Catch new stakeholders at customer accounts
A new VP at a customer has never heard of you and owns the budget your product sits in. Find them in their first 90 days, before they find a replacement.
The conversation
Sample accounts and numbers, for illustrationYouFor our customers, find executives and team leads who joined in the last 90 days in the departments we serve, check whether we have ever spoken to them, and draft a short introduction from the account manager that references what their team already uses.
Unify3 checks · CRM, leadership changes and contact data
- Read the customer list, the department each account uses the product in, and your contacts there from Salesforce.
- Matched new executives and team leads from PredictLeads to those departments, joined in the last 90 days.
- Checked the CRM for any prior contact with each joiner, at this company or a previous one.
Nine customers have a new leader in the department you serve. Three of them replaced your champion. Here they are, dated.
- 11 days agoNils Berg joined Merridian Systems as Head of SupportReplaces Lena Roth, your champion since the purchase in January. No prior contact.
- 4 weeks agoDana Holt joined Northwind Labs as VP OperationsThe team that uses the product reports to her. Spoke to Chris at her previous company in 2025.
- 6 weeks agoTara Quinn joined Brightpath as RevOps leadOwns the routing rules the team lives in. No prior contact.
- 10 weeks agoElena Marsh joined Lumen Freight as COOAbove the buying team; a courtesy note, not a walk-through.
A joiner is a fact from PredictLeads. Whether they will review the stack is the reading, and the note is written as if they might.
YouFor the three who replaced a champion, what does their team do with the product?
UnifyEach inherited a team that uses the product every day. The numbers below are what the note opens on.
| Customer | New leader | What the team does | Result to name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merridian Systems | Nils Berg | Routes 1,400 tickets a week through the rules Lena set up | First response time down 31% since January |
| Northwind Labs | Dana Holt | Six ops leads run the weekly report from it | Report built in minutes, not a day |
| Brightpath | Tara Quinn | Owns the routing rules; 40 edits last month | Routing errors down to two a week |
- Prior contact
- Dana spoke to Chris at her previous company in 2025. The note says so and comes from Chris, not from a stranger.
- Replaced champions
- Lena set up everything Merridian runs on. Nils inherits it without the context, which is the reason to walk him through it.
YouWhich of the nine renew in the next 120 days with a new decision maker who has never spoken to us?
UnifyFour of the nine renew in the next 120 days. At three of them the new leader has no history with you at all.
- 1Merridian SystemsRenews 14 November
- 2BrightpathRenews 9 December
- 3Lumen FreightRenews 6 January
- 4Northwind LabsRenews 20 December
Renewal dates come from Salesforce. A new decision maker with no history is the risk, and the introduction goes out before the renewal conversation starts.
YouWho else joined Merridian at director level or above this quarter, and what does each team use us for?
UnifyThree people joined Merridian at director level or above this quarter. Only Nils leads a team that uses the product every day.
| Joined | Role | Their team and the product | Spoken to us? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Berg · 11 days ago | Head of Support | Routes 1,400 tickets a week through the rules | No |
| Mira Sato · 5 weeks ago | Director of IT Security | Does not use it; reviews vendors at renewal | No |
| Omar Haddad · 9 weeks ago | Director of Onboarding | Two onboarding leads have seats; light use | A demo in 2024 |
Mira will never log in, but a new security lead usually reviews vendors at renewal, so Ana should know she is there before November.
YouDraft the introductions and set up a follow-up if they do not reply.
UnifyNine notes are with their account managers. Each opens on a result the new leader’s team already has, and a follow-up waits two weeks for the ones who do not reply.
- Day 1Email
The routing rules Lena set up
Nils, congratulations on the role. Your team routes about 1,400 tickets a week through rules Lena built in January, and first response is down 31% since. I can walk you through how it is set up in twenty minutes, so you are not inheriting it blind. Worth doing?
- Day 14Email
One page on how it works
A one-page summary of the setup, sent whether or not they replied, with nothing asked in return.
- Day 30Call
Only if neither note got a reply and the renewal is inside six months.
Set up
- Nine introductions routed to account managers Each names the team, one result, and offers a walk-through. None mentions the renewal.
- Weekly check for new joiners PredictLeads is read against every customer each week. Only new joiners in the departments you serve reach the owner.
- Replaced champions flagged on the account So the renewal forecast shows where the relationship left with a person.
The join date and the role are facts. The idea that the new leader will review the stack is an assumption, and the note treats it as a courtesy rather than a rescue.
New stakeholders, with and without Unify
The person who bought has left. The person who replaced them is reviewing the stack.
| Without Unify | With Unify |
|---|---|
| The account manager finds out about the new leader when the renewal stalls | Every customer is checked for new executives and team leads in the departments you serve, every week |
| Leadership changes at customers are noticed one at a time, from a LinkedIn post someone happened to see | Joiners in their first 90 days are a list, with the role they took and the person they replaced |
| The introduction, when it happens, is a generic welcome with no idea what the team uses the product for | The note opens on what the new leader's team already does with the product, with a result attached |
| Nobody checks whether the new leader has already spoken to someone on your side, at a previous company | The CRM check shows any prior contact, at this company or a previous one, so the note can say so |
Start from this prompt
Make it your own in Unify, then review the results.
For our customers, find executives and team leads who joined in the last 90 days in the departments we serve, check whether we have ever spoken to them, and draft a short introduction from the account manager that references what their team already uses.
What else you can ask for
The walkthrough is one path through this workflow. These are the turns people take most often.
- Champions replacedWhich of our champions at customer accounts have been replaced in the last 90 days, and who replaced them?Try in Unify
- Renewals at riskWhich customers renewing in the next 120 days have a new decision maker who has never spoken to us?Try in Unify
- One accountWho has joined Merridian Systems at director level or above this quarter, and what does their team use our product for?Try in Unify
How it changes by who you sell to
- Software
- A new VP Engineering or Head of Support at a software customer reviews every tool in their first quarter. Ask for joiners into the department that uses your product, and open the note on what their team already does with it, with a number.
- Financial services
- Bank and insurer leaders arrive with a mandate and a review cycle. Ask for new operations, risk and technology leaders at customer institutions, route the introduction through the existing relationship owner, and keep it formal.
- Healthcare
- A new department head at a provider inherits contracts they did not sign. Ask for joiners into the clinical or operations department you serve, and lead the note with the outcome the department has had, not with the product.
- Manufacturing
- A new plant manager or operations director decides what the plant keeps. Ask for joiners at the plant level, not only head office, and reference the plant's own results with the product.
- Professional services
- A new practice lead or COO at a customer firm reviews spend by practice. Ask for joiners at partner and director level in the practice you serve, and open on what the practice gets today rather than the contract.
Next in customer expansion and health
+2ExpansionExpand into a customer's neighboring teamsThe next deal is often one department across from the one you already serve, and sometimes it has already started without you. Find both, and who to ask.
+5Cross-sellFind cross-sell opportunitiesCustomers on one product whose stack, hiring or usage says they fit a second one. Name the product, show the evidence, and find the person who would buy it.
+3Expansion signalsFind customers ready to expandA customer that raised money, hired for the team you serve or opened an office since they bought has outgrown the contract they signed. Find them before the renewal does.
Connect what this workflow uses
Each guide covers the connection, what Unify reads and writes, and what to check before the first run.
- Connect SalesforceAuthorize Salesforce in Unify, configure CRM field mappings, and choose when to enable writing.
- Connect HubSpotConnect HubSpot to Unify, map Company and Person fields, and plan CRM exclusions and supported write-back.
- Connect GmailConnect Gmail to Unify for sequence emails and replies.
Questions about this workflow
Where do leadership changes come from?
From PredictLeads, which reports new executives and team leads at companies, matched to your customer list from Salesforce or HubSpot. Unify keeps joiners in the departments you serve and at a level that owns budget.
Why the first 90 days?
New leaders review the stack early, before habits form and before the renewal. An introduction in the first quarter meets them while they are deciding what to keep; after that, the review has usually happened without you.
What does the note say?
What the joiner's team does with the product, one result with a number, and an offer of a short walk-through. If the joiner spoke to your team at a previous company, the note says so. The renewal is not mentioned.
How is this different from following champions?
Following champions tracks your contacts when they leave for a new company. This watches the customer for the people who arrive, especially the ones who replaced a champion, so the relationship does not leave with the person.