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How to Sell to the Silent Stakeholders
You don't know them. But they hold the keys to kill your deal.
Good Morning! If you’re starting your day with a Celsius energy drink, double-check the can… You might be starting your day with a vodka seltzer in disguise. High Noon says a batch of their vodka seltzers accidentally got labeled as Celsius. So if that 9am Zoom call felt a little looser than usual, now you know why. Now let’s get into today’s Follow Up. 😁
A pattern interrupt follow up email ✍️
Sell to the silent stakeholders 🗣️
Companies crushing in-person sales 🤝
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
If you're struggling to get a response, don’t follow up with “any thoughts?”. Follow up with a pattern interrupt.
❌ “Just checking in on my last note…”
✅ Subject line: “Should I stop emailing you?”
Body: “Happy to close the loop on my end if it’s not the right time. Let me know either way.”
This flips the pressure dynamic and triggers curiosity and re-engagement through honesty.
Sometimes the most persuasive thing you can say is: “Maybe I should walk away.”
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Silent Influencers: How to Sell to the Behind The Scenes Stakeholders
Fun fact: The most dangerous thing in sales isn't hearing "no."
It's hearing nothing at all... Zip. Zilch. Nada.
While you're busy trying to win over your main contact, there's usually someone behind the scenes who holds veto power over your entire deal.
They sit quietly in meetings. They don't pepper you with questions. You may’ve never met them. But they hold the keys to kill your deal.
Research confirms this: More than 40% of B2B deals stall due to internal misalignment, usually caused by invisible stakeholders that normal sales efforts overlook.
So today, we're breaking down who these silent influencers are and how to win them over before they silently kill your deal.
The Financial Gatekeepers
CFOs and finance teams have evolved from budget guards to power brokers. In 79% of B2B deals, the CFO holds final decision authority.
They might not attend your demo or ask questions during discovery calls. But behind the scenes, they're scrutinizing cost, ROI, and risk with a magnifying glass.
Watch for signs of a finance influencer: Late-stage questions about budget. Extra layers of approval that suddenly appear. Requests for detailed financial justification. Request for different payment terms out of nowhere.
These cues mean someone in finance is quietly sizing up your proposal.
How to win them over: Speak their language early. Arm your champion or point of contact with solid ROI data and risk mitigation plans. Provide finance-friendly collateral like cost-benefit analyses. Be ready to address total cost of ownership concerns.
The Technical Silent Killers
IT administrators, security analysts, and technical architects will probably stay quiet during your pitch. Until they spot a red flag.
These technical people might not officially control the budget. But when they say "this breaks our systems" or "this creates major security problems," they can kill your deal on the spot.
Watch for these warning signs: lots of detailed questions about how your software connects to theirs, how it protects data, or how much work it takes to set up. These questions mean a tech person is getting worried.
How to handle them: Don't wait until the deal finish line to see if they find any problems. Talk to the tech people right away. Ask what they need to have and what scares them. Show them your software plays nicely with their existing tools and how your company helps with setup.
Tech teams hate extra work. Make your pitch about making their lives easier, not harder.
The Procurement Professionals
Procurement and legal stakeholders probably won’t attend your discovery calls. But they show up at the end with a lot of power over whether deals actually happen.
These process people don't care about cool features. They worry about whether your company is safe, follows rules, and won't cause problems.
Hidden "process" buyers like procurement are 70% more likely to reject vendors who aren’t ‘well known’ to them.
Watch for these signs: questions about your company's money situation, long security forms to fill out, demands for customer references, and requests for detailed contract reviews.
How to win them over: Build trust early. Show your company is stable through certificates, success stories, and happy clients in their field. If you're a small vendor, tackle the "safe choice" worry by showing industry awards or big-name partners.
And when you can, ask early about their procurement process. This shows them you know what you’re doing.
The Deep Over Thinkers
Some quiet people aren't from specific teams. They're just naturally quiet decision-makers. Usually, high level bosses or budget holders who like to listen more than talk.
These analytical types might nod in meetings without saying if they love or hate your idea. Then they make the final choice in their private time.
Traits of the silent decider: They research a lot, independently, before your meetings. They take time to respond, preferring to think through details. They ask big-picture questions about long-term impact rather than chiming in on every detail.
How to sell to them: Don't think quiet means uninterested. Give them lots of good information they can review alone, and then ask them direct, open-ended questions to understand their thoughts. Ask for feedback, all along the way.
Give them space to process, but make it clear you're ready to dive as deep as they want. You need to build trust with these people. And that takes time.
Which silent deal influencers do you encounter the most? |
