Maneuver to the Decision-Maker
Deal with the person who can say yes — big companies that hand it down lose the moment.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Whenever possible, negotiate directly with the ultimate decision-maker, and use relationships to start at the very top of the counterparty's pyramid — without insulting the people in the food chain. When one side has the CEO/CFO personally engaged and the other delegates to a number-two, the delegating side loses urgency, information and speed, and can lose the deal outright.
Origin
In the Zellers auction Baker dealt directly with Target's CEO and CFO, while at Walmart he was routed to 'the second person at mergers and acquisitions.' Walmart 'kind of lost a little moment' by not putting its top people on it — and lost the deal to Target despite Baker being 'a Walmart guy.' 'That's the lesson.'
Core principles
- 01The decision-maker moves fast and commits; a delegate hedges, waits and loses moments.
- 02Use your relationship network to enter at the top — 'a friend of mine called the boss of this other company and I started right at the top.'
- 03Maneuver to the boss without insulting the other people in the food chain — relationships are the vehicle, not force.
- 04A counterparty that delegates a deal it should own has told you how much it really cares.
How to run it
- 1
Invest in relationships before you need them
Build a wide network so that when a deal appears you already know, or are one warm intro from, the person at the top.
Pro tip Baker keeps relationships with 100,000+ former employees and colleagues he can call on any day.
- 2
Enter at the top via a warm path
Use a friend-of-a-friend to reach the boss directly rather than climbing the org chart from the bottom.
Pro tip Getting a meeting with a vice-chairman via a mutual contact is how Baker got in front of Lord & Taylor's owner.
Watch out Do it without insulting or bypassing the mid-level people in a way that makes enemies.
- 3
Keep the decision-maker personally engaged
Structure the deal so the person who can actually commit stays at the table; treat a counterparty's delegation as a competitive opening for you.
Pro tip When Target's CEO and CFO showed up personally and Walmart sent a number-two, Baker knew who would win.
Watch out If your own side delegates a deal that matters, you may lose it the same way Walmart did.
In the wild
For the Zellers lease portfolio, Target's CEO and CFO negotiated personally while Walmart handed it to its second M&A person. Walmart, complacent as the incumbent, was slow to respond.
→ Target won the ~$1.85B deal even though Baker expected to sell to Walmart and knew everyone there — because Walmart's top people weren't on it.
Common mistakes
Delegating a deal that deserves your top people
Walmart handed the Zellers deal down and 'lost a little moment,' letting a rival with an engaged CEO take it.
Climbing the org chart from the bottom
Starting with mid-level contacts wastes time; a warm intro straight to the boss compresses the whole negotiation.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and deal-makers negotiating with large organizations where reaching the true decision-maker changes the outcome.
Not ideal for
Situations where protocol or procurement genuinely requires working a defined channel, or where going over someone's head burns a needed ally.
From the transcript
“Whenever you can deal with a decision maker, that is the way to go.”
“Every time you can maneuver your way to get to the boss, maneuver to the boss without insulting the other people in the food chain.”
“I was dealing with the CEO and CFO of Target and I was dealing with the second person at mergers and acquisition at Walmart. That's…”
From the episode
Episode 569: Richard Baker: Entrepreneurship Lessons From Billion Dollar Deals and Bold Risks
Richard Baker