how your solution has driven value in similar organizations (and how you’ve overcome similar problems). Highly specific case studies allow new customers to be inspired and replicate the successes of past customers.
By doing so, you foster long-term relationships even after completing the sale. This not only makes repeat business more likely. It also boosts your reputation as a trusted seller in your industry.
For example, say you are selling a VPN and want to conduct onboarding and training. You can show team leaders and end-users how to install the VPN on various devices and platforms to ensure they use it properly and make the most out of the solution.
Common Pitfalls When Dealing with Enterprise Customers
Navigating enterprise deals requires not just understanding multiple stakeholders but also preparing for hidden challenges. Here’s what you need to watch out for:
Overlooking Organizational Dynamics:
Enterprises are always in flux. Failing to track internal shifts—like leadership changes, departmental restructures, or evolving strategic priorities—can leave you unprepared for sudden shifts in the decision-making process.
Underestimating Procurement Complexity:
Beyond lengthy sales cycles, enterprises often face rigorous procurement protocols and compliance checks. You should make sure you fully understand these internal approval layers to prevent unrealistic timelines and unexpected delays.
Insufficient Competitive Differentiation:
When multiple vendors compete for the same business, you need to make sure you’re a cut above the rest. Failing to clearly articulate what makes your solution unique can cause your proposal to get overlooked.
Overpromising without Proper Vetting:
It can be tempting to offer a full suite of features to win the deal. However, if promises aren’t matched by your actual capabilities or resource availability, you risk setting unrealistic expectations and passing all the pressure to deliver onto your customer success team (read more about how Sales and Success can work together for a balanced approach).
Neglecting Integration Strategies:
Enterprises typically rely on a complex ecosystem of legacy systems and modern platforms. So remember to speak to them directly about risk mitigation when it comes to integrating with both legacy and modern systems. Gain their trust by showing that you’ve done it before and know what the process should look like.
Learn to anticipate enterprise customer challenges – build business cases for every new potential enterprise client and be prepared to address their challenges head on. That way, you can build stronger relationships and promote your mutual success.
Conclusion
Large sales with enterprise customers and multiple decision-makers can give anyone a headache. However, that is just the reality in many industries.
There will always be some tension when making some sales. Determining which sales are worth pursuing comes with the territory.
But as long as you understand stakeholder dynamics, align your value propositions, and foster collaboration then you can make the sale more often than not!
With enterprise customers also comes the opportunity to build longer-term relationships. When you find solutions together, you create more meaningful business connections. This, in turn, will lead to greater growth down the line.
