In our previous blog post about internal customer mapping, we talked about the importance of uncovering two things during a sale:

1. Who are the internal customers of the potential buyer?

2. What does each of the internal customers care about?

The internal customer is a person within an organization who receives a service from an internal employee. In this blog post, we will expand the concept of “internal customer” into “internal stakeholder,” which can be any person who has a stake in the buying decision.

Internal stakeholders may or may not directly participate in the buying process or the application of your solution, but they can influence the buying decision by giving positive or negative feedback. We will talk about the types of internal stakeholders you should consider mapping out during your sales process to maximize your chance of closing a deal.

There are five roles an internal stakeholder can take, and it’s important to remember that one person can take on multiple roles at the same time.

1. The user

The users of your solution look to solve a problem in their day-to-day work or capture new opportunities. Once they see the value of your solution, they can be your allies in influencing the prospect’s internal buying decision. It would be good to nurture the relationship with the user and make them an insider (see below point 3). When it comes to the motivation of the user, personal gain and performance metrics are usually two important factors.

2. The funder

The funder typically controls a budget pool and listens to multiple sources of opinions, which almost always include the user’s, to evaluate the return on investment. The funder can be a team leader who has a budget to procure a productivity tool for his or her team. The funder does not need to be the user. Sometimes, the funder can just be the controller or CFO of a company. Therefore, it’s important to understand how buying decisions are made in a company.

3. The insider

The insiders are willing to share a little more than is necessary to help you close the deal. They may voluntarily give you insights about budget control, hidden pain points, politics among teams, etc. It’s a blessing to develop a relationship with an insider throughout the sales process. Many times, the insider relationship is fostered during a dinner or a private conversation instead of a multi-stakeholder sales meeting. The insider can be a former colleague, a friend of yours, or someone who really trusts your product or you personally. If you have to develop the insider relationship from scratch, see our blog post about building trust in the sales process.

4. The commentator

The commentator may not directly use your product, but they share their comments with the user or the funder. They may not have direct pain points that your products solve, but their day-to-day work can be affected if their colleagues adopt your products. They can say positive or negative things based on their past experiences or imagination of the future. The commentators are the most unpredictable source of opinions. They may be invited to a sales call, but don’t say anything on the call. Therefore, it’s important to understand the roles of each decision-making participant.

Understanding the types of internal stakeholders will help you quickly identify the resistance in the buying journey. Different stakeholders normally have different pain points and perspectives. You should adapt your style when asking discovery questions to different types of stakeholders. It was advised to have a clear mapping of the internal stakeholders as soon as you enter a sales process and address their concerns efficiently rather than beating around the bush.

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