The methodology
The Deal Management approach.
Deal Management is criteria, not stages. It forces truth into the open by measuring readiness, not motion.
It works inside the sales process and methodology you already have. New to the idea? Start with what Deal Management is.
The six criteria of all deals
Every deal has the same six conditions. If one is weak, risk shows up later as a "surprise" slip, stall or loss.
- 01Current StateDo we have a defensible baseline: what's happening today, how big is it, and what does it cost in dollars, hours, risk, churn, cycle time or missed revenue?
- 02Desired Future StateDo we have clear outcomes and measurable success, not feature wants? Can the buyer describe what "better" looks like in their language?
- 03Change JustificationIs the why strong enough to win prioritization, survive scrutiny and create decision confidence? Not just pain, but cost of inaction, value and risk.
- 04StakeholdersDo we have the right people involved, aligned and moving together, including the people who feel the pain, own the criteria and approve spend?
- 05Buying ProcessDo we know how the business really buys, including steps, approvals, paperwork and timing, or are we guessing and hoping?
- 06CompetitionDo we know what we're up against, including doing nothing, and do we have a clear reason we win that maps to what the buyer cares about?
Color coding is your blind spot detector
Grade the truth of each criterion so you can see, at a glance, what's real, what's assumed, what's missing and where risk lives.
Obvious missing data. You cannot responsibly defend it.
Some information exists, but it's assumption, not validated. This is also where known misalignment lives: you can still win, but you're naming what could bite you.
Defensible with facts, names, dates, numbers, documents or explicit customer confirmation.
Operating rhythm
The operating rhythm is what makes it real
A framework without an operating rhythm is just theory. The system works because you run it consistently.
Seller rhythm
- Run a daily deal review
- Color code with honesty
- Pick one needle-moving action
- Prep for every deal conversation with clarity, risks, a plan and asks
- Forecast with evidence, not optimism
- Reflect after meaningful calls so learning compounds
- Scrub the pipeline weekly so zombie deals don't eat your time or forecast
Leader rhythm
- Create an environment where truth is safe
- Turn assumptions into facts
- Help sellers build plans instead of stories
- Run core meetings the right way: 1:1s, deal reviews, forecast calls, QBRs and team meetings
- Less chaos, more clarity
- Less opinion, more evidence
- Fewer random actions, more leverage
Bring your methodology, or don't
If your team already runs MEDDIC, MEDDICC, MEDDPICC, BANT, SPIN or something homegrown, great. We work inside what you already use and make it operable:
- 01Translate your definitions into evidence standards
- 02Add color coding so risk is visible
- 03Install plays so teams know what to do when something is yellow or red
- 04Build a leader rhythm so coaching is consistent and forecasting is defensible
And if you don't have a methodology that holds up in the messy middle, we can install an overarching Deal Management system that does, without turning your team into process robots.
"The job is not to be perfect.
The job is to be intentional."
David Weiss, Deal Management