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How do you pick the right play?Which plays move Identify Pain?Which plays move Metrics?Which plays move Decision Criteria?Which plays move Competition?Which plays move Champion?Which plays move Economic Buyer?Which plays move Decision Process?Which plays move Paper Process?Which negotiation plays protect the deal at the end?Every MEDDPICC play at a glance FAQA rep color-codes the deal. Metrics is red. The manager says, "Go get more info." The rep comes back with the same red.
"Go get more info" isn't a plan. It's a hope.
A play has a name, a stage, steps and a finish line. Metrics red in Discovery? Run the Back of the Napkin Play. Paper just went out? Run the Legal and Procurement Alignment Play. Everyone knows what that means and what done looks like.
When I list the fixes for a failing MEDDPICC rollout, this is one of them: give reps a playbook, so when there's a gap in a letter, everyone knows the play to run.
Below are the 50 plays from my Sales Plays series, mapped to the letter each one moves, in order of operations. New to the framework? Start with the complete MEDDPICC guide.
How do you pick the right play?
Don't run 50 plays. Run the right one.
- Color-code the deal first. Red means we don't know. Yellow means we think we know. Green means we know, and we can prove it with the buyer's names, dates, numbers and documents. Use the color-coding cheat sheet.
- Check the stage. Red Paper Process on your second call is normal. Red Paper Process in commit is a problem. The MEDDPICC sales stages guide shows what should be green when.
- Find the earliest gap in the order of operations. Identify Pain, Metrics, Decision Criteria, Competition, Champion, Economic Buyer, Decision Process, Paper Process. Reds and yellows early in that order usually cause the biggest problems later.
- Pick one play for that gap. Put it on the calendar with a date.
- Re-grade after you run it. Did the color move? If not, the play didn't land, or the real gap sits further left.
Stuck? Go backward, sometimes all the way to the start. Fix the foundation and the deal often unsticks itself.
One gap. One play. One date. Then re-grade.
Which plays move Identify Pain?
Red or yellow sounds like: "We have a pipeline problem." "We need visibility." Maybe true, not usable. Yellow is a problem never connected to the bigger picture, or a current state told by one person. See Identify Pain.
The Account Planning Play · Discovery, at the start of every pursuit · Watch
Map every department your solution touches, break each into buckets (economic buyer, executive sponsor, problem owners, technical buyers, end users), label behavior on every name, and write how you'll engage each one. Done means every seat named, a behavior on every name, a next action on every row.
The Persona Pain Mapping Play · Prep before discovery · Watch
For every stakeholder group, by level and function, write the problem you solve for them and a sequenced set of open and closed questions. Script a path, not a pitch.
The Face of Discovery Play · Early discovery, and with every new stakeholder
Replace "what challenges are you facing?" with homework: a three-to-five-bullet hypothesis of what one person cares about, on a slide with their picture. "I might be wrong on some of this. Can you correct me?" The corrections are the discovery.
The Peel the Onion Play · Every discovery conversation
When they name a problem, don't move on. Ask about consequence (then what?), meaning and reach (why does that matter, who else does it impact?) and motivation (what happens if you don't fix it?) until a number appears.
Video · Sales Plays: Current State
The Peel the Onion Play: Sales Discovery Questions That Find Pain · David Weiss on YouTube
An auto body chain once told me they had over a hundred technician roles open. I kept asking why it mattered until we got to about $100,000 per open role, per month. A $120 million problem every year. We closed in under two months.
The Amygdala Trigger Play · Before you sell anything · Watch
Three slides: market forces driving change, their executive priorities, and the internal challenges their people told you about. Connect the threat to their goals before you show any future state. Retrigger it every meeting, because urgency decays.
The Faces of Impact Play · Mid to late deal, carrying into Business Alignment · Watch
Interview a cross-section of people and give each a slide with their headshot, problems, metrics and a quote. Then put it in front of executives. I won a $3.6 million deal with this play when leadership doubted how severe the problem was.
The End User Interview Play · When director-level contacts are sold but executives aren't moving · Watch
Get introduced to the teams who live the pain. Ask everyone the same questions, collect quotes, examples and metrics, and package a story the middle of the business can carry upward. You can't close through end users. You can win because of them.
The Value Pyramid Play · Business Alignment · Watch
Four levels: operational pain, functional impact, strategic consequence, big-picture gain. Bring it partially built and let the buyer challenge it. If a level doesn't connect to the one below, you've found your gap.
Which plays move Metrics?
Red or yellow sounds like: the buyer shrugs, "I don't know." Or the field holds a benchmark from your case study, or a number one contact threw out on call one. Green means the Executive Sponsor and Economic Buyer agreed the business case. See Metrics and the business case template.
The Back of the Napkin Play · Discovery · Watch
When they can't quantify it, offer a number: "For many companies like yours, it's around X. Does that sound unreasonable?" Add it up before the demo and ask them to validate it with others. Napkin math is enough to leave Discovery at yellow.
The Good Questions, Wrong People Play · Discovery · Watch
At the ceiling of your contact's knowledge, ask the strategic question anyway: the cost, the impact on the plan. Then, "Who do you think would know?" How they handle it tells you if they can mobilize others.
The Cost of Delay Play · Business Alignment, explicit before Go / No Go · Watch
Ask, "If we do nothing for 90 days, what gets worse?" Then stop talking. Quantify it in their language, project it forward, and tie it to their goals and a real event like a board meeting. Make delay more expensive than action. See cost of inaction.
The Business Case One-Pager Play · Business Alignment, drives Go / No Go · Watch
One page: pain and cost of inaction, outcomes and impact, who benefits, why now, and the decision required. Your champion edits it, the sponsor gets it as a pre-read, and it becomes page one of your proposal. If it can't travel without you, it isn't finished.
The PRFAQ Play · Business Alignment and Go / No Go · Watch
I learned this play from Brandon Fluharty. Write the internal announcement as if the change already worked (situation, action, result, in their numbers) plus an FAQ: why now, what if we wait, what's the risk. Invite the red pen, then give it to your sponsor as an artifact for the Economic Buyer. See PRFAQ in sales.
Also moves Metrics: Hidden Impact (under Competition) and Daily Lost Revenue (under Decision Process).
Which plays move Decision Criteria?
Red or yellow sounds like: "We want better reporting." Or a secondhand goal: "They said faster is the goal." Green is shaped criteria, locked in writing, that favor you, by the end of Solution Alignment. See Decision Criteria.
The Reverse RFP Scorecard Play · Demo, before someone else locks the criteria
A spreadsheet the buyer uses to compare every option: problems down the left, criteria across the top, need-to-have and nice-to-have columns, a simple scoring model. Word criteria to highlight your differentiation but keep them fair. The more they edit it, the more they own it.
Video · Sales Plays: Desired Future State
The Reverse RFP Scorecard Play: Stop Looking Like Every Vendor · David Weiss on YouTube
The Cinematic Demo Play · Demo · Watch
Three-to-five-minute mini movies, each tied to one need and one outcome. Tell, show, tell, then ask, "What would this change for you?" End by proposing the scorecard.
The Criteria Disruption Play · Through Demo, as early as possible · Watch
Treat predefined RFP criteria like a competitor wrote them. Get a review session, expand definitions ("Just X, or also Y and Z?"), suggest missing criteria tied to real problems, and have them rank need versus nice. Can't shape it? Consider a no-bid.
The High Contrast Play · Solution Alignment, finalist demo · Watch
Confirm the must-haves in writing and show only those, one at a time. Ask how each compares and have the team score as you go, then share scores. Now the decision is written down, not remembered.
Also moves Decision Criteria: Why Us and Side by Side (under Competition).
Which plays move Competition?
Red or yellow sounds like: "They seem to like us." "They hate their current provider." "I think we're the front runner." Remember the four competitors: status quo, named vendors, build versus buy, and other priorities. See Competition.
The Disrupt the Status Quo Play · Early, especially outbound
Interview end users of the current solution, find the key deficiency, quantify it, tie it to a business goal, and take it to an executive who can sponsor an evaluation. Don't pitch why us yet. Win why change first.
Video · Sales Plays: Competition
The Disrupt the Status Quo Play: Beat No Decision in B2B Sales · David Weiss on YouTube
The Options to Solve Play · Early, often in your first pitch deck · Watch
One slide with every legitimate path (status quo, build, buy software, outsource) against cost, time to value, maintenance, quality, risk and internal load. Keep it fair. Let the buyer choose the category, then move to why us.
The Put Them in a Box Play · The moment a competitor is named · Watch
Acknowledge them, describe their box factually, describe the buyer's needs, then your box: "Our clients look like you." No bashing. Flows straight into Planting Land Mines.
The Planting Land Mines Play · During evaluation, once criteria are forming · Watch
Find where a competitor is weak against the buyer's criteria, prove how you handle it, then: "Next time you talk to them, ask how they handle that." The buyer finds the gap, so they believe it.
The Side by Side Play · Solution Alignment, and again in negotiation · Watch
A comparison matrix built on their decision criteria, not your feature list. Walk it row by row when they say "you all look the same" or ask for a discount. Anchor on the two or three criteria that weigh heaviest.
The De-position Play · When a narrower, cheaper option enters · Watch
Acknowledge why they're on the list, name the slice they solve, show the problems still left, and expand to the bigger issue leadership cares about. It worked when the talk moves from price to scope.
The Hidden Impact Play · When a lower-cost alternative or cost-cutting threatens the deal · Watch
Map each component to the outcome it drives in the agreed business case, remove what the cheaper option can't deliver, recalculate, and put the two returns side by side. Cheaper isn't cheaper if it solves less.
The Fault Line Strike Play · Territory level, when a competitor stumbles · Watch
A breach, bad press or a product gap customers feel opens a window. Put reps, marketing and messaging on the affected territories and move before they close the gap. Stay on public facts.
The Why Us Play · Solution Alignment · Watch
Write why you in the buyer's language: the agreed problem, the must-haves, the outcomes you uniquely deliver. Your champion corrects it, then the buying team agrees. Lead with it before they've agreed to change and you lose to "not a priority." See the three whys.
Which plays move Champion?
Red or yellow sounds like: "They're really bought in." That's a feeling, not evidence. Red is a contact or a coach. A champion has access to power, sells when you're not there, and has been tested. See Champion.
The Intentional Champion Builder Play · Start early, expect results around Solution Alignment
Find the right power level, usually a direct report of the decision maker. Meet one-on-one, set recurring working sessions on the business case and plan, then test them with asks they wouldn't do for just anyone. Ask, "What would make you uncomfortable taking this to your boss?" and solve it together.
Video · Sales Plays: Stakeholders
The Intentional Champion Builder Play: How to Build a Sales Champion · David Weiss on YouTube
The Champion Building and Testing Play · All the way to close
Arm them, then test access to power (do they get you in the right rooms early?) and selling (do they defend the initiative and co-own dates?). Someone stops being your champion the moment they fail a test.
The Top Down, Bottom Up Play · The start of every pursuit, or when only one level is engaged · Watch
Work executives and end users at the same time, then target the middle with truth from the bottom and priorities from the top. When you get sent down, agree up front to come back: "Can we hold 20 minutes for that now?"
Also builds champions: Account Planning (under Identify Pain) and Surround the Castle (under Economic Buyer).
Which plays move Economic Buyer?
Red or yellow sounds like: "I know who signs." "My contact says the VP has budget." A name without sponsorship is yellow. The Economic Buyer controls funding, the Executive Sponsor controls priority, and green needs both. See Economic Buyer and how to earn an executive sponsor.
The Fast Track to Executive Sponsor Play · As soon as you have a directional business case · Watch
Tell your champion first, then send the likely sponsor a short note praising their team and offering a review of the business case against their priorities. Position it as respect. Ask what's missing and build it in.
The Executive Alignment Play · Mid-cycle, once qualified · Watch
Match one of your executives to the likely sponsor, peer to peer. Brief them, write the note, call it a standard step, and keep them talking at each milestone. Early it's alignment. Late it looks like a tactic.
The Executive Business Case Review Play · Business Alignment, mid-cycle
Your champion has to tell their executives their own house is a wreck. Take that risk off them: build the one-pager together, brief a peer executive of yours, ghostwrite their note, and let the buyer's executive challenge the case early.
The Circle of Leverage Play · A strong reason but no door, or access but a stalled deal · Watch
One short email to several senior leaders the problem touches, the value for each by name, and an invitation to pressure test it. Earn it with real homework first. One I sent to a CFO, COO and CHRO led to a $9 million deal in under two months.
The Surround the Castle Play · Before you reach out to the champion or sponsor · Watch
List who influences your likely champion and Economic Buyer (reports, peers, board members, executives at your customers), talk to them, and warm the account with targeted ads. Anywhere they turn, they hear your name.
The Shared Connections Play · To get in, and every time you need a new stakeholder · Watch
Find overlap across your whole company, investors, customers and partners, then ask for an intro tied to a specific reason. Write the note for them so yes takes ten seconds.
The Strategic Gifting Play · Top-tier accounts · Watch
A personal, relevant gift (no logos), a short business case, a handwritten note that connects the dots, then a follow-up with proof points. It helped one of my teams close over $12 million in a year. Check gift policies first.
Which plays move Decision Process?
Red or yellow sounds like: "They asked for a proposal." "They said decisions are fast." Businesses don't buy when they're excited. They buy when their internal process is complete. See Decision Process.
The Backward Timeline Play · Start at implementation questions, drafted by Solution Alignment
Start with the date they care about and work backwards through implementation, contracting, security and onboarding. Do the math out loud, map business and paper steps with owners and dates, and turn it into your mutual action plan. Build it with them, not for them.
Video · Sales Plays: Buying Process
The Backward Timeline Play: Build a Mutual Action Plan That Holds · David Weiss on YouTube
The Expedition Synchronization Play · Right after the first meeting · Watch
One slide showing how deals like this usually get bought: stages, critical actions, who's involved. Present it as guidance and let them reframe it. Now meeting the CFO isn't going over anyone's head. It's the next step on a map they agreed to.
The Priority Alignment Play · As soon as there's real interest, before you forecast a date · Watch
Ask plainly: "How does this compare to other priorities on your plate? What could bump it down?" Top priority? Run the Backward Timeline. If not, ask what would need to change. Interest isn't urgency.
The Strategic Trigger Play · Research before the first meeting · Watch
Find a compelling event the buyer recognizes: a launch, fiscal year end, regulatory deadline. None? Attach to another initiative. Then tie the cost of delay to it. Your quarter end is not their compelling event.
The Daily Lost Revenue Play · Once there's an agreed business value · Watch
Divide the agreed annual value by 250 working days. A million a year is $4,000 lost every day. Get agreement, then name the cost of every slip. It doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to be agreeable.
The Live Weekly Progress Check-In Play · Every week from mutual action plan to signature · Watch
Fifteen to 30 minutes, live, late in the week: completed steps, blockers, next actions, owners, dates. If they won't give you 30 minutes a week, you've learned something about priority.
The Path Well Traveled Play · Early, in discovery · Watch
Find what this buyer bought recently and interview the seller who closed it: who was involved, how long it took, what objections came up. Follow that route and reality check your close date.
Which plays move Paper Process?
Red or yellow sounds like: "We're in legal review, and they said we should get redlines soon." You're in the lane, driving without a map. See Paper Process and MEDDPICC and procurement.
The Fast Track to Procurement Play · Any time price comes up before procurement is involved · Watch
"Happy to discuss. That normally happens when people are ready to move forward. Is that where we are?" If no, refocus on fit. If yes, get procurement involved so you see every ask at once. It's a test, not a tactic.
The Expedited Procurement Process Play · Your first procurement call, before redlines · Watch
Walk procurement through a commercial brief: the business case, the criteria, why you were selected, the timeline and the cost of delay. Have your sponsor open the call. Ask for their process and one consolidated list of changes. Don't negotiate on this call.
The Legal and Procurement Alignment Play · The moment paper goes out · Watch
Map the redline process, hunt for deal breakers ("Any terms other vendors have pushed back on?"), lock dates, and map who signs. My biggest deal, $30 million, died on an unlimited liability clause. I never asked the question that would have found it early.
The Executive Pressure Play · When procurement stalls or overreaches · Watch
Agree early that your sponsor will step in if things drift. When it stalls, name the delay and its impact, and ask for advice, not a specific action. Write every word like procurement will read it. Escalate early. In the last week it reads like panic.
Which negotiation plays protect the deal at the end?
If you ran a good process, procurement shows up after the business already chose you. Their job is the best terms. Yours is keeping the margin you earned. Close one in five deals, and every dollar you give away needs five more in pipeline to replace it.
The Give to Get Play · The first concession request, and every one after
Before you negotiate, pair what you can give with what you want to get: a discount for a longer term, more scope, earlier payment or references. Offer options, not a single yes. Trade, don't give.
Video · Sales Plays: Negotiation
The Give to Get Play: Trade Every Concession, Even at Quarter End · David Weiss on YouTube
The Holistic Terms Play · The first concession request, at the end of the buying process · Watch
Commit to nothing yet. Get every change in writing, confirm it's the complete list, and respond with one bundle: "We can move on A and B if we land C and D." Late asks reopen everything.
The Willing to Walk Play · When you've given enough and they still push · Watch
Set your deal breakers beforehand. When you hit one: "This is our final offer. Beyond this, we'd have to walk away." Then stop talking. Once you say final, don't move.
Pair them with Executive Pressure and Side by Side from above, and with the counters from my Anti-Procurement Training:
- Lowball anchor. Reposition your value, tie any discount to the growth they promised, and re-anchor at your price. (Watch)
- Competitor as stalking horse. Confirm with your champion, show differentiators side by side, and reinforce ROI. (Watch)
- Price focus. Refocus on the business case, offer to remove scope and name the ROI hit, then say no. (Watch)
- Delay and good cop, bad cop. Own the timeline and hold your ground. (Watch)
- Month-end ask. Set boundaries early so a late ask is visibly off the list. (Watch)
- Quarter end. Change the shape of the deal, like billing, instead of the price.
Say no sooner and watch the deal get done. (The Power of No)
Every MEDDPICC play at a glance
| Play | Letter it moves | Stage | Criterion playlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Planning | Identify Pain, Champion | Discovery | Current State |
| Persona Pain Mapping | Identify Pain | Pre-discovery | Current State |
| Face of Discovery | Identify Pain | Discovery | Current State |
| Peel the Onion | Identify Pain, Metrics | Discovery | Current State |
| Amygdala Trigger | Identify Pain | Discovery, before pitching | Current State |
| Faces of Impact | Identify Pain | Mid to late, Business Alignment | Current State |
| End User Interview | Identify Pain | When executives aren't moving | Stakeholders |
| Value Pyramid | Identify Pain, Metrics | Business Alignment | Change Justification |
| Back of the Napkin | Metrics | Discovery | Current State |
| Good Questions, Wrong People | Metrics, Champion | Discovery | Current State |
| Cost of Delay | Metrics, Decision Process | Business Alignment | Change Justification |
| Business Case One-Pager | Metrics, Economic Buyer | Business Alignment, Go / No Go | Change Justification |
| PRFAQ | Metrics, Economic Buyer | Business Alignment, Go / No Go | Change Justification |
| Reverse RFP Scorecard | Decision Criteria | Demo | Desired Future State |
| Cinematic Demo | Decision Criteria | Demo | Desired Future State |
| Criteria Disruption | Decision Criteria | Through Demo | Desired Future State |
| High Contrast | Decision Criteria, Competition | Solution Alignment | Desired Future State |
| Disrupt the Status Quo | Competition | Early, outbound | Competition |
| Options to Solve | Competition | Early | Competition |
| Put Them in a Box | Competition | When a competitor is named | Competition |
| Planting Land Mines | Competition | During evaluation | Competition |
| Side by Side | Competition, Decision Criteria | Solution Alignment, Negotiation | Competition |
| De-position | Competition | When a cheaper option enters | Competition |
| Hidden Impact | Competition, Metrics | When price threatens | Change Justification |
| Fault Line Strike | Competition | Territory level | Competition |
| Why Us | Competition, Decision Criteria | Solution Alignment | Competition |
| Intentional Champion Builder | Champion | Early through Solution Alignment | Stakeholders |
| Champion Building and Testing | Champion | Through close | Stakeholders |
| Top Down, Bottom Up | Champion | Start of pursuit | Stakeholders |
| Fast Track to Executive Sponsor | Economic Buyer | Directional business case | Stakeholders |
| Executive Alignment | Economic Buyer | Mid-cycle | Stakeholders |
| Executive Business Case Review | Economic Buyer, Metrics | Business Alignment | Change Justification |
| Circle of Leverage | Economic Buyer | No access, or stalled | Stakeholders |
| Surround the Castle | Economic Buyer, Champion | Before outreach | Stakeholders |
| Shared Connections | Economic Buyer | Entry and throughout | Stakeholders |
| Strategic Gifting | Economic Buyer | Top accounts, prospecting | Stakeholders |
| Backward Timeline | Decision Process | Drafted by Solution Alignment | Buying Process |
| Expedition Synchronization | Decision Process, Champion | After first meeting | Buying Process |
| Priority Alignment | Decision Process | Real interest, before forecasting | Buying Process |
| Strategic Trigger | Decision Process | Before first meeting | Buying Process |
| Daily Lost Revenue | Decision Process, Metrics | Agreed business value | Buying Process |
| Live Weekly Progress Check-In | Decision Process | MAP to signature | Buying Process |
| Path Well Traveled | Decision Process, Champion | Discovery | Stakeholders |
| Fast Track to Procurement | Paper Process | Price comes up early | Buying Process |
| Expedited Procurement Process | Paper Process | Before redlines | Buying Process |
| Legal and Procurement Alignment | Paper Process | Paper goes out | Buying Process |
| Executive Pressure | Paper Process | Procurement stalls | Buying Process |
| Give to Get | Paper Process (negotiation) | First concession | Negotiation |
| Holistic Terms | Paper Process (negotiation) | First concession | Negotiation |
| Willing to Walk | Paper Process (negotiation) | Final offer | Negotiation |