Evolving Pressures on Modern Sellers

In the high-stakes world of B2B sales, Account Executives (AEs) are under increasing pressure to deliver results. With complex buying committees, longer sales cycles, and heightened expectations for personalization, traditional sales tactics no longer suffice. To stay ahead, AEs must adopt modern sales methodologies and leverage AI-driven tools that streamline processes and enhance decision-making.

This comprehensive guide explores the best practices in sales methodologies for AEs and how modern automation and intelligence can support their execution at scale.

Understanding Modern Sales Methodologies

Sales methodologies are frameworks that help sales teams navigate complex buying processes, qualify opportunities effectively, and increase win rates. Here’s a breakdown of the most widely adopted approaches—plus how Account Executives (AEs) can apply them in their day-to-day.

1. Solution Selling

Overview: Focus on solving the customer’s unique pain points, not pitching features.

Best For:

• Customizable enterprise software
• Complex buying processes with multiple discovery calls

Seller Best Practices:

• In discovery calls, ask “What’s the cost of doing nothing?” to quantify pain.
• Tailor follow-up decks to reflect their language—use their KPIs, not yours.
• Partner with PreSales to co-create the solution narrative.

Watch Out For:

• Don’t over-index on product capabilities—stay anchored in the customer's business problem.

2. SPIN Selling

Overview: Use structured questions to guide the buyer toward realizing their own need.

Best For:

• Mid-market B2B with a discovery-driven process
• Buyers who are still defining their problem

Seller Best Practices:

• Lead with “What’s changed in your org recently?” to surface Situational context.
• Ask Implication questions like, “If this remains unresolved, what’s the impact on revenue or ops?”
• Log SPIN responses in your CRM to prep internal teams.

Watch Out For:

• Avoid sounding like you’re reading from a script. Adapt SPIN to feel conversational.

3. MEDDIC

Overview: A proven qualification system for navigating long, multi-threaded sales cycles.

Best For:

• Enterprise deals
• Cross-functional buying committees

Seller Best Practices:

• Use “Champion” criteria to test internal influence—ask: “Can you see yourself presenting this to the CFO?”
• Build your own “MEDDIC doc” for each deal—treat it like your personal checklist.
• Push for metrics in every meeting: “How do you measure success for this initiative?”

Watch Out For:

• Don’t confuse activity with progress—use MEDDIC to keep the deal moving.

4. MEDDPICC

Overview: Adds “Paper Process” and “Competition” to MEDDIC for highly regulated or competitive sales environments.

Best For:

• Highly governed orgs (finance, healthcare, enterprise IT)
• Head-to-head vendor evaluations

Seller Best Practices:

• Ask about procurement upfront: “What’s the legal and redline process look like?”
• In competitive deals, log every known vendor and your win strategy.
• Bring in enablement to create tailored value proof points—differentiate early.

Watch Out For:

• Don’t wait until late stage to uncover Paper Process—it’ll stall your deal.

5. Challenger Sale

Overview: Push the buyer to rethink their approach by offering provocative insights.

Best For:

• Markets with entrenched competition
• Selling transformation, not just tools

Seller Best Practices:

• Use “reframe decks” in early calls—teach, then tailor, then take control.
• Arm yourself with industry data: “In similar orgs, we’ve seen X% productivity loss due to Y.”
• Challenge gently: “Would it be fair to say this process is holding your team back?”

Watch Out For:

• Don’t confuse “challenger” with combative—insights must be helpful, not aggressive.

6. SNAP Selling

Overview: Cut through buyer overwhelm by being brief, valuable, and directly aligned to priorities.

Best For:

• High-velocity sales environments
• Teams selling to overwhelmed or time-constrained buyers

Seller Best Practices:

• Use a tight email format: 3 bullets on value, 1 clear CTA.
• Map your solution to the buyer’s stated goals in under 30 seconds.
• Follow up fast with recap notes—they’ll appreciate the simplicity.

Watch Out For:

• Don’t oversimplify a complex solution—SNAP works best when the value is easy to grasp.

7. Sandler Selling

Overview: A psychologically savvy method that makes the buyer “qualify themselves.”

Best For:

• Services or advisory sales
• Relationship-led, trust-intensive deals

Seller Best Practices:

• Use “reverse” questions: “That’s interesting—why now?”
• Focus on emotional cost of inaction: “How long have you been dealing with this pain?”
• Don’t be afraid to walk away—Sandler teaches disqualification is strength.

Watch Out For:

• Requires finesse. It can feel manipulative if not delivered with genuine intent.

8. BANT

Overview: A classic but simple framework to filter out non-buyers early.

Best For:

• SDR qualification
• High-velocity inbound environments

Seller Best Practices:

• Add BANT fields to your meeting notes template to reinforce structure.
• Use “What’s your timeline to decide?” instead of “Are you ready to buy?”

Watch Out For:

• Don’t use it robotically—it’s a filter, not a script.

9. CHAMP

Overview: A modern, buyer-centric version of BANT that puts “Challenges” first.

Best For:

• SaaS startups and PLG motions
• Customer-centric orgs focused on value and fit

Seller Best Practices:

• Ask: “What’s holding you back from scaling this initiative?”
• Validate Authority and Budget after you’ve uncovered a real problem.
• Use CHAMP as your pre-demo checklist.

Watch Out For:

• Don’t skip the “Prioritization” step—it tells you how urgent they really are.

Best Practices for Account Executives

• Build a personal checklist using your chosen methodology and use it in every deal review.
• Align sales collateral (e.g. one-pagers, proposals) with the qualification framework your org is adopting.
• Log buyer insights and methodology-specific fields in CRM—not just activities.
• Practice deal debriefs post-loss with your team: “Where did we skip a step?”
• Ask for enablement support to role-play methodology questions with peers.

Putting Your Framework into Action

Winning in B2B sales today means more than memorizing a framework. It means deeply understanding your buyer, staying rigorous in your qualification, and removing friction with the right tools.

Want to reinforce your methodology and automate adherence without having to transfer your notes to your CRM? Ava does this automatically, ensuring you have the most up-to-date deal review information ready (without prompting), formatted how your leadership wants it, no extra enablement.