Relationship Maps

Relationship maps are visual representations of the people involved in a deal or account, the connections between them, and the power dynamics that shape buying decisions. In complex B2B sales, understanding who influences whom, who holds budget authority, and who might block your initiative is often the difference between winning and losing. SalesOS relationship maps give you a living, interactive canvas to capture and share this intelligence with your team.

What Are Relationship Maps

A relationship map combines two complementary views of an organization:

• Organizational hierarchy -- The formal reporting structure showing who reports to whom, from individual contributors up through directors, VPs, and the C-suite.
• Influence graph -- The informal network of influence, collaboration, and opposition that exists alongside (and sometimes in contradiction to) the formal org chart.

Together, these views reveal the true decision-making landscape within a target account. A director who technically reports to the CFO may actually have more influence over technology purchases than the CTO. A mid-level manager might be your strongest internal champion despite lacking formal authority. Relationship maps make these dynamics visible and actionable.

Accessing Relationship Maps

You can access relationship maps from two primary locations:

From an Account Detail Page

1. Navigate to Accounts in the left sidebar.
2. Open any account record.
3. Click the Relationship Map tab in the account detail view.
4. The map displays all contacts associated with that account and any connections you have defined between them.

From a Deal Detail Page

1. Navigate to Pipeline and open any deal.
2. Click the Stakeholder Map tab in the deal detail view.
3. This map is scoped to the contacts specifically involved in that deal, though you can pull in additional contacts from the parent account.

Creating a New Map

If an account or deal does not yet have a relationship map, you will see an empty state with a prompt to create one. Click Create Relationship Map to initialize the canvas. SalesOS will automatically place any existing contacts from the account onto the map as unconnected nodes, which you can then arrange and link.

Building a Map

Adding Contacts to the Map

There are several ways to add people to your relationship map:

• From existing contacts -- Click Add Contact and select from contacts already associated with the account. Use the search field to filter by name or title.
• Quick-add new contacts -- If you discover a new stakeholder during research or a call, click Add New to create a contact record and place them on the map simultaneously. You will be prompted to fill in name, title, and email at minimum.
• Drag from the sidebar -- The contact panel on the right side of the map lists all account contacts not yet on the canvas. Drag any of them onto the map to place them.
• Auto-population -- SalesOS can automatically suggest contacts to add based on interaction data (see the auto-population section below).

Positioning Nodes

Once contacts are on the map, drag them to arrange the visual layout:

• Place senior executives near the top to reflect hierarchy.
• Group contacts by department or function (engineering, procurement, finance) in clusters.
• Position your champions and coaches close to decision makers to visually convey their access and influence.

SalesOS also offers an Auto-Layout button that arranges nodes into a clean hierarchical tree based on reports-to relationships.

Drawing Connections

To create a relationship between two contacts:

1. Hover over a contact node until the connection handle appears (a small circle on the edge of the node).
2. Click and drag from one contact to another.
3. A dialog appears asking you to define the relationship type and direction.
4. Select the appropriate relationship type (see below) and confirm.

You can also right-click on a connection line to edit or delete it.

Node Types

Every contact on a relationship map has a role designation that indicates their function in the buying process. Assign one of the following roles to each contact by clicking the node and selecting the appropriate badge:

You can change a contact's role at any time as the deal evolves. A contact who starts as an influencer may become a champion once they see a compelling demo, or a neutral party may reveal themselves as a blocker during negotiations.

Relationship Types

Connections between contacts carry a type label that describes the nature of their relationship:

Each connection can also carry a strength rating (weak, moderate, strong) to indicate how pronounced the dynamic is. Strong influence relationships are displayed as thicker lines on the map.

Influence and Engagement Scoring

SalesOS calculates two scores for each contact on a relationship map:

Influence Score (1-100)

The influence score estimates how much sway a contact has over the final decision. It is computed based on:

• Title and seniority -- C-level and VP contacts start with a higher base score.
• Number of inbound influence connections -- Contacts who are cited as influencing many others receive a boost.
• Proximity to decision makers -- Contacts one hop away from the decision maker score higher than those three hops away.
• Historical deal involvement -- If this contact has been involved in past closed-won deals at the same account, their influence score increases.

Engagement Score (1-100)

The engagement score measures how actively you and your team have been communicating with each contact:

• Email exchanges -- Recent sent and received emails increase the score.
• Meeting participation -- Contacts who attend demos, calls, or business reviews score higher.
• Content engagement -- If you shared a proposal, case study, or pricing document and they opened or downloaded it, the score rises.
• Recency weighting -- Interactions in the last 14 days carry more weight than those from 60 days ago.

Both scores are displayed as colored indicators on each node:

• Green (70-100) -- Strong influence or engagement.
• Yellow (40-69) -- Moderate; may need attention.
• Red (1-39) -- Low; a gap that should be addressed.

Gap Analysis

One of the most powerful features of relationship maps is automated gap analysis. SalesOS examines your map and flags potential weaknesses in your account coverage:

Uncovered Stakeholders

SalesOS identifies roles that are typically present in deals of this size and type but are missing from your map:

• No identified economic buyer (decision maker with budget authority).
• No champion above the manager level.
• No contacts from a department that is usually involved (e.g., IT security for a SaaS purchase, legal for a contract over a certain threshold).

Missing Relationships

The system also flags structural gaps:

• A decision maker with no connection to any of your champions (you lack a path to influence them).
• Key contacts with zero engagement score (they are on the map but you have not interacted with them).
• Clusters of contacts with no cross-department connections, suggesting siloed information.

Recommended Actions

Gap analysis produces a prioritized list of recommended actions:

• "Schedule an introductory meeting with [Contact] -- they are a decision maker with no engagement."
• "Ask [Champion] for an introduction to [VP of Finance] -- finance approval is needed but you have no coverage there."
• "Research [Department] to identify potential end users who can validate the use case."

These recommendations appear in the Gaps panel on the right side of the relationship map view, and can also surface as tasks in your activity feed if you enable that integration.

Using Maps in Deal Strategy

Relationship maps are not just informational -- they are strategic tools. Here is how to incorporate them into your selling process:

Account Planning Sessions

During quarterly or monthly account reviews, pull up the relationship map to:

• Verify that all known stakeholders are represented and their roles are current.
• Identify gaps in coverage and assign team members to build specific relationships.
• Assess whether your champions still have the access and influence you need.
• Plan multi-threaded outreach so you are not dependent on a single contact.

Deal Reviews

In pipeline reviews or deal strategy sessions with your manager:

• Walk through the map to show who is involved and where you have strong coverage.
• Highlight blockers and discuss strategies to neutralize objections.
• Show the influence paths from your champions to the decision maker.
• Compare engagement scores to identify contacts who have gone silent.

Opportunity Qualification

Use the map as a qualification tool. If a deal lacks:

• An identified decision maker, it may not be qualified.
• A champion who can sell internally on your behalf, the deal is at risk.
• Coverage across the required departments, you may face surprises late in the cycle.

Sharing Maps with Team Members

Relationship maps are collaborative by default within your organization:

• View access -- Any team member with access to the account or deal can view the relationship map.
• Edit access -- Account owners, deal owners, and team members assigned to the account can add contacts, draw connections, and update roles.
• Snapshots -- Click Export Snapshot to generate a PNG or PDF image of the current map state. Useful for including in presentations, QBRs, or executive briefings.
• Comments -- Add comments to individual nodes or connections to share context that does not fit neatly into structured fields (e.g., "Met at the industry conference in March -- very receptive to AI messaging").

Notifications

When a team member makes a significant change to a shared map (adds a decision maker, flags a new blocker, or updates an influence connection), SalesOS sends a notification to the deal owner so they are aware of the change.

Auto-Population from Interaction Data

To reduce the manual effort of building and maintaining maps, SalesOS can automatically suggest additions and updates based on your team's interactions:

Contact Discovery

When your team exchanges emails or holds meetings with people at the account who are not yet in your CRM, SalesOS surfaces them as suggested contacts. You can review and add them to the map with one click.

Relationship Inference

Based on email CC patterns, meeting co-attendance, and organizational data from enrichment providers, SalesOS can suggest likely relationships:

• Two contacts who always appear together on calls likely collaborate.
• A contact who is consistently CC'd by another likely has a reporting or oversight relationship.
• A contact whose engagement drops after another contact enters the picture may be a blocker.

These suggestions appear with a dashed-line preview on the map. Click Confirm to solidify the connection or Dismiss to remove the suggestion.

Engagement Score Updates

Engagement scores update automatically as your team logs activities, sends emails, and holds meetings. You do not need to manually refresh them -- the map is always current.

Filtering and Views

For accounts with many contacts, use filters to focus the map:

• Filter by role -- Show only decision makers and influencers, or only blockers.
• Filter by engagement -- Hide contacts with zero engagement to focus on active stakeholders.
• Filter by department -- View only engineering contacts, or only finance contacts.
• Filter by deal -- On an account-level map, filter to show only contacts involved in a specific active deal.

You can also toggle between Hierarchy View (traditional org chart layout) and Network View (force-directed graph showing influence connections).

Best Practices

• Start early -- Begin building your relationship map during discovery, not after you are deep into negotiations. Early mapping reveals gaps when you still have time to address them.
• Update continuously -- Treat the map as a living document. After every call or meeting, spend 60 seconds updating roles, adding new contacts, or adjusting influence connections.
• Multi-thread aggressively -- If your map shows you only have strong engagement with one or two contacts, you are at risk. Aim for at least three engaged contacts across two departments for any deal over your average contract value.
• Validate with your champion -- Share your understanding of the org chart and buying process with your champion. They can confirm or correct your assumptions about influence dynamics.
• Use gap analysis proactively -- Do not wait for deal reviews to check gaps. Review the gap panel weekly and create tasks to address uncovered stakeholders before they become deal risks.
• Distinguish formal from informal power -- The org chart shows who reports to whom, but influence maps show who actually shapes decisions. Invest time in mapping both -- they rarely align perfectly.
• Tag and annotate -- Add comments to contacts noting their communication preferences, objections you have heard, personal interests for rapport-building, and any political dynamics you have observed.
• Collaborate with your team -- If multiple reps cover different parts of the account, combine your intelligence on a shared map. One rep's influencer contact may be another rep's missing connection to the C-suite.
• Archive for future deals -- When a deal closes (won or lost), keep the relationship map. If you sell to the same account again, or if contacts move to new companies, that historical map is invaluable context.
• Review before escalation -- Before involving your executive sponsor or asking for management help on a deal, review the map so you can clearly articulate where you need help and who needs to be influenced.