How to Handle:
“This is a committee decision”
The prospect is indicating that a group of stakeholders will collectively decide. This is common in enterprise sales and indicates a longer, more complex sales cycle. Your success depends on understanding the committee dynamics and addressing each stakeholder's concerns.
Why Prospects Say This
Organizations use committees for significant purchases to distribute risk and ensure buy-in from affected departments. Each committee member has different priorities—IT cares about security, finance cares about cost, operations cares about implementation. You need to sell to all of them.
Best Responses
The Committee Mapper
“That makes sense for a decision of this scope. Can you walk me through who's on the committee and what each person typically focuses on? I want to make sure we're addressing everyone's priorities, not just a few.”
Why It Works
Gets you a complete picture of the buying committee. Shows you understand enterprise buying processes.
Best For
Enterprise sales, complex multi-stakeholder deals
The Internal Champion
“Committees can be tricky to navigate. Who on the committee do you think would be the strongest advocate for a solution like this? And who might be the most skeptical?”
Why It Works
Identifies your champion and your potential blockers. Lets you focus energy on the right people.
Best For
Deals with known internal politics, competitive situations
The Process Clarifier
“I appreciate you explaining that. How does the committee typically evaluate new solutions? Is there a formal process, or is it more discussion-based? And what's the usual timeline from evaluation to decision?”
Why It Works
Sets proper expectations and helps you map to their buying process instead of fighting it.
Best For
Long sales cycles, deals with formal procurement processes
The Presentation Offer
“Would it be helpful if I presented directly to the committee? That way everyone can hear the same information and ask their questions in real-time, rather than playing telephone.”
Why It Works
Gets you in front of all stakeholders at once. Ensures your message isn't diluted through internal telephone games.
Best For
High-value deals, products that need demonstration
Do's and Don'ts
Do This
- Map the entire committee—names, titles, priorities, and potential objections
- Identify your champion (supporter) and potential blockers early
- Tailor materials for each stakeholder's specific concerns
- Offer to present directly to the committee
- Understand the formal evaluation criteria and decision timeline
Don't Do This
- Focus only on your main contact while ignoring other stakeholders
- Assume everyone on the committee has the same priorities
- Let your champion present your solution without support
- Ignore the quiet skeptics—they often have the most influence
- Rush the process; committees move at their own pace
Follow-up Questions to Ask
“Who's on the committee and what does each person care about?”
“Who do you think will be most supportive? Most skeptical?”
“What's the committee's timeline for making a decision?”
“How does the committee usually reach consensus?”
“Would it be helpful if I presented directly to the group?”
Industry-Specific Variations
“Our clinical committee needs to evaluate this.”
“Clinical committees have unique considerations around patient outcomes and clinical workflows. Who are the key physicians or clinical leaders on the committee, and what evidence do they typically want to see?”
“This goes through our risk committee.”
“Risk committees are critical in financial services. What are the key risk factors they'll be evaluating? We can prepare specific documentation around security, compliance, and operational risk.”
“Our architecture review board needs to sign off.”
“Architecture review boards want to see how new solutions fit the existing stack. Would it be helpful if our engineering team prepared a technical architecture document and joined a call with the ARB?”
Pro Tips
- In committee decisions, the person who controls the meeting agenda often controls the outcome. Try to get your presentation scheduled, not buried.
- Create a stakeholder map: for each committee member, note their role, priorities, potential objections, and how to address them.
- Committees often have one or two members with informal veto power. Identify these people and ensure they're bought in.
- Prepare different materials for different stakeholders: technical specs for IT, ROI analysis for finance, user testimonials for end users.
- After your main presentation, offer individual follow-ups with skeptical committee members to address their specific concerns.
Tired of Handling Objections?
Let us handle the prospecting and objections for you. We book qualified meetings with decision-makers who are ready to talk - no cold call rejections.
Get Qualified Meetings