/ Opening
The client is not one person
The person in the meeting may not own the budget, approve the work, carry the risk, or shape the final decision.
THE SIMPLE MODEL
Client gives feedback. Agency responds.
That model hides multiple roles, incentives, and levels of authority.
TODAY'S GOAL
Map the real room.
Understand formal authority, informal influence, competing priorities, and decision rights.
TAKEAWAYClient service improves when the team understands who influences, recommends, approves, funds, blocks, and lives with the result.
/ Stakeholder Roles
Different stakeholders protect different outcomes
Each role enters the work with a different responsibility and risk.
EXECUTIVE SPONSORBusiness outcome
Funding, leadership support, strategic priority, and final escalation.
DAY-TO-DAY LEADMovement
Context, coordination, feedback, access, and internal follow-through.
SUBJECT EXPERTAccuracy
Product, customer, technical, operational, or category truth.
APPROVERAuthority
Permission to commit the organization or release the work.
PROCUREMENTCommercial control
Vendor terms, pricing, compliance, process, and leverage.
LEGAL / RISKExposure
Claims, contracts, regulation, privacy, and reputation.
FINANCEEconomic case
Budget, return, accounting, timing, and investment discipline.
DETRACTOR / GATEKEEPERResistance
Formal or informal ability to slow, redirect, or stop the work.
TAKEAWAYStakeholder disagreement is often rational: each person is accountable for a different risk or definition of success.
/ Power and Influence
The highest title is not always the strongest force
Formal decision rights and informal influence must both be mapped.
FORMAL AUTHORITYWho can sign, approve, fund, or stop the work?
INFORMAL INFLUENCEWhose opinion changes the people with authority?
IMPLEMENTATION POWERWho must actually carry the decision after approval?
A decision can be approved formally and still fail operationally if the people who must carry it were never aligned.
TAKEAWAYMap who can decide, who can shape the decision, and who can make the approved decision succeed or fail.
/ Stakeholder Map
Prioritize engagement by influence and involvement
Not everyone needs the same information, time, or role in the decision.
STAKEHOLDERPOWERPRIMARY CONCERNENGAGEMENT
Executive sponsorHighBusiness impact and riskDecision points, trade-offs, concise updates
Day-to-day leadMedium / highProgress and internal alignmentFrequent collaboration and issue visibility
LegalHigh at releaseClaims and exposureEarly input on risky areas, defined review gate
Frontline operatorInformal / implementationFeasibility and workloadDiscovery, testing, and implementation planning
TAKEAWAYStakeholder management is not giving everyone every detail; it is involving the right people at the points where their decision or knowledge matters.
/ Feedback vs. Approval
The loudest comment is not automatically the final decision
Clarify the role and status of feedback before revising the work.
UNCLEAR“The client did not like it.”
Which client? Was the comment a preference, requirement, risk, or final approval decision?
CLEAR“The product lead questioned accuracy. The day-to-day lead prefers option B. The executive sponsor has not selected a direction. Legal must review the claim after the decision.”
Roles, issues, and decision status are visible.
TAKEAWAYBefore acting on feedback, identify who gave it, what responsibility it reflects, and whether that person has decision authority.
/ Live Role-Play
The person giving feedback is not the person with final approval
Navigate the politics without dismissing the feedback or pretending a decision has been made.
Day-to-day lead wants bold changeExecutive sponsor prefers lower riskLegal has not reviewed the claimSales leader says customers will reject itProcurement questions added production costRegional operator says rollout is unrealistic
1Who has formal authority?
2Who has relevant influence or knowledge?
3What is each person protecting?
4What decision can be made today?
5What must happen before final approval?
TAKEAWAYGood client navigation respects every stakeholder’s input while keeping decision rights and unresolved conflicts explicit.
/ Questions That Map the Room
Ask before the work reaches conflict
Simple questions reveal authority, process, politics, and implementation risk.
1.Who owns the business outcome?
2.Who gives day-to-day direction and consolidates feedback?
3.Who must approve strategy, budget, claims, and release?
4.Who has relevant expertise or will implement the decision?
5.Who may resist—and what are they protecting?
6.What happens when stakeholders disagree?
TAKEAWAYStakeholder clarity should be established during discovery and updated whenever the decision, risk, or implementation context changes.
/ Close
Manage the organization—not only the meeting
The visible conversation is shaped by roles, incentives, history, authority, and implementation reality outside the room.
AUTHORITYWho can decide?
INFLUENCEWho shapes the decider?
EXPERTISEWho knows what is true?
ADOPTIONWho must carry the result?
TAKEAWAYClient intelligence means understanding who controls, shapes, informs, blocks, and implements the decision before treating feedback as one unified voice.