In the Intro, we looked at why so many radiology AI deals die from silence instead of a clear “no.”
The first reason is also the most common:
The person who loves your product is almost never the person who can buy it.
(Pilot to Purchase: Part 1)
A Scenario
A vendor spends four months with an enthusiastic radiologist. The demos go well, the radiologist is excited, and the vendor calls the deal “90% done.”
Then the radiologist brings it to the department chair, who asks about workflow disruption. The CIO asks about integration and security. The CFO asks where the budget comes from. Legal asks for documents the vendor hasn’t prepared.
Each question is reasonable. None had been answered. The deal stalls, and the radiologist, who never planned to run a procurement process, has no idea how to move it forward.
The Five Decision-Makers
Most radiology AI purchases pass through five people, and each one is protecting something different:
✔ The Radiologist Champion wants faster, better reads without added clicks.
✔ The Department Chair wants to protect throughput, staffing, and the group’s reputation.
✔ The CIO or IT Lead wants no new security exposure, no integration headaches, and no extra support burden.
✔ The CFO or Finance Lead wants a clear budget line, a defensible return, and no surprise costs.
✔ Legal and Compliance want signed agreements, privacy safeguards, and documented liability.
A pitch aimed at one of them rarely answers the other four.
Where Vendors Go Wrong
“Our champion is going to take care of the rest.”
This is the most expensive assumption in radiology AI sales. A champion can open a door, but they usually can’t:
- Speak for IT’s security requirements
- Defend a budget request in finance
- Negotiate contract terms with legal
- Spend political capital on a tool that creates extra work for colleagues
When the vendor leaves the internal selling to the champion, the champion is doing a job nobody trained them for, with materials the vendor never gave them.
What the Strongest Vendors Do Differently
- Ask early, “Who else needs to say yes, and what will each person want to see?”
- Prepare one short, plain-language answer for each of the five roles, not one generic deck
- Offer to join the conversations the champion can’t have alone, such as an IT security call or a finance review
- Give the champion a simple summary to forward, so they aren’t rewriting the case from memory
Final Thought
A great champion gets you into the building.
Five aligned decision-makers get you a signed contract.
Your champion is only one vote.
The vendors who win are the ones who earn the other four.
Next in the Pilot to Purchase Series:
Part 2: The Radiologist Champion’s Dilemma
Your turn: Which of the five has been the hardest to reach in your deals?
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