Conventional wisdom in sales says: “To win a deal, you need tailored messaging for every stakeholder.” It sounds logical—after all, a CFO cares about cost, an operations leader cares about efficiency, and IT worries about risk.
But here’s the problem: Gartner’s research shows this approach can actually backfire. In fact, when suppliers over-index on individual relevance, it creates conflict within the buying group—leading to a 59% negative impact on consensus.
In other words: the more we speak to each stakeholder in isolation, the harder it becomes for them to agree together.
Why Individual Messaging Creates Conflict
Think about the last large, complex deal you worked on.- The CFO received a cost-reduction story.
- Operations was pitched speed and efficiency.
- IT got risk mitigation.
The Power of Stakeholder Alignment
Winning modern enterprise deals isn’t about creating a bespoke pitch for every person. It’s about building a unifying narrative that aligns the group around shared priorities. That means:- A consistent story: One central message that resonates across functions.
- Shared language: Equipping champions with content everyone can understand and repeat internally.
- Momentum across the chain: Ensuring executives, finance, operations, and advisors can all buy into the same vision.
How to Do It in Practice
- Start with the group, not the individual. Ask: “What unites this buying team?” before tailoring sub-messages.
- Test for alignment early. If your champion can’t tell the same story to finance, IT, and the board, you don’t have consensus.
- Invest in scalable messaging. Create content that reaches the decision chain where they naturally hang out. This aligned messaging ensures you can survive the internal gauntlet without you in the room.