Is your brand promise strong enough to carry the room?

You don’t just need buy-in—you need believers.

THINK ON IT: Is your brand promise strong enough to carry the room? 

Most B2B companies have a brand promise—a clear statement of the value they intend to deliver. But too often, that promise wasn’t built for the people who matter most: the ones who make change happen from the inside.

Some messages try to speak to everyone and end up saying nothing. Others zero in on one audience and alienate the rest. Either way, the result is the same: the message doesn’t travel. It doesn’t build momentum. It doesn’t close the deal.

That’s because most B2B decisions aren’t made by one person—they’re advanced by internal champions. People who build the case, shape the conversation, and push change forward. And they don’t all think alike.

Research from CEB (now Gartner), published in The Challenger Customer, uncovered seven stakeholder archetypes–seven distinct lenses through which buying group members evaluate your offering.

That’s a lot of perspectives to juggle when crafting a brand promise. Fortunately, their research also revealed that only three archetypes consistently move a deal forward. They called them the Mobilizers.

Mobilizers have one thing in common: they embrace change. But that’s where the similarities stop. Each sees the world differently—and each needs a different kind of message to move forward.

And unless you account for each of their perspectives, you may lose the sale.

These mobilizers are:

• The Go-Getter. These are the overachievers. They don’t care where the idea comes from—only that it gets results and moves the ball forward.

• The Teacher. These are the insight-sharers. Respected and persuasive, they rally others with new thinking.

• The Skeptic. Not to be confused with blockers, Skeptics demand evidence. They challenge assumptions and protect the business from unnecessary risk.
  

I’ve discovered in working with companies involved in complex sales that too often, sales teams focus on the Go‑Getter, ignore the Teacher, and avoid the Skeptic altogether. That’s usually because their brand promise and sales messages were never designed for the people actually driving change inside the business.

Here’s the mobilizer test: does your promise give each of these internal advocates a reason to say, “This is worth fighting for!”?

If not, it’s not just missing the mark—it’s quietly eroding your deal behind closed doors.

Because the Teacher can’t champion a bland message. The Go‑Getter won’t waste time on fluff. And the Skeptic will shoot it down if they smell risk without proof.

You don’t just need buy-in—you need believers.

So how do you know if your brand promise is strong enough to carry the room? The Act on It section below can help you find out. (Premium Members only. Become a Premium Member. Paid subscribers get access to over 100 tools and how-tos on implementing strategic topics, including a 7-part series to help leaders build their own strategic capacity.)

“A confused mind always says no.”

— Donald Miller

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