The Org Chart is Lying to You

In B2B sales, seniority doesn’t always equal influence. We don’t lose deals because we missed people - we lose them because we misunderstood how decisions are actually made.

A Personal Story

We recently closed a deal where the person with real influence had zero budget authority. Yet she held the internal narrative, connected the solution to business priorities, and pulled the deal over the line when no one else could. That’s what made all the difference.

Why Org Charts Fail Us

• Roles ≠ Influence - Org charts show titles, not motivations.
• Static vs. Dynamic - They ignore informal power and narrative alignment.
• Missing the Storytellers - The people who care, and can move the needle, often don’t show up on the chart.

According to Outreach, when you engage multiple stakeholders in your sales process, multithreading deals are 37% more likely to close (https://www.outreach.io/resources/blog/stakeholder-mapping-for-sales)

A study from Sopro found that the average B2B buying decision involves 4.14 stakeholders, with large, complex deals involving 6–10 people across teams like finance, IT, and execs

How to Spot the Real Power Players

1. Ask about influence, not authority
   Use the question: “Who’s driving this internally?” instead of “Who signs off?”

2. Trace what’s personally at stake
   A Product Manager may lack budget - but if your solution helps them ship faster or hit key OKRs, they’ll quietly push for it

3. Connect their goals to company-level outcomes
   Don’t just solve a feature gap. Make the story stick by aligning to business OKRs and executive priorities

Reality Check: B2B Buying Landscape

• 77% of B2B buyers say their latest purchase was very complex, involving 6 to 10 decision-makers
• 42% of buying decisions span two or more departments* - finance, IT, ops, and others

Lesson: Org charts are helpful - but not enough. Influence cuts across hierarchy, weaving through personal stakes, mentorships, and internal narratives.

A Real-World Example

“In that enterprise deal, the budget-holder was distant. But one stakeholder, without formal power, owned the story internally. She aligned impact to business priorities, rallied cross-functional support, and pulled the deal across the finish line.”

Short paragraphs keep it engaging and easy to read.

Mini Checklist: Map the Story, Not Just the Org

1. In your first calls, ask: "Who influences decisions here?" and "What's at stake for them?"
2. Build an influence map layered with: 2.1 Authority level 2.2 Personal motivations 2.3 Formal AND informal influence lines
3. Enable your internal champion: 3.1. Provide story aligned collateral they can share
4. Update your map after: 4.1 Discovery calls 4.2 Demo's 4.3 Internal milestone shifts 4.4 Org changes

Final Thought

Don’t just map the org. Map the story. Your real champion is the one who can sell it when you’re not in the room.