Tell me about a deal where your main contact left or went quiet. What did you do?

What the interviewer is looking for

• This question tests multi-threading & stakeholder management. Names multiple stakeholders by role in past deals, explains how they reached the economic buyer and managed procurement, legal and security.
• Strong answers: Having other relationships already, reaching new stakeholders with value, and learning to multi-thread earlier.
• Likely follow-up: How many people do you aim to know in a typical deal, and who are they?

Another way it may be asked: Your only contact at a customer stops answering. How do you save the deal?

A structure to follow: Answer, explain, example, limits

1. Step 1

   Answer

   Give your direct answer in the first sentence so the interviewer knows where you are going.

2. Step 2

   Explain

   Say how it works or why you would do it that way, in plain words before jargon.

3. Step 3

   Example

   Anchor it in something you have actually done or seen, with the detail that shows hands-on experience.

4. Step 4

   Limits

   Say when your approach would not be the right one. It shows judgement.

This is guidance on shape, not a script. Use your own real experience and facts; never invent details to fill a gap. See the STAR guide and answer frameworks.

Common slips

• Reciting a definition without showing you have applied it.
• Using terms you cannot explain if asked a level deeper.
• Claiming experience beyond what you can discuss in detail.

How to practise it

Say the answer in 90 seconds, then answer the follow-up as if it were a new question.

Related questions

• Walk me through how you navigate a complex deal with procurement, a security review, legal and an economic buyer who is hard to reach.
• If you had a thirty minute first call with a prospect, what would you want to learn and how would you open?
• How would you present a product to a buyer so it feels about their problems rather than a feature tour?
• Tell me about a time you had to really listen to someone to understand what they needed before you could help them.
• How do you decide whether a deal belongs in your forecast this quarter, and what evidence do you need?

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