Map your buying group and its influence

Buyer Group Analysis

First unconfirmed decision role

Budget authority: Who can approve the spend for this purchase, and what source confirms that authority?

Role titles are hypotheses until contact and role evidence are supplied. A typical role alone does not confirm a champion.

Deal Context

• Company: not given (add the company input to name your company or product in this answer)
• Product: spend management software
• Deal Size: $24,000 ACV
• Target Company: 300-3000 employees
• Known Stakeholders: Not specified
• Champion candidate you supplied: Finance Controller

Sector: read from your inputs as fintech, spend and expense. Business model: not stated. Tell us how you charge and the plan will adjust.

Billing dependent steps are conditional: trials, seats and recurring renewals require a subscription; a statement of work requires a services contract; site or link commitments require connectivity billing. Confirm the applicable choice before using those steps.

The deal size and company size are shown for context: the roles below come from your champion, your stakeholders and the sector, not from the deal size.

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Buying Group Map

Champion (hypothesis; internal advocacy unconfirmed)

Role: Finance Controller
Evidence: Role hypothesis only. Title supplied; contact and decision evidence unconfirmed.
Validation question: Who is the named person, and what did they do to advocate internally? Record the observed action and date.
Check to own: The account owner should ask Finance Controller to name the acceptance condition for spend management software before the next buyer meeting, then record the supporting evidence and who can approve it.
Message angle: Lead with days to close the books: show the effect on their own numbers, with the kind of proof this sector trusts (close time or reconciliation effort before and after for one entity, signed off by the finance controller).

Strategy:

• Lead with their specific pain points
• Provide ammo to sell internally
• Make them look good to leadership
• Give them early wins to share

Economic Buyer hypothesis (budget authority unconfirmed)

Role: Chief Financial Officer (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role)
Evidence: Role hypothesis only. Suggested from sector or role context; no contact evidence supplied.
Validation question: Who can approve the spend for this purchase, and what source confirms that authority?
Check to own: The account owner should ask Chief Financial Officer (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role) to name the acceptance condition for spend management software before the next buyer meeting, then record the supporting evidence and who can approve it.
Message angle: Tie the spend to days to close the books and to the risk of staying as they are, and bring proof from a buyer like them.

Strategy:

• Lead with business outcomes, not features
• Provide clear ROI documentation
• Connect to strategic priorities
• Reference similar company results

Technical Evaluator (Implementation Voice)

Role: Head of IT (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role)
Evidence: Role hypothesis only. Suggested from sector or role context; no contact evidence supplied.
Validation question: Who owns technical acceptance, and where are their agreed criteria recorded?
Check to own: The account owner should ask Head of IT (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role) to name the acceptance condition for spend management software before the next buyer meeting, then record the supporting evidence and who can approve it.
How to answer: Show the gap between the ERP module and the daily workflow (approvals, receipts, cards, posting) using one month of the buyer's own transactions.

Strategy:

• Offer a pilot on their own data or sites
• Share integration or setup documentation
• Offer a technical session
• Answer the security questionnaire before it is asked

End User (Day-to-Day User)

Role: Head of Accounts Payable (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role)
Evidence: Role hypothesis only. Suggested from sector or role context; no contact evidence supplied.
Validation question: Who will use this in daily work, and which observed task confirms their involvement?
Check to own: The account owner should ask Head of Accounts Payable (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role) to name the acceptance condition for spend management software before the next buyer meeting, then record the supporting evidence and who can approve it.
How to answer: Show the daily workflow through their eyes and agree a small pilot with the people who will use it.

Strategy:

• Demo through their lens
• Show quick wins possible
• Minimize learning curve fear
• Get pilot users as advocates

Potential Blocker (Reviewer)

Role: Internal Audit Lead (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role)
Evidence: Role hypothesis only. Suggested from sector or role context; no contact evidence supplied.
Validation question: Who must review this purchase, and which policy or decision confirms their role?
Check to own: The account owner should ask Internal Audit Lead (usual in fintech, spend and expense; none of your stakeholders fits this role) to name the acceptance condition for spend management software before the next buyer meeting, then record the supporting evidence and who can approve it.
How to answer: Prepare the answers before they are asked: data residency, access controls, audit logs, certifications you actually hold.

Strategy:

• Engage early, not late
• Proactively share compliance info
• Provide comparison to status quo risk
• Have champion introduce you

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Influence Map

                        ┌──────────────────────────┐                        
                        │      ECONOMIC BUYER      │                        
                        │ Chief Financial Officer  │                        
                        └─────────────┬────────────┘                        
                                      │ approves                            
                        ┌─────────────▼────────────┐                        
             influences │         CHAMPION         │ influences             
              ┌─────────│ Finance Controller       │──────────┐             
              │         └─────────────┬────────────┘          │             
              ▼                       │                       ▼             
┌──────────────────────────┐   advocates for    ┌──────────────────────────┐
│        TECHNICAL         │◄───────────────────│           USER           │
│ Head of IT               │    validates       │ Head of Accounts Payable │
└──────────────────────────┘                    └──────────────────────────┘
              │                                               │             
              │         ┌──────────────────────────┐          │             
              └────────►│         BLOCKER          │◄─────────┘             
               reviews  │ Internal Audit Lead      │  reviews               
                        └──────────────────────────┘                        

Sector notes: fintech, spend and expense

• Who usually decides: The CFO signs; the Finance Controller or the head of the affected finance team champions; internal audit and compliance review controls; IT checks ERP integration and security; HR joins when employees are affected.
• Objections this sector often raises: our ERP already does this; security and compliance review; migration will disrupt the close; regulatory caution.
• Words this sector's buyers use: reconciliation, month end close, policy controls, audit trail, accounts payable, ERP posting, compliance review, approval workflow, data residency.
• A proof point that lands: Close time or reconciliation effort before and after for one entity, signed off by the finance controller.
• What this sector measures: days to close the books, reconciliation effort, policy breach rate, approval cycle time, audit findings, cost per transaction, payment success rate.

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Multi-Threading Checklist

Track your coverage of the buying group:

Goal: Minimum 3 of 5 roles engaged before proposal (Example figure: replace with your own)

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Role-Specific Discovery Questions

For Champions (Finance Controller)

1. "What would success look like for you personally?"
2. "Who else needs to be convinced for this to move forward?"
3. "What's blocked similar initiatives in the past?"
4. "How many days does the month end close take today, and which step takes longest?"

For Economic Buyers (Chief Financial Officer)

1. "How does this connect to your top 3 priorities this year?"
2. "What ROI would make this a clear yes?"
3. "What other investments are you weighing this against?"
4. "Leaders in fintech, spend and expense track measures such as days to close the books, reconciliation effort and policy breach rate. Which of them does this need to move, and what would you need to see before you approve it?"

For Technical Evaluators (Head of IT)

1. "What would make implementation painful for your team?"
2. "Which ERP or ledger must every transaction post into, and who owns that integration?"
3. "What's your timeline for the technical evaluation?"

For End Users (Head of Accounts Payable)

1. "Walk me through your current workflow for this"
2. "What's the most frustrating part of your day?"
3. "What would make you actually use a new tool?"
4. "How are card spends, claims and invoices matched to the ledger today, and by whom?"

For the Reviewer (Internal Audit Lead)

1. "Which reviews must this pass, how long do they take, and what do you need from us before they start?"
2. "Has 'security and compliance review' come up on similar purchases, and how was it settled?"

More fintech, spend and expense questions

1. "What did the last audit say about spend controls or approvals?"
2. "Which reviews (security, compliance, internal audit) must a new finance tool pass, and how long do they take?"

Next Step: Use TAM SAM SOM Calculator to size your market

Suggested timings, lengths and counts: adjust them to your own.