Latest / Sales Leadership with Fexingo: Quota Carriers, Sales Managers, and Revenue Teams / How Top Reps Turn Multithreading into a Competitive Edge
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, do you remember a deal where everything hinged on one person, and then that person left the company? Luna: Oh, I have a scar from one. We had a champion who was all in, and then she got poached two weeks before the signature. Deal just died. Lucas: Exactly. That's the classic single-threaded deal. And yet, so many reps still put their entire pipeline on one relationship. Today I want to talk about multithreading — building multiple relationships inside a prospect so you're not hostage to one person's job change or mood. Luna: But isn't that just good account mapping? We've covered similar ground before. Lucas: Similar, but not the same. Mapping is identifying the org chart. Multithreading is actively weaving yourself into multiple relationships, each with its own value proposition. It's the difference between knowing who the CFO is and having the CFO pick up your call. Luna: Okay, and it's not just about avoiding disaster, right? It's also about speed. Lucas: Right. Deals move faster when multiple stakeholders see value, because there are multiple voices pulling the decision along. I read a study a while back — I think from Gong — that showed deals with more than one contact have a significantly higher win rate. The numbers were something like a 35 percent boost when you have three or more active relationships. Luna: So it's not just insurance, it's acceleration. How many is the right number, though? Because I've seen reps go crazy and try to connect with everyone in the org. Lucas: Good point. I'd say three to five is the sweet spot, depending on the deal size. But the quality matters more than quantity. You need one economic buyer, one champion, and one user — at minimum. That's your triangle. Luna: The classic triangle. But you also need to find the silent influencers — the ones who don't have the title but have the ear of the decision-maker. Lucas: Yes, and that's where a lot of reps miss. They focus on the people with the fancy titles and ignore the executive assistant or the senior analyst who's been there for twelve years. That analyst knows the history, the past vendors, the landmines. Luna: And if you can get that analyst on your side, they'll quietly advocate for you in the hallway conversations you'll never hear. Lucas: Exactly. So the first step is map the buying committee. Not just the names and titles, but their needs, their power, their stance toward you. I use a simple grid: power on one axis, support on the other. You want to move everyone into the high-power, high-support quadrant. Luna: And how do you get them there? Different messages for different people, right? Lucas: Right, you tailor the value prop. The CFO cares about ROI and payback period. The IT lead cares about integration and security. The end user cares about ease of use and not having to redo their workflow. If you send them all the same deck, you're signaling that you don't understand their world. Luna: So it's essentially a mini-account plan for every stakeholder. Do you have a specific example from a recent deal that worked? Lucas: I was coaching a rep last quarter. She had a mid-market software deal, maybe half a million. Her champion was the VP of Operations, but the CFO was skeptical. Instead of just grinding on the VP, she asked for a quick fifteen minutes with the CFO to understand his metrics. She built a one-page model showing how the software would cut overtime costs. That single move turned the CFO from a blocker into an advocate. The deal closed a month later. Luna: That's a great illustration. And the CFO probably appreciated being treated like a decision-maker, not an afterthought. Lucas: Right, and it also protects you. When your champion leaves, you've got two other relationships to keep the deal alive. I've seen deals survive a champion departure because the rep had already built trust with the procurement lead and the economic buyer. Luna: But what's the counterargument? Some reps worry that going around the champion might tick them off, or that they're stepping on toes. Lucas: That's a legitimate concern, but it's about how you do it. You're not going over your champion's head; you're expanding the coalition. Frame it as, 'I want to make sure everyone's needs are addressed. Who else should we include?' Your champion will usually help you meet the others because it makes them look good — they're bringing in a partner who's prepared. Luna: So the champion becomes your tour guide through the org. That's smart. Lucas: And the key is to keep the champion in the loop on every touch. You never want them to feel blindsided. I always CC them on emails or recap after meetings. They should feel like the orchestrator. Luna: Now, what about the risk of spreading yourself too thin? You're talking to three, four, five people. How do you manage that without your day falling apart? Lucas: Good question. I think the discipline is to have a cadence. You don't need to meet every week with all of them. The user might need a monthly check-in, the economic buyer might just need a quarterly review, and the champion is your weekly sync. You map that out in your CRM so you're not scrambling to remember who you talked to last. Luna: So it's about intentionality. You're not just adding contacts for the sake of adding contacts. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where a lot of reps go wrong. They have one call with someone and then never nurture that relationship. The multithreading only works if you actually maintain it. It's like a garden — you have to water each plant. Luna: Okay, so let's say I'm a manager. How do I know my reps are truly multithreading and not just checking a box? Lucas: I'd look at their CRM activity for each open deal. How many unique contacts are they engaging with on a regular basis? And not just the same person over and over. I want to see at least two or three distinct stakeholders in the last two weeks for a deal that's in the later stages. Luna: So you're measuring the breadth of relationships, not just the number of activities. Lucas: Right. And you can also do role-plays where you ask the rep to present their stakeholder map for a deal. If they can't name the economic buyer's top priority off the top of their head, they haven't done the work. Luna: That's a good test. So, any final advice for reps who are just starting to build this muscle? Lucas: Start small. Pick one deal where you currently have a single point of contact. Ask your champion who else should be involved, and then schedule a conversation with one of those people this week. Just one. Build from there. Luna: That's a concrete step. And I like that you're not overwhelming them — it's a habit, not a checklist. Lucas: And honestly, this is one of those habits that pays off in every quarter, because people move, orgs change, and your deals survive. That's the kind of resilience we want to build in our teams. Luna: Before we wrap up, I want to mention something we've touched on in a few episodes. We've been having these conversations for free — no ads, no sponsors. That's a choice we've made. Lucas: It is. And it's a choice we can keep making because of listeners like the ones who've decided to support the show. If these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, you can help keep them coming. Luna: The link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No perks, no shout-outs — just the satisfaction of knowing you're keeping this thing going. Lucas: And we appreciate that more than we can say. Now, back to multithreading — one last thought. When you're in a deal and you feel the urge to just focus on your champion, remember that your champion is not the deal. The deal is a web of relationships, and your job is to weave it strong enough that it doesn't break when one thread snaps.