Multithread or die: Why cross-department threading can save your year

There’s power in numbers, but we’re not just talking about your sales team. Saying “multithreading is good” is Sales 101, but new Outreach data indicates a new twist to multithreading might just be the answer you’ve been looking for at a time like this. When sales cycles are getting longer and more voices need to be heard before any contracts are signed, multithreading is a great practice, but cross-department threading could be your strategic advantage.

Why multithreading works

Multithreading goes beyond a singular prospect or decision-maker, creating relationships with multiple people and departments on the purchasing side. By 2026, companies that leverage multithreading strategies will grow revenue 50% more than their competition. 

The practice addresses a fundamental shift in B2B purchasing decisions. Getting a signed deal now involves somewhere between six to ten decision makers, and even up to 20 for enterprise deals.  This growing complexity makes single-threaded selling a recipe for stalled deals.

Outreach is the world’s leading AI Revenue Workflow Platform sales execution platform, so we have unparalleled insight into millions of deals. Outreach data indicates that when more than one contact is engaged, deals are 37% more likely to close. And it just makes sense; these deals have:

• Less risk: less likely for a champion to leave or lose interest and stall the deal
• More support: more champions to sing your solution’s praises and help you sell internally
• More upside: more buy-in increases the potential for a bigger sale

Effective multithreading requires building trust across an organization. When done well, it doesn't just help you close the initial sale; it secures advocacy and smooth implementation, setting you up for successful renewals.

But when the entire industry knows the secret, it ceases to be insightful. Today,In 2024,multithreading has become table stakes. It’s been a while since anyone closed a deal with only one person in an account, so let’s dig a little deeper.

Try cross-department threading (but only if you like winning)

The Outreach platform analyzes billions of customer interactions and opportunities, along with the hundreds of indicators that make up each deal. This dynamic collection of data informs Deal Health Scores, predicting deal closure with 81% accuracy. Individual relationships are valuable, but as it turns out, the most powerful element in impacting deal win rate is the number of departments engaged in an opportunity:

• Deals where sellers engaged one department (selling into one functional area of business), regardless of the number of contacts, were won about 28% of the time. 
• Deals where sellers engaged two departments won about 39% of the time.
• Deals where sellers engaged three or more departments won 44% of the time.

We’re calling this “cross-department threading.” And it has the potential to increase win rates by 56%! Just as in standard multithreading, cross-department threading decreases risk, but it does that across departments, so even if an entire team or department you’re engaged with is laid off tomorrow (an unfortunate, but more common circumstance), you still have champions in the business. 

It also increases support and perceived value when there’s a story being told by multiple champions in multiple departments. If the marketing team, sales, and product teams are all supportive of a solution, it’s probably the right solution.

Which departments should you actually be targeting?

Not all departments carry equal weight in every deal, but understanding which functional areas typically influence purchase decisions can help you build a more strategic threading approach. Common departments involved in B2B purchases include:

Your threading strategy should identify which departments typically influence deals in your space, then systematically build relationships with stakeholders in each area. The goal isn't just contact coverage, it's functional coverage across the buying committee.

So, how do you pull it off?

Let's break down a few best practices that can help you win buy-in across departments and boost your win rates .Successful multithreading requires establishing relationships across both above-the-line and below-the-line stakeholders.

For example, after a discovery or demo, Solutions Consultants should send follow-up emails directly to technical stakeholders to establish trust and credibility. Effective tactics include:

Is there a catch? Cross-department threading also increases the complexity of managing a deal, requiring multiple touchpoints across multiple personas and juggling numerous criteria, personalities, and calendars.

Staying focused and organized is no easy task. Of course, we recommend Outreach to track communications, review and share Kaia recordings, and monitor progression. But if you’re navigating multithreading without Outreach, we recommend thorough internal communications and planning, along with regular check-ins to ensure nothing falls through.

Scale cross-department threading with AI

Cross-department threading creates complexity: more contacts, more touchpoints, more information to track. Without the right technology, executing this consistently across your pipeline becomes nearly impossible.

Outreach’s Research Agent automates account research by pulling insights from web searches, emails, and past interactions to quickly identify which departments are involved in similar deals and who the key players are. 

Our Deal Agent detects key topics in live calls like pricing discussions and objections, then flags when entire functional areas go silent to give you early warnings before deals stall. When you're juggling conversations across IT, Finance, and Operations, AI can suggest the optimal next action based on engagement patterns rather than forcing reps to manually decide who to contact next.

Stay tuned for more best practices from our experts at Outreach. Happy selling. 💪