Skill Drill: Multithreading Deals for Print and Packaging

What the Multithreading Drill is and why it protects packaging revenue

Print and packaging is the textbook single-threading trap. A rep lands one production buyer at a CPG converter or one packaging engineer at a brand, and the entire account rides on that single relationship. Then the brand re-bids the corrugated program, a strategic-sourcing team gets installed above your contact, or a recyclability mandate pulls in an R&D group you have never met — and the deal quietly dies because nobody else inside the account knows your name. The revenue was never as secure as the CRM made it look.

Packaging deals are inherently multi-stakeholder. A single folding-carton, label, or flexible-film program touches a packaging engineer (dielines, substrate, specs), a procurement / strategic sourcing lead (price, supplier consolidation, payment terms), a brand or marketing manager (shelf appeal, color fidelity, launch dates), a plant or operations manager (line speed, changeover, fitment on existing fillers), and increasingly a sustainability lead (recyclability, post-consumer-recycled content, Extended Producer Responsibility compliance). Miss any one of them and your quote sits in legal, gets value-engineered out, or loses to an incumbent who threaded the committee you ignored.

The methodologies behind this Skill Drill are well-established rather than invented. Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling contributes the Buying Influences model — Economic Buyer, User Buyer, Technical Buyer, and Coach — which maps cleanly onto a packaging account: procurement or a VP of sourcing is your Economic Buyer, plant operations is a User Buyer, the packaging engineer is your Technical Buyer, and your insider is the Coach. The Challenger Sale research from Gartner (formerly CEB) documented that the typical complex B2B purchase now involves roughly six to ten decision-makers, which is exactly why single-threading is a statistically losing bet. Gong's analysis of sales-call data has repeatedly shown that opportunities with three or more engaged contacts convert at materially higher rates than single-threaded ones. This Drill turns those frameworks into reps your team can run on real accounts tomorrow — the goal is not theory, it is a threaded pipeline where no account's revenue depends on one person's goodwill.

How the account-threading map exposes single-threaded revenue risk

The first move in the Drill is making the hidden problem visible, because reps routinely believe they have a solid account when they actually have one champion and a stack of CRM contacts they have never spoken to. The Account Threading Map handout forces honesty by demanding a relationship-strength rating for every buying role, not a checkbox that a contact record exists.

Start by modeling the map on the whiteboard, then have each rep build one for a live account. The leader reads aloud: "Pick one live print or packaging account. Write the name of the one person you actually talk to. Now fill in five rows — Packaging Engineer, Procurement, Brand/Marketing, Plant/Operations, Sustainability. For each role write the real person's name if you know it, or UNKNOWN if you don't. Then rate your relationship strength one to five. A five means they'd take your call on a Friday afternoon." Give reps four minutes to fill the grid honestly.

Then ask for a show of hands: "How many of you have a four or five in only ONE row?" Most hands go up, and that is single-threading made visible to the whole room at once. Next, each rep circles their Coach — the insider who will tell you who else matters and how the decision truly gets made. Every rep should leave this round able to name at least one UNKNOWN role and one person rated 1 or 2 they must develop this week. Those gaps are the raw material for the rest of the Drill; without them, the role-plays have no target.

The core rep of the Drill is the lateral referral: using an existing champion to get introduced sideways to a buying role you do not yet know, without sounding like you are going over their head. The leader models one verbatim script, then reps run it in pairs. Model line: *"Maria, you've been driving this carton redesign and I want to get it across the line cleanly. When this hits procurement for the re-bid, who owns that side — and would it help if I got them the cost-comparison sheet early so they're not surprised? Happy to do that with you on the line, or you can hand it off, whatever's easiest."* Rep A plays the seller; Rep B plays a champion who is slightly protective. The seller must anchor on a shared goal, frame the new thread as protecting the champion's project rather than bypassing it, and name a specific role. The pair runs it twice, swaps, and every rep plays seller at least once. What good looks like: the ask de-risks the champion, and the seller names procurement or sustainability specifically instead of a vague "who else is involved?"

Costs, timelines, and the typical ranges the Drill runs on

The Drill's only real cost is time, which makes it one of the highest-return coaching investments a manager owns against the revenue it protects. The standard version runs 45 minutes across four rounds: roughly 10 minutes to map, 15 for the lateral-referral role-plays, 10 for the pressure test, and 10 to lock in commitments. It compresses to a 5-minute version — Round 1 only, where every rep maps one account and names the single UNKNOWN role they will research this week — and extends to a 60-minute version that runs all four rounds and then has each rep map a second account and run one additional role-play.

Team-size ranges matter for format. With 2 to 4 reps, use one shared whiteboard map and round-robin the role-plays instead of pairing; the leader models every script first. With 5 to 12 reps, split into pairs for the role-plays and reconvene for a group debrief. Above 12, break into two rooms with a co-facilitator so no one waits idle. The materials cost is effectively zero: a whiteboard, a printed handout with five role rows and a 1–5 rating column, and a pad of sticky notes for the commitments.

On threading targets, the practical range is concrete. Aim for a minimum of three engaged, rated-3-or-higher relationships on any account you intend to forecast, and four to six on a large brand or CPG account where the buying group can run six to ten people. A "thread" is a relationship you have rated 3 or higher — someone who takes your call and shares real information — not a CC line. On cadence, run the full Drill quarterly and the 5-minute mapping version at every pipeline review, because threads decay: people change roles constantly in CPG and converting, so a map is never finished. The follow-up loop has a tight timeline of its own — commitments made on a Friday are checked the following Monday, and every previously UNKNOWN role that becomes a rated-3 thread is logged as progress.

Where teams get the Drill wrong

Even experienced reps fall into predictable traps, and the manager's job during the Drill is to name each one with a fast coaching cue rather than a lecture.

• Mistaking activity for threading. Emailing five people once is not multithreading. Cue: "A thread is a *relationship*, not a CC line — rate it one to five."
• Going over the champion's head. Reps panic and reach around their contact, burning trust and often the deal. Cue: "Always frame the new thread as protecting your champion's project, never as routing around them."
• Leading with print quality to procurement. Engineers care about dielines and substrate; sourcing cares about landed cost and supplier risk. Cue: "Change your value line for every role — don't sell color fidelity to a sourcing VP."
• Ignoring the sustainability lead. EPR rules and PCR mandates now move packaging decisions and unlock or block revenue. Cue: "If you can't name the sustainability contact, you have a blind spot, not an account."
• Stopping at three threads and relaxing. Three is the floor, not the goal, on a large brand. Cue: "Map the whole buying committee, then thread the gaps."

Two scenarios kill packaging deals more than any others, and Round 3 makes reps rehearse both. In Scenario A, the Blocking Champion insists on being the only contact. The model line respects the relationship while still creating a second thread: *"Totally respect that, and I'm not trying to crowd the room. I ask because re-bids stall when sourcing sees our number for the first time at the finish line. Could we loop them in once, even a five-minute intro, so there are no surprises in Q3?"* The insight for reps is that a blocking champion is usually afraid of losing control or being blindsided, and the script addresses both fears directly. In Scenario B, a New Power Sponsor — a VP of Strategic Sourcing — arrives mid-deal, and reps must research and reach that person within 48 hours with a one-line value hypothesis tied to supplier consolidation, total landed cost, or on-time-in-full delivery, never print quality. What good looks like: the blocker is handled without damaging trust, and the new economic buyer gets a credible, role-specific opener.

Locking in outcomes and choosing which version to run

Practice without commitment is just a meeting, so the final round converts rehearsal into pipeline. Each rep writes two Next Actions on sticky notes — one new thread to open this week, one relationship to deepen — then says the account, the role, and the specific action out loud to the room. Public commitment sticks in a way a private note never does. The leader logs every commitment and sets the follow-up: at the next pipeline review, each rep reports whether the new thread has become a rated-3-or-higher relationship. The closing line makes the standard explicit: "Single-threaded deals aren't deals — they're hopes. By Friday every account in this room has one new live thread, and we check it Monday."

Choosing the right configuration depends on time, team size, and skill level, and the manager should decide before walking in rather than improvising. New reps need the leader to model every script and often benefit from running Round 2 only until the lateral-referral ask feels natural. Veterans who resist role-play respond better when you skip the modeling and go straight to the Round 3 pressure tests, framed as "let's solve the two things that kill our deals" rather than a training exercise. When you have the full hour, add a "wall of accounts" — every rep's single-threaded deals posted on the whiteboard so the team sees the collective revenue exposure in one glance and no one can hide behind a comfortable champion.

Success is measurable at the next pipeline review across three numbers: the count of accounts with three or more rated threads, the count of new contacts added to active deals, and the relationship-strength increase for previously UNKNOWN roles. When those three rise together, the Drill did its job and the account revenue is materially harder to lose.

Related questions

How many threads do you need in a packaging account?

At least three engaged, rated-3-or-higher relationships, and four to six on a large brand or CPG account. Gartner's research puts the average B2B buying group at six to ten people — you don't need all of them, but you need enough that one departure doesn't kill the deal.

Will my champion feel betrayed if I talk to other people?

Only if you do it behind their back. The lateral-referral script is built so the new thread feels like you're protecting their project. Done right, champions open doors gladly, because a surprise in procurement makes *them* look bad too.

What if I genuinely only have access to one buyer?

That's the highest-risk account in your pipeline, and this Drill surfaces it deliberately. Use the lateral-referral rep to ask who owns the re-bid, the spec, and the sustainability sign-off. If your contact won't introduce anyone, treat it as a forecast yellow flag.

How is this different from just having more contacts in the CRM?

A contact record is not a thread. A thread is an active relationship you've rated 3 or higher — someone who takes your call and shares real information. The Drill forces honest ratings precisely so reps stop confusing data entry with relationships.

Which methodology should I lean on most for packaging?

Miller Heiman Strategic Selling's Buying Influences model maps best: Economic Buyer = procurement or VP sourcing, User Buyer = plant ops, Technical Buyer = packaging engineer, Coach = your insider. Pair it with Challenger insight-led messaging when you reach a new economic buyer cold.

FAQ

How often should we re-run this Drill? Run the full version quarterly and the 5-minute mapping version at every pipeline review. Threads decay — people change roles in CPG and converting constantly — so the map is never finished. A quarterly refresh keeps any account from silently sliding back into single-threaded revenue risk.

What if my champion is the plant manager and won't introduce me to corporate procurement? This is a common packaging blocker. Use the Round 3 pressure-test script: frame the introduction as protecting their production schedule and line speed, not as going around them. If they still refuse, treat it as a forecast risk you escalate rather than absorb.

How do I find the sustainability lead if the account is a small converter? Start with your champion or packaging engineer. Ask who handles the customer's EPR compliance or fills out the recyclability surveys for retailers. Even small converters have someone responsible for sustainability reporting — the role exists even when the title doesn't.

Can this Drill work for a team of two or three reps? Yes. For 2 to 4 reps, use one shared whiteboard map and round-robin the role-play instead of pairs, with the leader modeling every script first. The debrief still produces two committed actions per rep and a real lateral-referral rep.

What if my reps are veterans who resist role-play? Skip the Round 2 modeling and go straight to the Round 3 pressure tests. Veterans respond better to real-world problem-solving than to scripts. Frame the session as "let's solve the two things that kill our deals" rather than a training exercise, and they'll engage.

How do I measure success after the Drill? Track three metrics at the next pipeline review: number of accounts with three or more rated threads, number of new contacts added to active deals, and the relationship-strength increase for previously UNKNOWN roles. Rising numbers across all three mean the Drill worked and revenue is better protected.

Sources

• Miller Heiman Strategic Selling — Buying Influences
• The Challenger Sale (Gartner / CEB)
• Gong Labs — Sales Research and Win Rates
• RAIN Group — Account Strategy and Multithreading
• Harvard Business Review — The New Sales Imperative
• Association for Talent Development (ATD)
• Sandler Training — Account Management
• Corporate Visions — Buying Groups and Consensus

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