Practice land-and-expand when your champion benefits from status quo and won't introduce you to other teams. Buyer enablement, NRR growth, and HBR discovery dynamics.
VP Operations (champion)
Hidden agenda: HR rejected a prior cross-tool project Chris pushed — still bruising politically
Style: Friendly but firm: ‘not the right time’, ‘they have their stack’
You play Alex Rivera. Read their lines aloud or have a partner play the buyer.
Customer since last year — core product adopted in Ops. Expansion module fits HR onboarding; champion is Ops VP (Chris). NRR target depends on this account.
Stakes: Renewal in 90 days; expansion increases ACV 40%. Chris fears looking like they oversold internal scope.
Company: Series C SaaS customer (~300 employees). HR and Finance use separate tools; data silos hurt onboarding time.
Understand champion’s risk in expanding, quantify cross-department value, and secure one intro or joint workshop — without threatening the relationship.
Read through each act, then work the decision points below. Coaching notes appear after annotated lines.
Alex Rivera
Chris — you mentioned onboarding delays when we renewed planning. HR module could cut that. What’s blocking us from exploring with Priya in HR?
Chris Morgan · VP Operations (champion)
Priya has her stack. We’re good on ops side — let’s not complicate renewal.
Alex Rivera
Sounds like bringing HR in isn’t just timing — it’s risk for you. What happened last time cross-team tools came up?
Chris Morgan · VP Operations (champion)
…HR killed a integration I sponsored. Took a hit in Q1 review. I’m not waving another vendor flag.
Alex Rivera
If onboarding time is still a board metric for you, whose metric improves if HR cuts new-hire time 20% — yours, Priya’s, or both?
Chris Morgan · VP Operations (champion)
Both, theoretically. Priya won’t take my word on another ops-led tool.
Alex Rivera
What if we run a 30-minute workshop — Priya, one of your onboarding leads, our CSM — agenda is friction mapping only, no pricing? You attend but don’t sponsor solo.
Chris Morgan · VP Operations (champion)
You’d bring data from our usage — not a pitch deck?
Alex Rivera
Usage trends + one peer CHRO story. I’ll send you the one-pager to forward so it’s co-owned, not ‘Chris selling software.’
Chris Morgan · VP Operations (champion)
Send the one-pager. If Priya agrees, I’ll join Tuesday workshop.
Choose a path before reading the debrief. In pair practice, pause and discuss which option you would take.
Decision 1 of 2
Remind Chris of contract expansion target and renewal bundle
RiskyWhy: Quota pressure damages trust; triggers champion withdrawal.
Diagnose political risk of cross-team expansion
RecommendedWhy: Surfaces real blocker; positions you as ally.
Cold outreach to HR Priya without Chris
RiskyWhy: Burns champion; violates trust; common expansion mistake.
Decision 2 of 2
Full HR module demo next week
RiskyWhy: Too sales-heavy; Chris won’t forward.
Diagnostic workshop + co-owned one-pager for Priya
RecommendedWhy: Buyer enablement; lowers Chris’s social risk.
Wait until renewal to bundle expansion
AcceptableWhy: Sometimes valid — but loses 90-day window; use if workshop declined twice.
Continue practicing related situations.
Jordan Chen has twelve minutes, a failed vendor rollout last year, and zero patience for slides. Can you earn a second conversation without pitching too early?
Your champion liked the demo — then procurement said they’re renewing incumbent for three years. ‘We’re fine.’ Are they?
Frameworks and research cited in this scenario.
Gartner says 75% of buyers prefer rep-free buying — yet self-serve alone drives regret. Sense-making sellers win by reducing buyer confusion.
Understanding buyer enablement selling helps sellers align with how buyers actually think, feel, and decide — not how slide decks assume they do.
Buyers resist long discovery calls, but sellers still need deep context. HBR outlines how gen AI can fill the research gap — ethically and effectively.
Gong's revenue research shows AI adopters grew 29% faster — and top reps win by orchestrating buyers, data, and AI together.
