Stakeholder levels and value expressions

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Nikhil Sarma, Founder of GTM Solutions Consulting, to explore why customer indecision has become one of the biggest challenges in enterprise sales. They discuss the factors driving buyer hesitation, how to diagnose value clarity vs. organizational issues, and practical strategies for helping customers build the confidence to move forward. Nikhil shares frameworks for understanding stakeholder dynamics, the importance of financial fluency for SEs, and why de-risking the implementation is often more important than the technology itself.

Thank you to Storylane for sponsoring this episode. Get more information at https://www.storylane.io/

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/

• Connect with Nikhil Sarma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilsarma/

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack

• GTM Solutions Consulting: https://www.gtmsolutions.co/

• The Jolt Effect Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61418641-the-jolt-effect

• The Challenger Sale Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11910902-the-challenger-sale

• Gartner Research on Buying Team Conflict

1. The Factors Driving Customer Indecision in 2025

2. Value Clarity vs. Organizational Issues

3. Understanding Stakeholder Levels (Operational, Manager, Executive)

4. Discovery as a Two-Way Learning Process

5. Diagnosing and Building Consensus Across Buying Teams

6. De-risking Implementation as a Differentiator

7. Financial Fluency for Presales Professionals

00:00 Welcome 04:45 What's Changed about Customer Buying Behavior 09:50 The Jolt Effect and Challenger Sale Frameworks 13:56 Value Clarity Problems vs. Organizational Issues 20:03 Collaborative Whiteboarding for Discovery 25:17 De-risking Implementation Wins Deals 28:50 How to Connect with Nikhil