Engage the Economic Buyer earlier

A client recently closed a deal for $100,000. They'd been expecting seven figures. The logo was highly attractive, the opportunity had looked promising, but the final result was deeply disappointing - a small subset of the possible opportunity.

The problem was very clear from a quick conversation with the CEO: they were selling to and through a single individual who had to get budget sign-off at every step from their boss. My client had no engagement with that boss or anyone further up the tree and had not been able to align themselves with more significant corporate goals. They'd spent months working a deal that was never going to be what they thought it was.

This happens time and time again. Deals that stall, deals that drift, deals that close for relatively low value. In nearly every case, there is not a senior level buyer directly engaged with the value proposition on offer.

When I ask sellers about access to the Economic Buyer, I hear the same uninspiring responses repeatedly:

"Our Champion can get this done. We don't need to speak to the Economic Buyer."

"I don't want to undermine our Champion by asking for access to their manager."

"We have heard that the Economic Buyer is very excited about the project."

Addressing each of these directly:

"Our Champion can get this done." Maybe. But probably not. If you are selling a significant value project, you are going to need executive support. The very best way to get that support is through direct engagement. Relying on your Champion to carry your message up the chain is like playing telephone - each layer of translation dilutes your value proposition and removes your ability to read the room, answer objections, and adapt your pitch.

"I don't want to undermine our Champion." This is fear dressed up as respect. If your Champion is genuinely strong, they will welcome senior engagement because it validates the importance of what they're working on. If they resist, that tells you something important about either their confidence in you or their political position internally.

"The Economic Buyer is very excited." According to whom? Third-hand enthusiasm is not the same as commitment. You need to hear it directly, understand their priorities, and confirm that this project has executive sponsorship with budget behind it.

Here's the principle: Before you invest significant time in a deal - before a large-scale POC, before detailed technical evaluations, before weeks of discovery - you need the Economic Buyer to make it clear they are interested in the solution. Not just interested in a conversation or evaluation, but interested in solving the problem if you can demonstrate capability.

How do we get to the Economic Buyer?

All too often, people are concerned they may undermine their contacts by suggesting more senior engagement is necessary. If your "Champion" is unwilling to introduce you to their manager or more senior people, you have one of three problems:

1. They are not sufficiently confident in your product or in you, and are therefore not willing to expose you further up the tree.

In this case, you obviously need to build trust in your product, your company, and yourself. Understand why they don't yet trust you so you can close the gaps. 

2. They like being important and pulling the strings and don't want to dilute their influence.

It can often work to position Economic Buyer access as elevating them, not bypassing them: "I want to help you get executive sponsorship for this project" or "Let's get your VP's support so you have the resources to make this successful." Make them the hero who brought in the solution, not the gatekeeper who got circumvented.

3. They don't think it is necessary for this opportunity.

You may well need to educate them on how enterprise deals actually get done: "In similar deals, we've found that executive involvement early prevents surprises later. The VP typically wants to understand the strategic impact before we invest in a proof of concept." Position it as standard process, not a lack of trust in them.

Asking for access directly

You can - and should - simply ask for access. Here's language that works:

1. "You mentioned that the decision process will require your VP Engineering signing off on the choice. We are getting close to the significant POC investment and before we do that we need to engage with her to validate the next steps."

2. "Having sold this solution many times, it has always been the case that the CMO needs to sign off the purchase. What is the right timing for getting him involved? Who else needs to see it before it gets to him?"

3. "Our CRO is extremely engaged with this opportunity and very excited to help you deliver XYZ. She would like to speak with your COO - how do we arrange this?"

Executive-to-executive outreach

It's also entirely reasonable - and often highly effective - to directly engage relevant executives proactively early in the sales process. Once you have mapped out the organization, ask your CEO, CRO, or other executives to send messages to their counterparts, either by email or LinkedIn.

Something along these lines: "I understand that our teams have started evaluating the possibility of our company supporting yours. We are very excited to be part of your journey and if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

Note there's no call to action here, just an introduction. This is about relationship building, not sales pressure.

I can point to many examples where an early engagement C-level to C-level kicked off a high-level relationship which develops during the sales process and ensures access to power when there are challenges. When your CEO and their CEO have an established relationship, suddenly getting on the Economic Buyer's calendar becomes dramatically easier.

You should let your Champion know you are doing this. If they object, understand whether that's a genuine objection you should take into account (perhaps there's internal politics you don't understand), or if they are shielding you from power, in which case you may need to proceed anyway. Use judgment, but err on the side of transparency and senior engagement.

The bottom line

I have never heard of a deal that failed because we were engaged with the Economic Buyer too early or too closely. I have heard of far too many that failed because we did not get their input early enough.

Don't wait until you've invested months of effort to discover that the person you've been working with can't actually get the deal done. Get to the Economic Buyer early, confirm their commitment, and align your solution with their strategic priorities. That's how seven-figure opportunities stay seven figures instead of becoming disappointing $100K consolation prizes.

A note on exceptional Champions: In rare cases - perhaps 5-10% of the time - an exceptional Champion with a strong track record and proven ability to drive similar initiatives can effectively carry your message and get deals done. You have to qualify this very carefully. If you see them making concrete progress, they have direct access to the Economic Buyer even if you don't, and they have a history of successfully championing similar purchases, you may choose to rely on them. But this is the exception, not the rule. When in doubt, get direct access.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment here or reply.