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Non-pipe: Researched FitNon-pipe: OutreachNon-pipe: EngagementNon-pipe: Validated Fit (Discovery)Non-pipe: QualificationStage 1: Selling Plan PendingStage 2: Buying Environment AnalysisStage 3: Demo HeldStage 4: Value PresentationStage 5: Contract ScopingStage 6: Contract Signature PendingStage 7: Closed WonPost-sale: Customer OnboardingPost-sale: Account Management
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Team OwnershipResearch OpsSDRsSDRsSDRsSDRs/AEsAEsAEsAEsAEsAEsAEsAEsDeploymentAMs
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Forecast Stage#N/A#N/A#N/A#N/A#N/AForecast Stage: PipelineForecast Stage: PipelineForecast Stage: PipelineForecast Stage: Best CaseForecast Stage: CommitForecast Stage: CommitForecast Stage: Closed WonCustomer ARRCustomer ARR
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Funnel StageMQLMQLMQLSALSQLOpportunityOpportunityOpportunityOpportunityOpportunityOpportunityCustomerCustomerCustomer
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Buyer JourneyAwareness/ConsiderationAwareness/ConsiderationAwareness/ConsiderationConsideration/DecisionConsideration/DecisionDecisionDecisionDecisionDecisionPurchasingPurchasingDelightDelightDelight
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Risk to AdvanceProfile FitNeedNeedBudget, NeedAuthority, TimelineAuthority, TimelineAuthority, TimelineAuthorityAuthorityTimelineTimeline#N/A#N/A#N/A
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Our GoalFilter out targets primarily based on use case and size and put good fit targets into sales work queue.Earn a response from our target; start a meaningful sales conversation.Build interest with the intent of earning a discovery meeting. Gather qualifying details and business case details to enable the development of a selling plan.Analyze the discovered data to confirm quality and build an opportunity. Understand which discovery data is still missing and incorporate into the selling plan.The AE assumes responsibility for the opp. A selling plan helps build confidence in the AE and ensures they're prepared to advance the sale completely and efficiently. Taking these steps also helps position our team as a solution consultant and partner, not just a vendor.Build trust. Set clear expectations with the prospect about what to expect during the sale. Raise the risks that you observe at start and earn prospect commitment to help you address those risks. Move forward with the demo and detailed presentation of platform capabilities (to secure Need alignment).Finalize the network of buyers to involve key POCs. Answer immediate technical follow-up questions that arose from the demo. Set the expectation that our team will present the expected value case for the prospect; build that value and ROI narrative.Earn complete buy-in. Build enthusiasm in the solution by demonstrating confidence in ROI expectations and by inviting and eliminating objections. Eliminate final "blind spots" by setting expectations around the implementation experience. Earn commitment from the ultimate decision-maker(s).Translate business case requirements/value priorities to solution proposal. Catalyze internal buyer discussions on pricing and reach an acceptable quote. Earn a signature.Seamless and successful hand off of customer to post sales team.Customer has clear expectations around onboarding duration, people involved, level of effort of involvement, and communication methods/practices. They're able to start using the platform as intended.Customer is informed about how the solution continues to drive value over the course of their lifetime. Customer is able to share successes, questions, and failures/concerns. Thankful is able retain the customer at a minimum or facilitate growth via scaling or cross-sell.
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Criteria for AdvancementWhen is it eligible for Outreach?When is it eligible for Engagement?When is it eligible for Discovery? When is it eligible for Qualification?When is it eligible for Pipeline?When is it eligible to move to Stage 2?When is it eligible to move to Stage 3?When is it eligible to move to Stage 4?When is it eligible to move to Stage 5?When is it eligible to move to Stage 6?When is it eligible to move to Stage 7?When is it eligible for Customer Onboarding?When is it eligible for Account Management?
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BASIC PROFILE FIT: Industry and size (revenue) data matches known acceptable ICP criteria.RESPONSES: Target contacts engage with outbound or nurture-based messaging. A purely positive response is not necessary.MEETING BOOKED: A prospect not only responds, but responds with positive, sales-oriented sentiment by agreeing to a discovery meeting.MEETING HELD: The discovery meeting is successfully completed with the prospect POC.BASIC QUAL: Sales reviews the discovered data and notes to determine the record is qualified on the basis of Need and Budget.SELLING PLAN DRAFTED: AE has an accessible reference doc that demonstrates they'll take an organized, systematic approach to the sale.SALES PROCESS DISCLOSED: The buyer is aware of what actions the AE is prioritizing and when those actions will come into play.VALUE PRESENTATION SCHEDULED: The buyer and key team members are confirmed for the value presentation.READY FOR QUOTE: The buyer gives a green light on the solution's value and asks for pricing.VERBAL ACCEPTANCE: The ultimate decision maker on the buying team confirms they'd like to receive an agreement.LEGAL ACCEPTANCE: Prospect legal team has reviewed and approved of terms and legal language within the master agreement.SIGNED AGREEMENT IN HAND: We've received the signed agreement.SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL: The deployment team has summarized any pending actions for the customer to own, but otherwise signs off on the active platform.
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REACHABLE CONTACTS: Potential POCs (with contact info, e.g. email, phone) are added to the CRM.BOFU INTENT: New or existing contacts convert on sales-focused, bottom-of-funnel content. DISCOVERY DATA GATHERED: Sales is able to recover most key details about the prospect business case directly from the prospect. TIMELINE FIT: Sales agrees that the purchasing timeline is acceptable according to typical buying cycles. DEMO PRESENTED: The buyer has seen the product and understands how it works in practice.BUYERS NETWORK MAPPED: All key buyers have been identified and looped into the discussion, esp. Operations DMs, IT/Sec Influencers, and Finance Budget Holders.COMPLETE BUY-IN: The full buyers network has shared positive sentiment about the solution, or has had objections addressed.BUYER'S CONTRACT TEAM ID'D: Member(s) of the prospect team have committed to managing the signature process on the prospect's end.SIGNATURE OBTAINED: The final decision-maker/checkwriter has signed off on the agreement.
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INBOUND INTENT: POCs are generated by marketing sources, ideally with sales-related intent.SECURED NEEDS FIT: The buyer has acknowledged the use case makes sense for their organization and they're still interested.VALUE PRESENTATION READY: The AE has prepared the presentation materials, calculators, etc.
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EARLY BUY-IN: The buyer confirms their purchasing timeline and commits to involving other appropriate buyers in next steps.
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Action by SalesWhat do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?What do we do to advance?
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ROUTING: Contacts must be distributed to sales ownership.ACTIVITY: Sales must initiate contact, ideally prioritizing targets who are interacting with our content and assets. CALENDAR MGMT: Make booking a meeting an easy process by using calendar links and pre-populating video conference links.(B)A(N)T CONFIRMATION: The prospect confirms that they can accept price floor (Budget) and have a relevant use case (Need).DISCOVERY OUTCOME REVIEW: Debrief between SDR and AE to share insights and context, as well as review of documented qual data in CRM.ENABLEMENT LIBRARY SETUP: Conduct account research and compile a list of good-fit enablement assets based on prospect business case.ROLE & EXPECTATIONS PRESENTED: The AE defines how they will act as a solutions advisor and which essential milestones must be reached during the sale to ensure success.ENLIST POC TO ENGAGE BUYERS NETWORK: Ask for a cc'd communication to relevant buyers, at the POC's discretion.PRESENT ROI CALCULATIONS: Demonstrate ROI or value based on how customers typically perceive value, e.g. enabling growth functions, raising efficiency, etc.DRAFT QUOTE: The AE prepares line items, quantities, and billing terms. CONTRACT ADMIN: Keep track of contract management progress against timeline and facilitate wherever possible (answer final questions, clarify task ownership, etc.).NOTIFICATIONS: Inform back office teams of customer signature. Inform AM and deployment of pending kick-off.REVIEW VERIFIED ENVIRONMENT: Deployment should be able to review captured data re: technology, etc. recovered by the AE during the sale.
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DIVERSE TACTICS: Sales must make multiple touches across channels, typically in a "burst" fashion. Messaging must be compelling to the target, i.e. non-standard across personas.SOLUTION OVERVIEW: Sales presents a high-level overview of the value behind our solution.RISKS SUMMARY: Sales identifies key information that was not ID'd in discovery and must be gathered, e.g. the discovery POC was not the decision-maker.BUYERS MAP SETUP: Draft a map of buyers and identify gaps where key purchasing roles (influencers, decision-makers) are missing. POC COMMITMENT: The primary POC acknowledges the requirements for sales success and agrees to act as the advocate on the prospect end to move things forward (or ID a termination point).ROI CALCULATIONS: Gather any missing information from the buyer and perform calculations. ENGAGE TF OBJECTIONS: Invite and counter objections related to the solution. It's important to challenge unmotivated/unengaged buyers (non-primary-POCs) to raise objections.PREP APPROVED DISCOUNTING PLAN: The AE attempts to predict where cost objections may arise and prepares a pre-approved list of discounting techniques.COORDINATE ONBOARDING KICK-OFF: Facilitate communications between the customer and the AM and deployment teams to put a kick-off meeting on the calendar.
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GENERAL INTEREST: Sales confirms that, by the conclusion of discovery, the prospect agrees to continue the conversation.NARRATIVE ROADMAP: Outline an expectation for sales narrative progression, e.g. number of meetings and goals for each.DEMO PRESENTATION: The AE presents the demo and provides relevant examples of how the solution would serve the prospect's use case.MATCH NARRATIVE TO BUYER PRIORITIES: Revisit the buyer's identified pain/value priorities to emphasize messaging.ADDRESS COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES: Counter raised objections or comparative statements related to competitive solutions. The AE does not need to invite these objections.SIGNATURE TIMELINE: The AE sets the expectation/earns a commitment from the prospect team as to when signature will be finalized.CONTRACT ADMIN: Store the final, signed agreement according to internal policy (e.g. attach to opp record in CRM, upload to Drive, etc.).
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IDENTIFY PROSPECT PRIORITIES: The buyer shares which areas of value/pain matter most to them in the context of this sale.SCHEDULE VALUE PRESENTATION: Set a date on buyers' calendars for the next presentation.DESCRIBE ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE: Share how our org continues to demonstrate value post-sale to ensure the prospect realizes our projected ROI results.
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VERIFY PURCHASE INTENT: The buyer confirms that the demoed solution is interesting and relevant, and confirms a timeline for purchase decision.DECISION CTA: Call on the primary POC and other key decision-maker roles to share their motivation/sentiment for decision.
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Reject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject IfReject If
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NO VERIFIED CONTACT INFO: POCs at the org cannot be identified, or cannot be enriched with emails, phone numbers, etc.CHANNEL FAILURE: Communication channels are unusable, e.g. email yields a hard bounce, phone is a wrong number, etc.HARD NO: Prospect gives a firm negative response or opts out of communications.CLEAR FIT MISMATCH: The prospect shares that they don't have a matching use case or that they don't have any budget to accommodate floor-level pricing.CLEAR FIT MISMATCH: Discovery data shows there is no acceptable (bare minimum) Budget or Needs fit.QUAL MISSTEP: If there's a fundamental fit mismatch or gap ID'd upon review, remove this opp from pipeline. Note reason for rejection.FAILURE TO COMMIT: Due to readiness or lack of will, the buyer is unable to commit to the proposed sales process. LOW URGENCY: The POC cannot secure engagement from prohibitive buyers in a reasonable timeframe.VALUE REJECTED: The buyers network rejects the presentation on the basis of not meeting expectations (as opposed to rejecting based on the calculation methods).RED TAPE: Technological or legal issues that are impassable and identified late stage.
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POOR PROFILE FIT: Industry and size (revenue) strongly suggest that our org cannot fit their use case.NO ENGAGEMENT: After 10-12 sales touches with no response, likely drop that contact entirely, or delay outreach to a later date.FIT DQ: Prospect response(s) share business case details and there is no Need or Budget fit.EXTREME TIMELINE MISMATCH: The prospect is not planning on completing a purchase within the next 3 months.POOR FIT UNCOVERED: Post-demo, the buyer indicates that their use case is not relevant or they have an excessive timeline to purchase.LOW VALUE CASE: The AE identifies that the prospect would see minimal return based on their business case.
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Sales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools NeededSales Tools Needed
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Research Ops (functional role)Persona-Based Sales Messaging/TemplatesCalendar/Meetings Integration ToolDiscovery Agenda, Scripting, & LOQsPipeline Acceptance RubricSelling Plan Framework/DocumentUse Case-Optimized Demo SlidesROI Calculator(s)Onboarding Process Timeline Visual AideQuoting Tool(s)MSA & SLANew customer hand off form
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Data Platform(s)Scenario-Based Sales SequencesObjection-Handling GuidePost-Discovery Review/Notes FormatLibrary of Sales Enablement AssetsExpectation-setting Scripts - BuyersValue Presentation SlidesPath to Closure Project PlanPrice BookSignature Tool
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Basic Profile Fit Ruleset/Defined ICPBest Practices Playbook per ChannelExpectation-setting Scripts - Value/PainCompetitive Battle CardsObjection Handling Quick Reference
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Case StudiesSales Process Timeline Visual AideTypical Prospect FAQs Takeaway Sheet
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