Protecting open opportunities through executive changes
Pipeline · SDR
Situation
When a relevant leadership position changes hands at a customer during an active opportunity, it's both a risk and an opportunity: the new decision-maker doesn't yet know your solution and could question the deal, but can also be won over for the ongoing process.
Key contacts
- Existing contacts in the active opportunity
- The new executive
Approach
Before reaching out to the new person directly, assess the state of the opportunity: stage, internal support, how involved the new person has been so far. In an early stage, a brief, informative update is often enough. In a later stage, proposing a short call directly is worth it.
Where possible, address the topic in your next already-scheduled call with the customer before reaching out to the new person separately. This feels more coordinated and less like cold outreach around the existing relationship.
Common mistake
Ignoring the change and continuing with existing contacts as before. Without actively involving the new executive, the risk increases that the deal ultimately stalls due to missing internal buy-in.