The 7 Types of Customer Stakeholders (and the 3 That Can Make or Break Your Deal)

As any enterprise salesperson knows, closing a complex B2B deal is rarely a solo endeavor. With multiple decision-makers, influencers, end users and gatekeepers involved in the typical buying group, winning a high-stakes deal requires building relationships and alignment across a diverse range of customer stakeholders.

But here‘s the challenge: according to CEB, the average B2B buying group now includes more than 6 actively engaged stakeholders, each armed with 4 or 5 pieces of information they‘ve gathered independently. Worse, these stakeholders come in with different, often competing, priorities and decision criteria.

No wonder 39% of B2B purchases are ultimately made for reasons other than the ones the sales team focused on! Clearly, trying to engage every single stakeholder with a one-size-fits-all approach is a losing battle.

The good news is, while the number of customer voices involved in a deal has increased, research shows not all of those voices are created equal when it comes to driving change. By understanding the different stakeholder personas and tailoring your engagement accordingly, you can dramatically improve your odds of success.

The 7 Stakeholder Personas

Through extensive research and analysis, CEB has identified seven common stakeholder personas involved in a typical B2B purchase decision:

1. The Go-Getter – Proactively pushes for change and embraces new solutions that can drive business impact. Wants to be seen as a thought leader and change agent.

2. The Skeptic – Cautious to embrace new ideas without extensive due diligence. Asks tough questions and provides critical feedback to ensure chosen solution is rock-solid.

3. The Friend – Highly accessible and eager to help with information and resources, but often lacks decision-making authority or influence. Can inadvertently slow deal momentum.

4. The Teacher – Deep subject matter expert always on the lookout for new ideas to bring into the organization. Focused on knowledge-gathering and establishing authority.

5. The Guide – Understands company politics and historical context needed to navigate the deal. Provides inside intel on decision criteria and buying process.

6. The Climber – Supports initiatives that will advance personal career ambitions and make them look good to superiors. Self-interest can be leveraged to gain advocacy.

7. The Blocker – Resistant to change and views new solutions as potential threats. Works to actively undermine or delay purchase behind the scenes.

While most sales professionals intuitively recognize these personas, few take the time to systematically map them within target accounts. Even fewer proactively tailor their approach to the unique traits and priorities of each stakeholder type. And that‘s a missed opportunity.

The Critical Three: Where Top Performers Focus

According to CEB, high-performing reps (those with win rates higher than 65%) don‘t just engage a higher quantity of stakeholders. They engage the right stakeholders, zeroing in on the three personas most likely to drive change and build consensus: the Go-Getter, the Skeptic and the Teacher. In fact, top performers are 28% more likely to prioritize these three personas than their average-performing peers.

What makes these stakeholders so critical? Let‘s take a closer look:

Go-Getters: Catalysts for Change (23% of stakeholders)

• Proactively build coalitions and secure resources to make change happen
• Look for reasons to say "yes" to new solutions vs. defending status quo
• Serve as internal champions, socializing your solution and rallying support

Skeptics: Rigorous Evaluators (19% of stakeholders)

• Conduct extensive due diligence and provide objective, fact-based feedback
• Ask tough questions to reveal potential weaknesses and risks in proposed solution
• Act as an influential voice of reason, building credibility for endorsed solutions

Teachers: Trusted Advisors (21% of stakeholders)

• Continually seek knowledge and strive to educate others
• Lend authority and credibility to solutions they believe will benefit the business
• Help socialize and "translate" the value proposition of new solutions for their peers

In addition to proactively advancing your solution and influencing others, these three personas share another key trait: they have the strategic mindset needed to connect your offering to larger business goals and outcomes. They evaluate solutions based on overall value creation potential, not just narrow functional benefits or ease of implementation.

Stakeholder Engagement Matrix

So how do you identify these critical stakeholders within your target accounts and engage them effectively? The first step is stakeholder mapping – systematically identifying the key players likely to be involved in the deal and categorizing them into one of the seven personas.

From there, it‘s about tailoring your engagement strategy to the unique traits, priorities and decision-making styles of each persona, with particular emphasis on the "critical three."

Here is a helpful framework for engaging each of the seven stakeholder types:

Persona	Traits	Priorities	Engagement Strategy
Go-Getter	Proactive, ambitious, impatient for change	Innovation, competitive advantage, agility	Arm with tools/insights to socialize vision and secure resources
Skeptic	Analytical, risk-averse, devil‘s advocate	Reliable ROI, risk mitigation, peer validation	Lead with data, address objections head-on, provide bulletproof business case
Teacher	Curious, knowledge-seeking, influential	Cutting-edge solutions, knowledge-sharing, establishing authority	Discuss advanced capabilities, provide opportunities to gain and share expertise
Friend	Affable, relationship-oriented, aim-to-please	Being helpful, staying in the loop, maintaining access	Leverage for information and introductions, but don‘t rely on for change leadership
Guide	Well-connected, understands historical context and motivations	Helping sales reps navigate political landscape	Gather intelligence on buying group and decision process, engage as a "coach"
Climber	Ambitious, deadline-driven, authority-seeking	Personal wins, exceeding goals, recognition from superiors	Identify personal success metrics and position offering as a career accelerator
Blocker	Skeptical of change, risk-averse, prefers status quo	Avoiding disruption, minimizing perceived threats	Anticipate and proactively address objections, try to neutralize or circumvent

Beyond just classifying stakeholders into personas, this framework provides a actionable blueprint for tailoring your sales motions. Go-Getters, for example, are eager for tools and insights to champion your solution internally. Teachers crave opportunities to expand their expertise and share it with others. Skeptics require an airtight business case backed by measurable proof points.

By engaging the right stakeholders in the right way, you can build a groundswell of support that leads to bigger deals and faster sales cycles. In fact, CEB found that a typical high performer‘s pipeline is 17% larger on average than that of a core performer. They also boast 15% higher close rates and 16% shorter sales cycles – due in no small part to their artful orchestration of customer stakeholders.

The Go-Getter Engagement Plan

Let‘s take a closer look at how to translate this framework into action, starting with the Go-Getter. As natural change agents, Go-Getters are typically the first stakeholders to engage when pursuing a new account. In fact, top-performing reps start by identifying a potential Go-Getter ally in 74% of their opportunities.

To capture the attention and imagination of these stakeholders, lead with a provocative insight or idea that challenges the status quo and highlights the cost of inaction. Go-Getters are hungry for ammunition to drive change, so arm them with the tools and talk tracks needed to socialize your vision and create urgency within their organization.

When engaging Go-Getters, consider using value propositions and messaging like:

• "Leaders in your industry are achieving 25% greater efficiency by adopting this new approach, putting you at risk of falling behind."
• "This solution represents a fundamentally new way of achieving your goals – one that can vault you ahead of competitors still stuck in the old way of doing things."
• "In 3 years, this will be considered table stakes for any organization that wants to remain relevant. You have an opportunity to be an early leader and gain a powerful head start."

The key is to paint an aspirational picture of what‘s possible and position your Go-Getter as the internal change agent who can lead the charge and reap the rewards. By making them feel like an insider and co-creator in your vision, you gain a powerful advocate to champion your solution.

The Skeptic Engagement Plan

Of course, bold claims and future visions are not enough to sway a dyed-in-the-wool Skeptic. These stakeholders need hard proof that your solution can deliver on its promises with minimal risk and disruption.

When engaging Skeptics, come armed with relevant case studies, detailed ROI models and third party proof points that can withstand rigorous scrutiny. Proactively raise and resolve potential objections before they can take root and fester.

Consider proof points and value propositions like:

• "We helped [Customer X] achieve 130% ROI within 12 months of implementation, and I‘d like to share a detailed breakdown of how we can deliver similar results for you."
• "I know adopting a new solution can feel risky. That‘s why we‘ve put together this step-by-step implementation plan to ensure a smooth rollout and immediate time-to-value."
• "[Industry Analyst] recently gave our solution top marks for reliability and performance. I‘m happy to walk you through their detailed evaluation criteria and findings."

Importantly, don‘t try to slip anything by these stakeholders or downplay potential challenges. Engage them as an intellectual peer and even a partner in stress testing your proposal. Earning a Skeptic‘s hard-won stamp of approval can go a long way in validating your solution and influencing other stakeholders.

The Teacher Engagement Plan

Whereas Skeptics and Go-Getters tend to have strong pre-existing opinions, Teachers are frequently more open-minded and eager to learn. They pride themselves on staying at the forefront of industry trends and continually bringing new knowledge and ideas into their organizations.

To pique a Teacher‘s interest, emphasize the cutting-edge capabilities and innovative approaches that set your solution apart. Focus not just on what your solution does, but how it does it using advanced technologies and methodologies.

Some thought-provoking conversation starters:

• "Our solution leverages the latest advances in [machine learning, blockchain, etc.] to achieve unparalleled performance and automation. I‘d love to give you a behind the scenes look at how it works."
• "We‘ve developed a novel approach to solving [X] that leading analysts are hailing as the future of the industry. I think it could have some really exciting applications for your team."
• "I saw your recent post about [emerging trend]. We‘re actually doing some fascinating work in that area. Would you be interested in a knowledge-sharing session with our experts?"

By engaging Teachers as partners in discovery and innovation, you not only gain their support, but also enlist them as evangelists to educate others. Their innate craving for knowledge, combined with their credibility and influence, make them powerful conduits for your message.

Putting it All Together

In complex B2B sales, winning over a single decision-maker is no longer enough. To build the consensus and momentum needed to bring a high-stakes deal across the finish line, you need a multi-stakeholder engagement strategy that artfully wins hearts and minds across the customer organization.

By understanding the unique personas, priorities and engagement preferences of the various stakeholders involved – especially the "critical three" of Go-Getters, Skeptics and Teachers – you can identify and pull the right levers to drive change.

Importantly, this isn‘t about manipulating stakeholders or telling them what they want to hear. It‘s about engaging them as partners in value creation – arming Go-Getters to champion transformation, empowering Skeptics to make smart decisions, and enabling Teachers to lead the charge toward innovation.

Of course, putting this into practice requires more than just reading an article. It requires a commitment to stakeholder-centric selling as a core go-to-market philosophy and a willingness to invest in the necessary training, tools and processes to bring it to life.

But for organizations that get it right, the rewards are substantial. According to CEB, a well-executed multi-stakeholder sales strategy can lead to:

• 17% larger average pipeline
• 15% higher close rates
• 16% shorter sales cycles
• 12% higher average contract values
• 38% more enterprise-wide deals

Perhaps most importantly, it can make you the partner of choice for key customer stakeholders – not just for a single deal, but for a lifetime of value creation. And that is the true hallmark of a high-performing sales organization.