Discovery and Qualification

Discovery is finding out whether a real, important, funded problem exists that the owner can solve, and how this buyer will decide. Qualification is being honest about the answer. You plan discovery, read the evidence from calls and emails, score the deal element by element, and say what is still unknown. The standard: a score is only as high as the evidence from the buyer behind it, "unknown" is never recorded as "yes", and a deal that cannot be won is closed early and politely.

When to use

• "How qualified is the Northgate deal really?"
• "Score our open deals with MEDDICC."
• "What should I ask in the second call?"
• "Should we move Acme to proposal?"
• "This deal has been in discovery for two months; what's missing?"
• After any discovery call, to turn notes into a scorecard and CRM update.

What you need

• Call notes or transcripts (recorded only with the participants' consent), the email thread, and the CRM record with stage and contacts. From the connected CRM and mailbox, or files from the owner.
• The account brief and the ICP, so you can judge fit.
• The owner's stage definitions and any minimum scores per stage. If none exist, propose the defaults in references/meddpicc-scorecard.md, get the owner's agreement once, and save them in memory.
• The deal size and the number of people involved, to choose the framework.

Method

1. Pick the framework.
   • MEDDPICC for deals with several people involved, a formal buying process, or a deal value the owner considers significant. Eight elements: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Paper process, Identify pain, Champion, Competition.
   • BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) as a fast filter for small, transactional deals with one decision-maker. Ask about need first. Ask about budget as a range ("Teams like yours typically spend between X and Y; is that in the right area?"), never "do you have budget?" as an opener. Let the owner set the line between them and record it in memory.
2. Use each MEDDPICC element properly.
   • Metrics: the measurable result the buyer expects, in their numbers: baseline, target, value. "Cut re-planning from 5 hours to 1 a week across 3 sites" is a metric; "save time" is not.
   • Economic buyer: the person who can release the money and say yes when others say no. Confirmed by name and role, ideally met. A title on an org chart is a guess.
   • Decision criteria: what they will judge options on, formal (technical, security, price, terms) and informal (ease, trust, who they like). Ask to see any written requirements.
   • Decision process: the steps, people and dates from now to a decision: trial, technical review, business case, approval meeting.
   • Paper process: the steps from decision to signature: legal review, security questionnaire, procurement, vendor setup, purchase order, signatories, and how long each usually takes. This is where "closing this month" deals slip.
   • Identify pain: the business problem, who feels it, what it costs, and what happens if nothing changes. Pain without consequence is an annoyance, not a reason to buy.
   • Champion: someone inside with influence and a personal stake in solving the problem, who sells for you when you are absent. A champion is tested by action: they got you a meeting with the economic buyer, shared internal information, or pushed back on a blocker. A friendly contact who does none of this is a coach at best.
   • Competition: every alternative, including other vendors, building it in-house, using the budget elsewhere, and doing nothing. "No decision" is the most common competitor.
3. Score on evidence, 0 to 3 per element.
   • 0 = unknown.
   • 1 = assumed or second-hand.
   • 2 = stated by the buyer.
   • 3 = verified (in writing, by the right person, or by an action). Every score above 0 needs a quote or a dated action with its source. Scorecard and examples: references/meddpicc-scorecard.md.
4. Identify the compelling event. A dated event with a consequence if missed: a contract ending, a regulation date, a peak season, a board deadline. "We'd like it by Q1" is a preference, not an event. No compelling event means no reliable close date; say so.
5. Find the gaps and write the next questions. For each element scored 0 or 1, write the one question that would move it, who should be asked, and in which conversation. Examples:
   • Economic buyer: "Who else will need to agree before this goes ahead? How do they usually like to see a case like this?"
   • Paper process: "Once you decide, what happens before a contract can be signed? Legal, security, procurement? How long did that take the last time you bought software?"
   • Metrics: "If this worked, what number would move, and from what to what?"
   • Champion test: "Would you be comfortable introducing us to to walk through the business case?"
6. Check the stage against buyer-verified exit criteria, not seller activity. A deal moves forward when the buyer has agreed to something: the problem matters, this solution fits, it is a priority with budget, commercial terms are agreed, the paperwork is done. See the stage table in the reference. Recommend one of:
   • Advance: exit criteria met with evidence.
   • Hold: name the missing evidence and the step that will get it.
   • Disqualify: see the next step.
7. Disqualify early and kindly when a deal lacks a real pain, a path to the economic buyer, fit with the ICP, or any timeline.
   • Suggested wording: "Being straight with you, I don't think we're the right fit right now because . If changes, I'd be glad to talk again."
   • Record a specific reason and a revisit date.
8. Write it back.
   • Draft the CRM update: scores, evidence, gaps, next step with owner and date, stage recommendation.
   • Apply it only if the owner has allowed CRM updates; otherwise put it on a show_card.
   • Offer the recap email draft (see sales-follow-up).
   • Note anything the owner must decide (a stage change on a large deal, disqualifying a known contact).

Worked example: a verdict

Northgate, after two calls. Scores: Metrics 2, Economic buyer 1, Decision criteria 2, Decision process 1, Paper process 0, Identify pain 3, Champion 2, Competition 2. Total 13 of 24.

• Weakest: Paper process 0 (never discussed) and Economic buyer 1 (COO named by the champion, not met).
• Compelling event: Leeds site doubles volume in January (stated by Priya on 2 October); a real date with a real consequence.
• Verdict: hold at "Solution agreed". Do not send a proposal yet.
• Next questions: ask Priya to introduce the COO for a 20-minute business case review (tests the champion and reaches the economic buyer); ask how their last software purchase went through legal and IT and how long it took.
• Close date: not credible inside the quarter until the paper process is mapped.

Output

• The scorecard: element, score 0 to 3, evidence with source, gap, next question, who and when.
• A three-line verdict: total score, the weakest two elements, recommendation (advance, hold, disqualify) with the reason.
• The compelling event (or "none found").
• CRM update text and, if asked, a recap draft for approval.

Checks before you finish

• No element scored above 0 without a buyer quote or a dated action and its source.
• Unknowns are 0, not 1 or 2 "because it's probably fine".
• The economic buyer is a named person, or the gap is flagged.
• The paper process is mapped, or flagged, before any close date inside 30 days is accepted.
• The recommendation follows the evidence, even when the owner hoped otherwise.

Pitfalls

• Happy ears. "They loved the demo" is not a score. What did they agree to do next?
• Mistaking a fan for a champion. Test with a request that costs them something.
• Treating MEDDPICC as a form to fill in on the call. It is a lens for listening. Run a natural conversation and score afterwards.
• Skipping the paper process. Security reviews and procurement often take weeks. Unmapped, they wreck the forecast.
• Ignoring "do nothing". If the cost of inaction is low, the status quo wins.
• Holding on. A deal with no pain and no access to power is not pipeline; it is hope. Close it with a revisit date.

See also: sales-call-prep, sales-follow-up, pipeline-review-and-forecast.