Account mapping is crucial for complex sales in large organizations. Leading sales methodologies like Miller Heiman, Challenger Sale, and Sandler consider two dimensions for this practice:
Decision-Making Role: Each contact's formal role in the decision process (Economic Buyer, User, etc.).
Relationship Position: The contact’s stance toward your proposal or company (Champion, Neutral, Opponent).
Use custom fields in Pipedrive and vizrm Custom Views to track & visualize both dimensions to enhance your ability to influence deals.
ℹ️ We created a best practice configuration for account mapping in vizrm here
In B2B and enterprise sales, understanding the structure of your buyer’s organization is essential for navigating complex sales processes. Modern buying decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders, each with their own set of responsibilities, concerns, and influence over the final decision.
By correctly identifying and classifying the roles of key contacts within an account, sales professionals can tailor their messaging, anticipate objections, and ensure they address the unique needs of every influencer.
Let’s explore how several leading sales methodologies approach contact classification.
Sandler Selling | SPIN Selling | Solution Selling | SNAP Selling | ||
Economic Buyer | Go-Getters | Decision-Maker | Decision-Maker | Decision-Makers | Decision-Makers |
User Buyer | Teachers | Influencers | Problem Holders | Influencers | Key Influencers |
Technical Buyer | Skeptics | End Users | Influencers | Technical Gatekeepers | Gatekeepers |
Coach | Talkers |
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| End Users |
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| Blockers |
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Miller Heiman Strategic Selling
Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling, introduced in the book The New Strategic Selling, offers one of the most well-established frameworks for classifying contacts. This methodology emphasizes identifying four critical roles in any deal:
Economic Buyer: The person with the final authority over the budget.
User Buyer: Individuals who will use the solution and are concerned with usability and efficiency.
Technical Buyer: Those responsible for ensuring the solution meets technical requirements, often a major gatekeeper.
Coach: A trusted insider who supports your sale and guides you through the organization’s processes.
These roles help sales professionals prioritize their efforts by ensuring they cover every base in the decision-making process. In vizrm, using Custom Views to organize these contacts ensures that salespeople can quickly filter and engage with each role as they build their account maps and org charts.
Reference: Miller, Robert B., et al. The New Strategic Selling. Business Plus, 2005.
The Challenger Sale / The Challenger Customer
In the original The Challenger Sale, the focus is on helping buyers think differently and guiding them to a purchase by challenging their status quo. The follow-up, The Challenger Customer, introduces a structured role classification that reflects how complex B2B decisions are made. Key contact roles include:
Mobilizers: Internal champions who drive the deal forward. These are further categorized as:
Go-Getters: Proactive individuals passionate about change.
Teachers: Thought leaders who can influence others through insights.
Skeptics: Critical thinkers who may challenge you but help ensure thorough vetting.
Talkers: Friendly but powerless contacts who lack the influence to make a deal happen.
Blockers: Individuals who resist change or have allegiances to competitors, obstructing progress.
By identifying Mobilizers, sellers can focus their energy on those who can truly advocate for their solution. In vizrm, sellers can create a Custom View to highlight mobilizers versus blockers, ensuring that time is spent on the right individuals.
Reference: Dixon, Matthew, and Brent Adamson. The Challenger Customer. Portfolio, 2015.
Sandler Selling System
The Sandler Selling System places a strong emphasis on identifying decision-makers early in the process. Sandler does not categorize buyers as rigorously as Miller Heiman but emphasizes the importance of understanding the following roles:
Decision-Maker: The person with the authority to approve or veto the purchase.
Influencers: Those who can sway the decision through their internal connections or opinions.
End Users: The people who will be using the solution daily.
Sandler’s system helps sellers tailor their approach to the right people by understanding the hierarchy of influence within an account. In vizrm, Custom Views allow users to map influencers and decision-makers in a clear, visual way, making it easier to build and navigate complex org charts.
Reference: Sandler, David. You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar. Sandler Training, 1995.
SPIN Selling
The SPIN Selling methodology is based on asking four types of questions: Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff. Although SPIN doesn’t explicitly classify buyers into formal roles, it implicitly identifies:
Decision-Makers: Individuals responsible for the final decision.
Problem Holders: Contacts who have the most direct experience with the issue your solution solves.
Influencers: Stakeholders who may not have direct authority but are instrumental in shaping the deal.
With SPIN, identifying who holds the problem is crucial to making a sale. vizrm's Custom Views can be set up to categorize key stakeholders based on the problems they experience, enabling sales teams to focus their questions and efforts on the right people.
Reference: Rackham, Neil. SPIN Selling. McGraw-Hill, 1988.
Solution Selling
Solution Selling focuses on addressing the specific pain points of each contact. While it doesn’t offer a rigid classification system, it identifies roles based on their stake in the problem:
Decision-Makers: The individuals with final purchasing authority.
Influencers: People within the organization who can support or block the sale.
Technical Gatekeepers: Individuals who ensure the solution meets technical or regulatory requirements.
End Users: Those who will be using the product and care about ease of use.
Mapping these roles in vizrm allows sales teams to visually organize contacts based on their technical, user, and financial responsibilities, creating a complete picture of the account.
Reference: Bosworth, Michael. Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets. McGraw-Hill, 1995.
SNAP Selling
SNAP Selling is designed for fast-paced environments where buyers are overwhelmed with information. It encourages sellers to identify:
Decision-Makers: The key authority figures.
Key Influencers: Those whose opinions matter to the decision-makers.
Gatekeepers: Those who control access to decision-makers.
Although it doesn’t go into deep role classification, SNAP requires sellers to be laser-focused on identifying decision-makers and aligning their solution to the buyer’s priorities. In vizrm, this can be achieved by setting up a Custom View to quickly filter key decision-makers and gatekeepers.
Reference: Konrath, Jill. SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business with Today's Frazzled Customers. Portfolio, 2010.
