Stakeholder Maps
A reusable stakeholder map template — capture roles, influence, sentiment, and relationships — with a worked example from a real enterprise deal.
A answers four questions on one page: who are the people, how much influence do they have, how do they feel about you, and how are they connected to each other. Without it, degrades into a contact list.
This template is designed to be drawn by hand on a whiteboard or maintained in a doc — both formats work as long as it is updated after every meaningful interaction.
The template
Capture each once. Add a row whenever a new name appears in a thread. The Owner column matters: every stakeholder needs an owner inside your account team.
# STAKEHOLDER MAP — [Account / Opportunity] Last updated: [date] Owner: [AE] | # | Name | Title / Function | Role in deal | Influence (H/M/L) | Sentiment (+ / 0 / -) | Personal win | Relationships | Last touch | Owner on our side | |---|------|------------------|--------------|-------------------|-----------------------|--------------|---------------|------------|-------------------| | 1 | [name] | [VP Ops] | Economic Buyer | H | + | [career / mandate] | Reports to CFO | [date] | [AE] | | 2 | [name] | [Head Platform] | Champion | H | + | Modernization mandate | Peer of EB | [date] | [AE] | | 3 | [name] | [Procurement] | Paper Process | M | 0 | Risk reduction | Reports to CFO | [date] | [AE] | | 4 | [name] | [Engineer] | Coach | L | + | Better tools | Reports to Champion | [date] | [SE] | | 5 | [name] | [Vendor sponsor] | Blocker | M | - | Protect existing choice | Tight w/ EB | [date] | [AE] | | 6 | [name] | [Security] | Gatekeeper | M | 0 | Compliance | Reports to CIO | [date] | [SE] | ## RELATIONSHIPS / FLOWS (text form) - [Champion] reports to [Economic Buyer] — confirmed - [Blocker] is a long-time peer of [EB] — neutralize, do not confront - [Procurement] is influenced by [Finance Analyst] on TCO claims ## COVERAGE GAPS - [ ] No relationship yet with: [name / role] - [ ] Single-threaded on: [function] — risk if [person] leaves ## NEXT MOVES - [ ] Champion-led intro to: [name] by: [date] - [ ] Exec-to-exec call: [our exec] ↔ [their exec] by: [date]
How to read the map — worked example
In the example above, the deal looks healthy on paper: a clear , a strong , and engaged early. The risk is hiding in plain sight: the (Jordan) is a long-time peer the EB and the security reviewer is still neutral. The right next moves are (1) a Champion-led, low-stakes 1:1 with Jordan to neutralize — not convert — and (2) a security pre-read to move Kim from neutral to positive before the formal review.
A is only useful if it produces moves. End every update with a short list named next actions.