GTMcraft Plays · The Economic Buyer Play

Deals stall because the economic buyer is engaged too late, or never, and a champion cannot carry the yes alone.

Play visual

economic-buyer-signal.html

The 90-second read

Your champion loves you, and the deal still dies. Champions do not control budget or make the final call. The economic buyer decides, and most sellers reach that person too late or never. Engage the economic buyer early, engineer executive-to-executive moments, and the deal stops stalling in silence.

• Champions cannot approve budget, so a deal on one thread is exposed.
• Deals with early executive alignment close far more than deals without.
• Reach the economic buyer through the champion, not around them.
• Executives answer peers, not sales decks, so match title to title.
• Reaching an executive first can backfire; build the champion, then the exec.

Read time: about 5 minutes. First step runnable Monday morning.

The #1 move this week

Pick your three biggest open deals and name the economic buyer on each.

Most stalled deals share one gap: the person who signs is not in the deal. Your champion advocates, but cannot approve budget or shift priorities. If you cannot name the economic buyer and their goal, the deal is at risk. Name them, then engineer the first executive-to-executive touch through your champion.

Start here: open your top three open deals and write the economic buyer's name, title, and one business goal. You need the CRM notes and last call recording.

Ignore this week: do not email the CFO cold or over your champion's head. Enable the champion to open the door instead.