Who is truly the decider in your deal?

This question is more important than most questions about design or document content. Targeting the right audience determines which documents need to be created, what messages need to be conveyed, and which channels should be used. If you target the wrong audience, no matter how beautiful the materials are, the deal will still fall silent.

A B2B deal rarely has one closer.

In B2B sales to organizations, the buying group often consists of multiple people with different roles and motivations. Research from Gartner indicates that a complex deal typically involves six to ten people in the decision-making process. Forrester reports an average of thirteen stakeholders in each major deal. Each person gathers information in their own way, and then the group must come together to reach a common decision. This is when building consensus becomes the most challenging part of the entire buying journey.

The more people involved, the lower the probability of closing the deal. Data from CEB (now part of Gartner) shows that when only one person decides, the probability of purchase is about 81 percent. When six people must agree, that number drops to around 31 percent. This does not mean to avoid large deals. It means you need to understand the buying council and prepare materials for the right people.

Four roles that need to be drawn accurately

Sinh Vũ does not assign roles based on titles, but based on what they need to do in the decision-making process (buying jobs, meaning the tasks each person performs during the purchase).

• Budget holder (economic buyer): the person who has the authority to spend money. This is the individual through whom all deals must ultimately pass. It does not have to be the CEO; it could be a department head or a finance committee.
• The direct user (user): the one who endures daily pain and will use the product or service after purchase. They care about features and convenience, not necessarily about price or strategy.
• The gatekeeper: the purchasing, legal, or technical department that has the authority to block deals if their requirements are not met. Often overlooked until it is too late.
• Internal champion: a person willing to advocate for change and persuade other departments on your behalf. This is the most important person to find and equip with all necessary materials.

When to target one person, when to need the whole committee

Common mistakes when misidentifying the decision-maker

• Only takes care of the most responsive people, neglecting those who hold the budget. The friendly and approachable ones may not have the authority to close deals.
• By default, the director is the sole decision-maker, while in reality, the entire board must reach a consensus.
• Do not identify the gatekeeper (purchasing or legal department) until the deal has been delayed or fallen through.
• Equipping internal advocates with too few materials for them to persuade other departments when you are not present in the room.

The person who needs to be equipped is the Mobilizer, someone ready to drive change and build internal consensus, not just someone friendly who often interacts with you.

CEB, The Challenger Customer

The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ

Sinh Vũ opens every sales toolkit project with a session mapping sales touchpoints with the client's sales and marketing team. The goal of this session is to clarify who is who in the deal before writing anything or designing a page. From this map, the necessary documents are determined for each role, what messages to convey, rather than creating a generic file and hoping it fits everyone.

Sinh Vũ designs the framework and documentation. Your team understands your actual purchasing council best. Both sides work together; no one replaces the other.