The average B2B deal has 11 stakeholders (and other lies consultants tell)

Hey [Name],

Every B2B "expert" loves this stat: "The average buying committee has 6-11 stakeholders!"

Then they show you a complex diagram with 47 personas, journey maps, and psychological profiles.

Meanwhile, in reality? Most deals are decided by 2-3 people. Max.

The rest are either:

• Rubber stamps who do whatever the real buyer says
• Veto holders who only appear if something goes wrong
• Random people CC'd on emails

But sure, let's pretend you need to map the coffee preferences of the entire C-suite.

How Stakeholder Mapping ACTUALLY Works

Step 1: Find who's complaining
The person publicly complaining about your problem? That's your champion.

Step 2: Find who they report to
That person controls budget. Economic buyer.

Step 3: Find who could say no
Usually IT, Legal, or Procurement. Potential blocker.

Three people. Not eleven.

"But what about the influencers, evaluators, sponsors..."

Stop. You're overthinking it.

The LinkedIn Fantasy vs Reality

LinkedIn Fantasy:
- CEO: "Visionary leader driving transformation"
- CMO: "Customer-obsessed innovator"
- VP: "Strategic thought leader"

Reality:
- CEO: Checks in quarterly, delegates everything
- CMO: Worried about pipeline, approves whatever helps
- VP: The ACTUAL decision maker nobody mentions

True story: Spent 3 months trying to reach a CEO. Finally got the meeting.

"This sounds great. Talk to Sarah, she handles all of this."

Sarah was a Senior Manager. But she controlled $2M budget.

The 3-Person Stakeholder Map

Person 1: The Champion

• Mid-level (Manager/Director)
• Active on LinkedIn about challenges
• 1-3 years tenure (knows problems, not jaded)

What they want:

• Look good to boss
• Make life easier
• Build resume

How to approach:

• Be their secret weapon
• Share insights they can steal

Person 2: The Economic Buyer

• VP+ (but not always - see Sarah)
• 2+ years tenure
• Actually responds to emails

What they want:

• Hit their numbers
• Quick wins
• Avoid risk

How to approach:

• Lead with ROI
• Keep it simple
• Focus on outcomes

Person 3: The Blocker

• Adjacent department
• Long tenure (5+ years)
• Conservative LinkedIn presence

What they want:

• Status quo
• Protect turf
• Minimize work

How to approach:

• Don't ignore them
• Address concerns early
• Show how you help them too

The Multi-Threading Myth

You send personalized emails to 6 people. Results:

• 2 bounce (they left)
• 2 ignore you
• 1 forwards to same person
• 1 responds: "Thanks, copying Bob who handles this"

Congrats. You wasted 5 emails to reach Bob.

Better: Start with one person. Ask who else should be involved. Let them make intros.

10-Minute Stakeholder Mapping

Minutes 1-3: LinkedIn Power Search
"[Company] [your solution area]"
First 3 results = your targets

Minutes 4-7: Quick Scan

• Title (real power?)
• Tenure (long enough?)
• Activity (relevant posts?)

Minutes 8-10: Connection Map

• Who reports to whom
• Do they interact on LinkedIn
• Who does the active one tag

Done. You know enough.

Red Flags:

🚩 Nobody there >1 year (chaos)
🚩 "Decision maker" has no LinkedIn (probably gone)
🚩 Multiple same titles (political nightmare)
🚩 Champion reports to nobody relevant

Your Email Templates:

To Champions: "I noticed you posted about [problem]. We helped [similar company] solve this. Worth a quick chat?"

To Economic Buyers: "Your team is dealing with [problem]. This typically costs [impact]. We can fix this in [timeframe]. Interested?"

To Blockers: "I know changes to [area] can be concerning. We built our solution to [address their fear]. Happy to share our approach."

Your action items:

1. Pick one account
2. Find 3 people in 10 minutes:
   • Champion (who complains)
   • Buyer (who pays)
   • Blocker (who might object)
3. Write one hook for each

Tomorrow: Personalization that doesn't take forever.