Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / The Rep Who Won by Asking for a Board Meeting
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's a sales rep I heard about — let's call her Dana — who had a deal that was stuck in procurement for two months. The champion loved the product, the budget was approved, but every time they tried to get signatures, the deal got pushed to the next quarter. Dana was about to lose it to a competitor who didn't even have a better product, just a cheaper one. Luna: Classic stall. What did she do? Lower the price? Lucas: Nope. She asked for a board meeting. Not a Q&A with the CFO, not a lunch with the COO — a formal presentation to the board of directors. The buyer was shocked. 'You want to pitch to my board?' But Dana had a reason: the champion had told her the deal was being blocked by one director who was worried about vendor lock-in. That director wasn't at the procurement meetings, and Dana knew if she could address his concern directly, the deal would move. Luna: That's bold. But boards are brutal. How do you even get invited to one? Lucas: She framed it as reducing risk. She told the champion, 'You want to sign off on a multi-million dollar contract, but one of your board members is skeptical. Let me come in and answer his questions myself. That way, you're not the one defending the decision alone.' The champion agreed, and Dana got thirty minutes on the next board agenda. Luna: So she turned her champion into a sponsor who needed backup. Smart. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the key — she didn't ask to pitch the board to sell the product. She asked to help her champion sell the decision internally. The board doesn't care about features. They care about risk, disruption, and whether the company is making a dumb move. Dana knew her pitch had to address those three things in ten minutes. Luna: What did she actually present? Did she show ROI projections? Lucas: She showed a one-page risk assessment. Three columns: the risk the board was worried about, the probability it happens, and the mitigation plan. For the vendor lock-in concern, she showed how her platform had open APIs and a history of making it easy for customers to leave. That was a powerful move because it directly countered the blocker's objection. Luna: And she did all this without a formal procurement process? That seems like it would ruffle feathers. Lucas: It can. But she was careful to loop in procurement first. She asked the champion to invite the procurement lead to the board meeting as a co-presenter. That way, procurement wasn't bypassed — they were part of the solution. And it made the board see that the whole team was aligned. Luna: So the board meeting wasn't really about the board. It was about getting the blocker in the same room and forcing a decision. Lucas: Right. And that's what I love about this tactic — it's not a fancy closing technique. It's a visibility move. When you ask for a board meeting, you're saying, 'I'm confident enough in what we're selling that I'll put it in front of the highest authority in the company.' That confidence is contagious. Luna: But there's a huge risk. What if the board asks something you can't answer? You could lose the deal entirely. Lucas: That's why preparation matters. Dana spent two days prepping with her champion. They went through every question the board might ask — security, data privacy, integration costs, even a question about what happens if her company went out of business. She had answers for all of them, and she rehearsed them until they sounded natural. Luna: Did the board ask any questions they didn't prepare for? Lucas: One. A director asked about her company's roadmap and whether a new feature they'd been promised was actually going to ship on time. Dana didn't have the specific date, but she didn't bluff. She said, 'I can't give you the exact date, but I can have our VP of product on a call tomorrow to walk you through the timeline.' She turned a weakness into an opportunity for follow-up. Luna: That's a good recovery. So she didn't lose the deal. Did she close it? Lucas: She didn't close it that day. But the blocker came up to her after the meeting and said, 'I want you to work with our IT team to finalize the security review.' That was the green light. The contract was signed two weeks later. The board meeting didn't just clear the objection — it made the blocker an advocate. Luna: So the lesson is: when a deal is stuck, don't just push harder at the same level. Change the level. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a tactic you can use even if you're not selling to a fortune five hundred company. Any deal with a multi-stakeholder decision has a hidden blocker. The board meeting is just one way to surface it. You could ask for a joint meeting with the CFO, or a lunch with the COO — anything that gets you in front of the person who's actually blocking. Luna: And it's not just for getting past a blocker. Sometimes it's about giving the champion confidence to fight for you. Lucas: That's the underrated part. Dana's champion later told her that before the meeting, he was ready to walk away from the deal because it was too much work. But her willingness to go to the board made him think, 'This vendor really believes in this.' It renewed his energy. Luna: That's the kind of thing that can turn a salesperson into a trusted advisor. You're not just selling a product; you're helping them sell internally. Lucas: Right. And that's what we're really talking about here — the best closers aren't the ones with the slickest pitches. They're the ones who understand the buyer's internal dynamics and are willing to insert themselves into that process. Luna: It's like being a consultant, not a vendor. Lucas: Yeah. And there's a great example in a different context: when McKinsey pitches a new client, they don't just talk to the department head. They ask to present to the executive committee. Same principle — get in front of the people who actually decide. Luna: So if you're listening and you've got a deal that's been stalled for more than a month, maybe think about who in your buyer's organization you haven't met yet. And whether you can get in front of them. Lucas: And a quick way to do that without a formal board meeting: ask your champion, 'Who else should be part of this decision to make sure we're not missing anything?' That opens the door to meet the blockers without being pushy. Luna: That's a great tip. And speaking of not being pushy — you know, we keep this show free and ad-free, which is a choice. If these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, you can support that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, no ads means we answer to you, not to sponsors. It's a good deal for everyone. Luna: And it keeps the podcast independent. So if you find value here, that's the way to say thanks. Lucas: Alright, back to Dana. One thing I want to stress: she didn't just show up with slides. She worked with her champion to create a shared story. They prepared a 'one-pager for the board' that framed the decision as a business risk mitigation strategy, not a product purchase. That's the kind of preparation that makes a difference. Luna: And she asked the champion to present the first half, so she wasn't the only one talking. That made it a joint presentation, which gave the champion ownership. Lucas: Precisely. The champion stood up and said, 'We've evaluated five vendors, and this one best fits our strategic goals.' Then Dana stepped in for the technical detail. That split made the board see the champion was fully invested, which is what you want. Luna: So the ask for a board meeting is really an ask for a public commitment. The champion can't quietly back away after that. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the hidden power of the tactic. Once someone stands in front of their board and says, 'I recommend this vendor,' they're not going to change their mind easily. It locks in the political capital. Luna: What if the board says no? Is there a way to recover? Lucas: Dana had a fallback. She asked the board for a pilot if they weren't ready to sign. That's a lower-risk way to get in the door, and it keeps the conversation alive. She was prepared to walk away with a 'let's test it' instead of a 'no.' Luna: So the board meeting isn't an ultimatum. It's a way to escalate the conversation. Lucas: Right. And I think that's the takeaway for this episode: when a deal is stuck, don't just ask for the sale again. Ask for access to the people who are actually blocking it, and prepare so well that they have no choice but to take you seriously. Luna: That's a good note to end on. Thanks for listening to Closing the Deal with Fexingo. Lucas: And if you try the board meeting tactic, let us know how it goes. We'd love to hear your stories.