Nels Hinderlie has spent more than a decade selling software into large enterprises, and he has watched plenty of great deals slow down once procurement gets involved. His take is that procurement is not the obstacle. It is the part of the process that tests whether a deal actually holds up.

Nels explains why trying to go around procurement creates friction, why timelines, reviews, and expectations need to be clear early, and how sales and procurement teams can build the alignment that gets a deal to signature.

The conversation also covers RFPs, pilots, and how AI is changing both sides of the table, and why the best salespeople win by solving real problems instead of pushing for a close.