The Deal Roles Map: Champion, Router, Doula
Name the three people who decide whether your acquisition happens, then work each one differently.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 85%
Shaan splits the human side of an acquisition into three named roles. The exec champion is the one person on the buyer's side pounding the table saying we have to do this deal, bridging gaps and pushing for solutions. If you cannot identify that person, no deal is going to happen. The company router is the person in the middle who can reliably move information to and from the people whose buy-in you need; in big companies that is usually corp dev, in smaller ones it may be an admin or an assistant, and crucially they are not the decision-maker. The deal doula is on your side: one or two people who have done M&A before, will keep everything confidential, and can be bugged relentlessly. Shaan texted his doulas asking whether a specific reply sounded too desperate, wordsmithing to demonstrate strength without pushing too far.
Origin
Shaan built the map from his own sale processes, borrowing the doula metaphor from childbirth to describe the one or two experienced M&A friends who coached him through a painful but wonderful process.
Core principles
- 01No identified champion means no deal
- 02The router carries information, not authority
- 03Your doulas exist to be bugged, so bug them
- 04Confidentiality is the price of admission for a doula
- 05Always confirm who the real decision-maker is, and their boss's boss
How to run it
- 1
Find the exec champion
Identify who on the buyer's side wants the deal to happen: the person saying we got to do this deal, let's figure out a solution, let's come up a little bit. Without that person, there is no deal to run.
Watch out If you cannot name the champion after several meetings, you are talking to a tyre-kicker, not a buyer.
- 2
Nurture the champion relationship
Once identified, deliberately invest in that relationship: keep them supplied with the arguments, materials and internal cover they need to keep pounding the table on your behalf.
Pro tip The champion is selling internally on your behalf, so arm them like a colleague, not a counterparty.
- 3
Identify the company router
Find the person in the middle who can get you to the different people whose buy-in you need. In big companies this is usually corp dev; in smaller companies it might be an admin person or an assistant. What matters is reliable two-way information flow, not seniority.
Watch out The router is explicitly not the key decision-maker, so do not mistake their enthusiasm for a decision.
- 4
Recruit one or two deal doulas
Find one or two people who have done M&A before, are in your corner, and can be trusted to keep everything confidential. These are the people you will text constantly to sanity-check tone and tactics.
Pro tip Two is the ceiling. More opinions in a confidential process creates noise and leak risk.
- 5
Interview founders acquired by the same buyer
Go to founders who were acquired by that company three or four years ago and ask founder to founder: how did the process go, were their stated timelines real or fake, was this is the most we could do real or fake, did they try to retrade the deal later, and what was the CEO actually like.
Pro tip Ideally pick founders who have already left the acquirer, since they can speak freely.
In the wild
Shaan texted his deal doulas draft replies before sending them, asking whether a line sounded too desperate. He describes wordsmithing it like a seventh grade girl trying to figure out how to phrase something that demonstrates strength without pushing too far.
→ He kept a strong negotiating posture through both sale processes without over-reaching on any single message.
Shaan went to founders who had already been acquired by the same company and asked founder to founder whether the acquirer's stated timelines and final-offer claims were real or fake, and whether they tried to retrade the deal later.
→ He got a ton of great intel that let him read the acquirer's negotiating claims accurately.
Common mistakes
Treating the router as the decision-maker
Corp dev or an assistant can be responsive, informed and encouraging while holding no authority at all. Founders mistake that access for progress and never get to the person who signs.
Running the process with no champion identified
Shaan's rule is blunt: if you cannot identify the person pounding the table on the other side, no deal is going to happen. Founders spend months in a process that was never going to close because nobody internal owned it.
Trying to manage your own psychology alone
Selling a company is mostly conversations in your own head, which is why Shaan calls managing your own psychology the single most important thing. Without doulas to pressure-test tone, founders swing between desperation and arrogance.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders selling into a company large enough to have corp dev and internal politics
Not ideal for
Tiny two-person private buyers where the buyer is also the decision-maker
From the transcript
“the other side is going to have an exact champion.”
“You need to know who is the champion on the other side, identify them, and you're going to nurture that relationship.”
“You got to know who's the company router.”
“And so, I like to find my deal doulas.”
From the episode
Shaan's Masterclass: How To Sell A Business For Millions
Shaan's Masterclass