I’ve spent the last decade reviewing over $4B in deals for Fortune 500 clients.

Through this work, I’ve identified a clear pattern: salespeople who consistently close 1 in 2 deals (versus the average 1 in 5) aren’t just lucky.

They’re exercising what I call deal control.

At its core, deal control isn’t just about understanding your customer’s buying process, timing, and stakeholders. Those are table stakes.

The true masters of deal control go significantly deeper, focusing on four critical elements:

1. Criteria Mastery

Average salespeople understand who makes the decision.

Elite salespeople understand the exact criteria these stakeholders will use to make the decision.

They can articulate:

• How customers evaluate whether a project is a good investment
• How your solution shows up on their CEO’s KPIs
• What benchmarks they use to determine value

2. Consensus Creation

It’s not enough to identify stakeholders, you must actively build consensus among them.

This means getting a diverse set of people to align around specific criteria that connect to organizational goals.

When multiple decision-makers say “yes” but one can still say “no,” you’re missing true consensus.

3. Constructive Politics

The most fascinating element I’ve observed is how top performers don’t just analyze politics, they actively participate in them. They engage in building what I call “constructive politics.”

Here’s how:

• Build their power base within the customer organization
• Serve each stakeholder’s unique needs and interests
• Create emotional bank accounts through consistent value delivery
• Develop relationships across different organizational levels
• Accumulate goodwill that pays dividends at critical decision points

It comes down to becoming a trusted partner who genuinely understands and serves each stakeholder’s individual and collective interests.

4. Competitive Intelligence

In my deal review sessions, I often ask: “What is your competition’s strategy to win this project?”

Most salespeople can’t answer this fundamental question.

The best performers not only understand their competition’s strategy but have already developed a targeted counter-strategy to neutralize it.

Next time you’re evaluating deal control, don’t just focus on the basics (process, timing, stakeholders). Incorporate these four multipliers: criteria, consensus, politics, and competitive strategy.

Then, sequence your deals accordingly to focus your time where you have the greatest likelihood of success.

Your ability to win isn’t a game of chance – it’s a direct reflection of your deal control.

Looking forward to helping you win more,

Venkat

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