It is crucial to find a senior champion at the prospective partner’s organization in order to ensure that the deal remains a top priority. In a smaller company, the champion might be the CEO; in larger organizations, it could be a division manager, the CFO (when the deal might meaningfully impact the partner’s profit and loss [P&L] profile), the CIO (for IT products), or the CMO. Gaining the support of senior line executives of the larger organization is critical, since they—unlike Business Development—control the resources and develop and secure the budget needed to approve and implement a
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