What is Deal Mapping?
How to find the side of a business deal you’re already missing — without building the piece you lack from scratch.
The short answer
Deal Mapping is figuring out what side of a deal you already have, what is missing, who already has it, and whether there is a useful deal worth building between you. Rather than build the piece you lack, you find the business that already has it and test one small deal before committing to anything bigger.
Your side, and the other side
Most businesses already own one half of a good deal. An audience. A proven product. Spare capacity. A relationship people trust. On its own, that half does a fraction of what it could. The value shows up when it meets the piece it was missing.
Your side is what you already have and could put to better use. The other side is the missing business piece that makes it more useful — the buyers, the offer, the distribution, the demand, or the reason to work together. Deal Mapping is the work of naming both sides clearly, then finding who already holds the one you don’t.
You may not need to build the missing side. Somebody else may already have it.
How it’s different from normal business development
Most business development ends with a longer list of companies to chase. Deal Mapping ends with one company that already has a reason to talk. The difference is where you start.
| Approach | Where it starts | What you end up holding |
|---|---|---|
| Networking | Collecting more contacts | A wider list and no clear reason to call |
| Lead lists and cold outreach | A list of companies to chase | More names to work through |
| Building the missing piece yourself | Time and budget | A new project to run |
| Deal Mapping | What you already have | One company with a real reason to talk |
When Deal Mapping is useful
You rarely wake up looking for a “deal.” You notice a situation. These are the ones Deal Mapping was built around:
“We could take five more good clients.” “We still have a few sponsor spots.” “Our customers keep asking for something we don’t offer.” “The product works, we just sell it one customer at a time.” “We built this years ago and aren’t doing much with it.” Each one is half a deal waiting for its other half.
The method: map, connect, prove
The whole thing runs on three moves. Simple on purpose, so you can actually use it.
Map
What do you already have? What do you want more of? What is missing?
Connect
Who already has it? Why would they care? What is the first useful reason to talk?
Prove
Try one small deal. If it works, build from there. The first job isn’t to close something big — it’s to find out whether there is a deal here at all.
The seven questions on a Deal Map
A Deal Map is the tangible thing. It answers seven questions, and it should feel like the clearest path from “there might be something here” to “here is who, why, and what to try first.”
- 1
What side do you already have?
The asset you can put to better use — an audience, a product, capacity, a relationship.
- 2
What would you like more of?
Revenue, more customers, or whatever a good deal would actually move for you.
- 3
What is visibly missing?
The piece that would turn what you have into a result. Usually buyers, an offer, or distribution.
- 4
Who already has it?
The business that holds the missing side today, without you having to build it.
- 5
Why would they care?
The reason it is worth their while — what they are trying to sell or reach.
- 6
What is the first useful move?
The small, low-risk reason for both sides to have a first conversation.
- 7
What would make it worth doing again?
Whether a single deal could repeat, or grow into a longer relationship.
A quick example
A studio owner has six sponsor spots left and an audience that trusts her. Her side is the audience and the inventory. The missing side is companies who would genuinely want access to those people. The mapping question isn’t “how do I sell sponsorships?” It’s “if I could pick ten companies and have them call me about those spots, who would I want?” The first move is to find the right person inside one or two of them and bring back an interested conversation.
Where a map goes wrong
The method is simple, so the mistakes are usually about being vague rather than being wrong. The most common one is naming your side too loosely. “I have an audience” isn’t a side yet. “Four hundred parents who open my weekly email and have bought from me before” is. The sharper you name what you actually hold, the more obvious the other side becomes.
The other frequent miss is falling for a deal type before you’ve checked the fit. People decide they want a licensing arrangement, or a big-name sponsor, and then go looking for someone to force into that shape. Map the fit first and let the shape follow. And once you have a shortlist, resist chasing the biggest logo — the best first partner is usually the one with the clearest reason to care right now, not the most impressive name.
Run your own Deal Map this week
You don’t need a template or a meeting. Twenty minutes and an honest answer to each of these gets you most of the way there.
- 1
Write your side in one concrete line
Not “an audience” — the specific thing you hold, with enough detail that a stranger could picture it.
- 2
Name what you want more of
More revenue, or more of the kind of customer you actually want a good deal to bring you.
- 3
Point at the one missing piece
The single thing standing between what you have and what you want. Usually buyers, or a way to reach them.
- 4
List three who already have it
Three businesses that hold that missing piece today, with one honest reason each would want to talk. Start with whichever reason is strongest.
When Deal Mapping is the wrong tool
When this is the wrong tool
- You don’t yet have one solid side. If there’s no real audience, proven offer or genuine capacity, there’s nothing to build a deal around yet.
- You’re looking for a co-founder or someone to legally own part of your company. That’s a different search entirely.
- A relationship already works and pays. Leave it alone rather than forcing a deal onto it.
- You need results this week. Finding the right person and earning a first conversation takes a little time.
Questions people ask
Is Deal Mapping the same as business development?
Do I need a big audience or a known brand for this to work?
How is a Deal Map different from a list of leads?
What does the first move usually look like?
Keep going
Strategic partnerships
How to find partnership deals that already make sense for both sides.
How to find strategic partners
Start with the side you already have, then find who holds the rest.
Written by Greg Courtepatte
Deal Mapper in Alberta. I find the missing side of a deal and help get it moving. LinkedIn