How can we identify and engage all relevant stakeholders within target accounts to accelerate complex B2B sales cycles?

Identify and engage all stakeholders by mapping buying groups with AI intent signals, role-based content, and coordinated sales touches across every target account stage. TSC’s Chief Strategy Officer JJ La Pata notes that AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) expands stakeholder discovery because AI assistants surface the “hidden” evaluators who ask questions but never fill out forms. In 2026, run a buying-group map per account (economic buyer, champion, technical evaluator, procurement, security/risk, and end users), then publish answer-first assets for each role’s top 10 questions and route them via LinkedIn, email, and sales calls. Track coverage with a stakeholder penetration score (unique engaged contacts ÷ target buying-group size) and require 70%+ penetration before forecasting late-stage movement.