In my previous role I saw first-hand how different sales methodologies work, even within a single organisation. I also bear some scars for where they don’t. Within my Sales function I had team members negotiating multi-year agreements across multiple product lines with the world’s largest bookmakers, there were people selling complex technology and data products to engineering and product teams, and there were teams fielding inbound advertising requests for tomorrow’s newspaper. Each required a different approach to acquiring, retaining and growing customers.
If you speak to any Chief Commercial Officer, Sales Director, or Head of Sales, they’ll tell you that B2B sales is both an art and a science. While individual sales skills and techniques can get you so far, having clearly defined and documented methodologies within a sales function is critical for value creation and preservation. Reasons include:
Creating a more scalable sales function – enabling quicker onboarding and ramping up of new recruits. Having an approach to training embedded within the sales team will further help with this
Increasing pipeline velocity – generating more qualified leads, increasing win-rate, reducing sales cycle
Reducing key person risk – better onboarding and ramp-up removes the likelihood of pipeline and sales value being concentrated in a small number of reps
However, many businesses don’t use a clear sales methodology – particularly SMEs in the lower mid-market. This is often because they’ve been able to drive sales growth without anything in place. As businesses grow, so too do sales functions, which means the need for structure and scalability grows as well.
AI's interpretation of a Sales Director considering which sales model to use
B2B sales models as a lever for go-to-market value creation
Robust sales methodologies go hand-in-hand with a clear ICP and a detailed view of customer data, forming the foundations of a strong go-to-market operations. Our work at Coppett Hill focuses primarily on businesses in the mid-market, where sale methodology adoption varies. Some clients will adopt parts of established models, a combination of a few, or develop their own while others won’t use them at all.
Critically, not all sales models are right for all businesses. Therefore, in this article I will break down the most well-known sales models, discuss the pros and cons of each, and highlight when best to use them.
What sales models should I use for complex products and higher average contract values?
1. Solution Selling - Focuses on diagnosing the customer’s problem and positioning the product as the solution. Sales reps identify pain points and show how the product or service resolves these issues. Solution Selling was developed in the 1970s by Frank Watts, who first introduced it at Xerox. The idea was to shift from product-centric selling to solving the customer’s problems by positioning the product as the solution.
Solution selling builds trust with prospects by addressing specific needs, helping potential customers to feel valued and understood. However, it can be time-consuming and requires deep product knowledge.
Best for: high-touch B2B sales, especially for complex or customisable products and services. Suited to customers who know their precise needs.
2. MEDDIC/MEDDICC – Acronym for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition (Competitors)
Metrics: Quantifiable measures of success that your product can influence, like revenue growth or cost savings
Economic Buyer: The person with the budget authority or the final decision-maker
Decision Criteria: The specific criteria or features the buyer is looking for in a solution
Decision Process: The steps the buyer’s organisation follows to make a purchasing decision
Identify Pain: The specific challenges or issues the prospect faces that your product can address
Champion: An internal advocate within the prospect’s organisation who supports your solution
Competition): The competing solutions or vendors being considered by the buyer
MEDDIC was created in the 1990s by Dick Dunkel and Jack Napoli at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where it helped drive significant sales growth.
MEDDIC emphasises identifying and qualifying leads. It is highly structured, making it easy to track and maintain consistency, which helps reps to qualify leads and save time. However, it puts little emphasis on building rapport with potential customers.
Best for: enterprise sales or industries with long, complex sales cycles and larger deals. In particular software and technology sales.
3. SPIN – Acronym for Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff – designed to guide prospects through their issues and highlight value in the product or service
Situation: Understand the prospect’s current situation
Problem: Identify and define the problems or pain points the prospect is experiencing
Implication: Explore the consequences of the identified problems, helping prospects understand the impact of not solving them
Need-Payoff: Lead the prospect to see the benefits of addressing the problem, creating a logical need for your solution
SPIN Selling was introduced in the 1980s by Neil Rackham through his company, Huthwaite International. It was based on extensive research into successful sales techniques and involved analysing over 35,000 sales calls.
SPIN builds trust by emphasising an understanding of the prospect’s situation before making an offer. It requires skilled questioning; otherwise, it can feel mechanical if not done naturally, which can be challenging for less experienced reps.
Best for: complex buying processes, especially for products that require multiple stakeholders' buy-in. Ideal for companies selling high-ticket items where customers need to understand ROI.
4. Sandler System – Emphasises building trust by exploring the prospect’s pain points and decision-making process, then empowering the prospect to decide on their own. Developed by David Sandler in 1967, this system is designed to empower salespeople by teaching them how to build trust and effectively guide prospects toward self-discovery of their needs. Sandler has grown to offer sales training based on this methodology worldwide.
Sandler encourages transparency, which can shorten sales cycles, and lessens pressure by placing the decision in the prospect’s hands. However, can be time-consuming and it requires the buyer to drive the agenda.
Best for: Businesses with longer sales cycles where relationship-building is essential, such as financial services or consulting.
5. Target Account Sales (TAS) – Strategic approach to key account sales that prioritises and adapts the sales process to the prospect’s individual needs. Focuses on higher value, top priority opportunities. TAS was formalised by Sales Performance International (SPI) in the 1990s, focusing on account-based selling strategies that prioritise high-value accounts.
TAS maximises sales potential by focusing on high-value clients, allowing reps to develop a deep understanding of key accounts’ needs. However, this methodology is not scalable for smaller deals and requires extensive knowledge to be built up through research and communication, which can be time consuming.
Best for: Enterprise sales, where higher customer lifetime value justifies a more intensive/costly approach.
What sales models should I use for faster sales cycles and more straightforward products and services?
1. BANT – Acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. A qualification methodology to determine whether a lead is worth pursuing
Budget: does the prospect have the budget to purchase your product or service
Authority: is the prospect the decision-maker, or do they have influence over the decision
Need: does the prospect have a genuine need that your product or service can fulfil
Timeline: is there a defined timeline for when the prospect plans to decide
BANT was developed by IBM in the 1960s as a simple framework for quickly qualifying leads.
BANT can help sales reps quickly qualify leads, helping them to focus on genuine opportunities. Given its formulaic nature, it is also relatively easy to implement, even with junior teams. However, as a methodology it can be quite rigid – focusing on tangible indicators like budget and authority can mean you miss out on long-term opportunities. It may also fall short when prospect decision-making is complex, or there is no defined timeline.
Best for: transactional sales with shorter cycles, particularly where reps must process and qualify leads at scale – for example where the product or service is relatively straightforward.
2. Inbound Sales – Focuses on guiding the prospective customer through their own buying journey, with the rep acting as an advisor. Inbound Selling grew out of the Inbound Marketing movement pioneered by HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in the 2000s. It is heavily influenced by content-driven lead generation and digital marketing.
Inbound sales build rapport with the prospect, providing a comfortable buying journey. However, it can be less effective if prospects are passive or undecided as to whether they need the product or service. Inbound sales also rely heavily on effective marketing, which can be resource intensive given the volume of content required and number of events that the sales team are required to attend.
Best for: companies with strong inbound lead generation strategies, where buyers can educate themselves about the product or service through content.
3. Challenger Sales – Uses industry and company insights and knowledge to challenge prospects’ current way of thinking and offer new perspectives on what they need. The Challenger Sale was developed by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of CEB (now part of Gartner) in the late 2000s. It emerged from research identifying that top-performing reps challenged customers’ assumptions.
Challenger sales can often close deals faster and can quickly build credibility and authority. However, it requires reps to be well versed in the industry and comfortable to push back on prospects (diplomatically, of course!).
Best for: highly competitive or fast-paced industries. Particularly where prospects do not realise they have a problem or need a new approach.
There’s no ‘one size fits all’
The optimal sales methodology depends on a wide range of factors, including product complexity, customer type, sales cycle length, and industry dynamics. There is no hard-and-fast rule as which methodology is best, but generally having something in place – and a team that’s trained on it – is better than nothing at all. These methodologies are distinct from other decisions that Commercial leaders need to make about team structures and in-person versus remote selling.
While having a clearly defined and well documented sales approach will help both value protection and value creation, it’s one of many factors that contribute to a successful go-to-market strategy.
If you’d like to discuss how different B2B sales models can improve your go-to-market performance, please contact us.
All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.