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How to Respond to "I Need to Run It by My Boss"

"I need to run it by my boss" means the person you have been selling to is not the person who decides, and the deal is about to be re-pitched by someone who is not you. Sometimes that is fine. Often it is where deals die. This page covers how to equip your champion, when to ask into the room, and what to say at each stage.

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How buyers phrase it

  • I'll need to check with my manager.
  • This would have to go up the chain.
  • Let me take it to the team.
  • I like it, but it's not my call.
  • I'll need sign-off from above.
  • I'd have to get approval for this.

What "I need to run it by my boss" usually means

Most of the time this is true and unavoidable. Very few purchases are made by one person, and the buyer is telling you how their company works. The problem is not the approval step; it is that the approval will be sought by someone who has heard your pitch once, cannot answer the questions the boss will ask, and has a dozen other things to raise in the same meeting. Your deal will get ninety seconds and a shrug unless you prepare them for it.

The second version is a buyer who likes you, does not want to say no, and uses the boss as a shield. "My boss would never go for it" ends the conversation without the buyer having to own the decision. The tell is reluctance to describe what the boss would need to see, or to let you anywhere near them. A buyer who is genuinely going to advocate for you wants ammunition; a buyer hiding behind the boss wants you to stop asking.

The third version is a buyer who has more authority than they are admitting and wants cover. They could sign, but they would rather someone else share the risk. In that case the boss is a formality and what the buyer needs is confidence, usually in the form of references or a low-risk starting point.

Ask before you answer

Most reps respond to the words. The better move is to find out what is behind them first.

  • What will your boss want to know before they say yes?
  • What do you think their main concern will be?
  • How does this kind of decision usually get made here?
  • Would it help if I joined that conversation, or prepared something for it?
  • If it were only your call, where would you land?

The four-step response

1. Acknowledge

Treat the approval step as normal, because it is. "Of course, that's how it should work" makes it clear you are not going to try to bypass anyone. If the buyer feels you are about to go over their head, they will protect the boss from you and the deal is over. You need them on your side first.

2. Clarify

Find out what the boss will ask. "What will they want to know?" and "what's their likely concern?" tell you what the internal pitch needs to contain. Ask how decisions like this usually get made, because "run it by my boss" might mean a two-minute chat or a formal review with procurement. Then ask the honest question: if it were only their call, where would they land? A reluctant answer tells you the boss is a shield.

3. Reframe

Shift from "you go and pitch this" to "let's prepare the pitch together". Your champion should walk into that meeting with a one-page summary written in the boss's language, the answers to the three questions the boss will ask, and a clear recommendation. If the boss is a finance person, that page is about cost and risk, not features. The reframe is that your job is to make your champion look good, not to make the product look good.

4. Ask

Ask to be in the room, framed as support rather than control: "would it help if I joined for ten minutes to answer the technical questions?" If that is a no, ask to prepare the materials, and agree when the conversation with the boss will happen and when you will hear the outcome. A champion who will not commit to a date is not going to have the conversation.

Word-for-word responses

On a cold call

That makes sense, and I'm not expecting you to decide anything on a cold call. What I'd suggest is this: let's have a proper twenty-minute conversation first, so that when you do mention it to [boss], you can tell them whether it's worth their time or not. If it isn't, you've saved them a meeting. If it is, you'll know what to say. Does [day] work?

On a discovery call

Of course. Can I ask how that usually goes? What will [boss] want to know, and what do you think their first concern will be? [Listen.] Okay. Rather than you having to carry all of that, I'd like to put together a single page in their language: the problem, the cost of it, what we'd do, and what it costs. Would that make the conversation easier? And would it help if I were on the call for the questions?

After a demo

Understood. Before you take it up, let me ask a direct question: if it were your call alone, would you do it? [Listen.] Good, then let's make sure [boss] sees what you saw. What would they need to see that we didn't cover today? I'd rather send you the answers to their questions now than have the deal stall on something I could have addressed.

Late in the deal

I appreciate the honesty. We've been working on this for [period], so if it's only now going to [boss], I want to make sure it lands. Two things: can I join that conversation, even for ten minutes, to take the questions you shouldn't have to answer? And if not, can we agree what you'll present and when, so I know when to expect an answer? I'd rather not leave this to chance.

By email

Of course, that's how it should work. To make the conversation with [boss] easier, I've attached a one-page summary written for them rather than for you: the problem, what it's costing, our proposal, and the cost. If there's anything they're likely to ask that isn't on it, tell me and I'll add it. And if it would help to have me on the call for the hard questions, I'll make myself available at whatever time suits.

What not to say

  • "Can I speak to your boss directly?" You have told your champion they are in the way.
  • "What's your boss's email?" Same message, worse delivery.
  • "Just tell them it's a no-brainer." You have given them nothing to say when the boss asks a real question.
  • "Okay, let me know what they say." You have handed the deal to someone with no materials and no date.
  • "I thought you were the decision maker." Even if true, it embarrasses them and ends the alliance.

Frequently asked questions

What should you do when a prospect needs to run it by their boss?

Find out what the boss will ask and what their likely concern is, then prepare a one-page summary in the boss's language that your champion can present. Ask to join the conversation if that is possible, and agree when it will happen and when you will hear back. The goal is to make your champion look good.

How do you get in front of the decision maker without going over your contact's head?

Ask your contact to bring you in as support, not as a replacement: "would it help if I joined for ten minutes to handle the technical questions?" Frame it as taking work off them. Never contact the boss directly without your champion's knowledge; it ends the relationship and usually the deal.

How do you know if "I need to check with my boss" is a brush-off?

Ask what the boss will want to know, and whether it would help to prepare something for them. A genuine champion wants ammunition and will describe the boss's concerns in detail. A buyer using the boss as a shield gives vague answers and resists any preparation or involvement.

What should a champion present to their boss about your product?

One page: the problem in the boss's terms, what it is costing now, the proposed solution in one paragraph, the cost, and a clear recommendation. Add the three questions the boss is most likely to ask with short answers. Features belong in an appendix, if anywhere.

How do you follow up after the prospect has spoken to their boss?

Agree the date of the boss conversation and a time to debrief before you hang up. On the debrief, ask what questions came up and what the boss's reaction was, rather than just whether it is a yes. If the champion goes quiet past the agreed date, the conversation probably did not happen, and you should ask about that directly.

More how to respond to common sales objections

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