Sales reps have heard this question a hundred times, pretty much in every QBR you have sat in.
And you reply: "Mr X"
Is Mr X a champion or a coach?
And then you're confused going back to sales academics to learn the difference between a champion and a coach.
Soon you give in - yeah I guess Mr X is a coach & not a champion.
Then comes the next question:
Who does Mr. X report to?
You think twice. You knew the name but the pressure of QBR is too high to recall the name.
And before you could think more, the skip leader asks:
Who is the EB? Does Mr. X report into him? Does he influence him?
I have gone through many many QBRs, and mapping the stakeholders in opportunities especially the ones that take months to close is a number one sign that the sales rep knows his s*t.
If this is something you struggle with as well, check RubberDuck.Sale. We rolled out Stakeholder Mappings yesterday & you can use it to make your QBRs better - free of cost.