Close a Stalled Enterprise Deal With Competing Stakeholders and a Shrinking Budget

Format: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, .md

Produce a concise executive-facing communication artifact addressed to Marcus Webb (CFO). This should be a document, email, or structured brief (your choice of format) that you would actually send or bring into a meeting.

Your Executive Brief must:

• Lead with business outcome — not Vantara product features or company overview

• Speak Marcus's language — address the 12% discretionary spend reduction pressure directly

• Make a specific, timed ask (do not end without a clear next step)

• Be 2 pages or fewer — Marcus will not read more

Format: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, .md

A structured written document with exactly three sections. Do not merge or reorder them.

Section A — Deal Strategy & Close Plan (300–450 words)

In this section, provide your analysis and plan for closing this deal within the 27-business-day window. Your Section A should address:

• Stakeholder assessment: who is the economic buyer, who is the champion, and who is the blocker — and what that means for your sequencing

• Your close plan: a sequence of specific milestones and next actions with timing, not a list of activities

• Deal risks: at least two named risks and your specific mitigation strategy for each

• Qualification assessment: is this deal closable in the window? What assumptions are you making, and where are your gaps?

Section B — Competitive & Objection Strategy (250–400 words)

In this section, address the two most significant deal threats: the Coupa competitive risk and the CFO budget objection.

For the competitive threat: What is your strategy for the Coupa situation? Be specific — 'differentiate on value' is not a strategy. Name the specific dynamic you are trying to control, and what you will do in the next 5 business days.

For the budget objection: When Marcus proposes a 1-year contract or a seat reduction, how do you respond? Walk through your objection handling approach — do not default to discounting. Explain your reframe and the specific language or data you would use.

Section C — AI Usage Log (Mandatory)*

This is not a trick. We want to see how you work with AI — not whether you used it.

In this section, document your AI collaboration process. For each significant interaction with an AI tool, briefly note:

• What you asked the AI to help with
• What it gave you
• What you kept, changed, or rejected — and why

Three interactions documented is sufficient. The log does not need to be exhaustive.

Format: .mp4, .mov, .webm

Record your walkthrough as an MP4 or MOV file and upload it directly on the Provn platform as a separate file.

Structure your video as follows:

• Opening (60 seconds): Summarise the deal situation and your overall recommended strategy — what is the most important thing you need to accomplish in the next 10 business days and why?

• Executive Brief walkthrough (2–3 minutes): Walk through your Executive Brief. Explain the choices you made — particularly why you led with what you led with, and what you are asking Marcus to do.

• Deal & competitive strategy (2–3 minutes): Explain your close plan and your approach to the Coupa threat and the CFO objection. What are you most confident about, and where is your biggest risk?

• Mandatory AI question (1–2 minutes): "Walk me through one moment where you disagreed with, pushed back on, or redirected what the AI gave you — and what you did instead. Name the specific moment. Explain what the AI produced that didn't meet the bar, what you did differently, and why."

• Reflection (30–60 seconds): What would you do differently if you had more time or more information?