Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of reviewing more than $4 billion in deals for Fortune 500 clients across multiple continents.

Through this work, a clear pattern emerged.

Salespeople who consistently close 1 in 2 deals aren’t relying on luck or chance. They’re doing something fundamentally different from those who close 1 in 5.

They’re exercising what I call comprehensive deal control.

Now, when most people hear “deal control,” they think about understanding the buying process, mapping timelines, and identifying stakeholders.

And yes, these are important. They’re table stakes.

But the salespeople who achieve exceptional win rates go significantly deeper. They focus on four critical elements that most overlook.

Today, I want to share these with you.

#1: Criteria Mastery

Understanding who makes the decision is a good start.

But the real breakthrough happens when you understand the exact criteria these stakeholders will use to make that decision.

• Can you articulate how your customers evaluate whether a project is a good investment?
• Do you know how your solution shows up on their CEO’s KPIs?
• What benchmarks do they use to determine value?

When you master their criteria, you move from presenting features to aligning with what truly matters to them.

#2: Consensus Creation

Here’s something I observe frequently in my deal reviews: it’s not enough to simply 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,” that’s not true consensus. That’s a collection of individual opinions without alignment.

The opportunity? Facilitate those alignment conversations early. Help stakeholders see how their individual goals connect to the collective vision.

#3: Constructive Politics

This is perhaps the most fascinating element I’ve observed in top performers.

They don’t just analyze politics from the outside. They actively participate in building what I call “constructive politics.”

Here’s what that looks like:

They build their power base within the customer organization by consistently delivering value.

They serve each stakeholder’s unique needs and interests authentically.

They create emotional bank accounts through insights, connections, and problem-solving.

They develop relationships across different organizational levels, not just with their champion.

They 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?”

The responses vary widely.

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

They know whether their competitor is positioning on price, innovation, risk mitigation, or incumbent advantage. And they’ve built their approach accordingly.

The next time you’re evaluating deal control, go beyond the basics of process, timing, and stakeholders.

Incorporate these four multipliers: criteria mastery, consensus creation, constructive politics, and competitive intelligence.

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

*** 

If this was helpful,

1.Subscribe to the CxO Sales Playbook

Every week, I share 1 actionable tip to get your sales teams to over deliver and quickly move deals over the line even in a slow economy.

2.Take Our Deal Review Quiz

Drawing from our work with multiple Fortune 500 clients, It’ll give you the exact probability of winning your deal & highlight specific areas of risk and concern – in under 90 seconds.

3.Review Our Clients & Case Studies

We’ve coached the sales teams of Fortune 500 & 100 companies such as Microsoft, SAP and Google.

Next Step 

Subscribe to the CXO Sales Playbook Newsletter.

Every Friday morning, I’ll email you 1 actionable tip to get your sales teams to overdeliver. (other benefits include a big bonus and company-wide recognition :).