# Sales Playbook

> Guides B2B sales teams through MEDDPICC qualification, a five-stage sales process, core metrics, and team design to build a repeatable sales engine.

- Skill: `moonklabs/sales-playbook` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add moonklabs/sales-playbook`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/moonklabs/sales-playbook/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Tags: B2b Sales, Meddpicc, Sales Metrics, Sales Process, Sales Qualification, Sales Team Design
- Author: moonklabs (https://skillmd.com/u/moonklabs)
- Updated: 2026-08-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/moonklabs/sales-playbook

---


# Sales Playbook

> For unfamiliar placeholders or connected tools, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md).

B2B sales playbook. MEDDPICC methodology, Discovery → Close 5-stage process, core metrics, and team design to build repeatable, predictable sales engine.

## How It Works

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      SALES PLAYBOOK FRAMEWORK                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Core Features (Standalone)                                      │
│  ✓ MEDDPICC 7 qualification criteria                            │
│  ✓ Discovery → Demo → Proposal → Negotiation → Close 5-stage   │
│  ✓ Sales metrics benchmark (Win Rate, Sales Cycle, ACV)         │
│  ✓ Sales team design (SDR/BDR, AE, CSM roles)                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Enhanced Mode (with tool connections)                           │
│  + ~~CRM: Pipeline analysis, Win/Loss patterns                  │
│  + ~~calendar: Meeting scheduling, Sales Cycle tracking         │
│  + ~~email: Outreach sequences, auto follow-up                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## Getting Started

1. **Qualification**: "Use MEDDPICC to validate this deal"
2. **Sales Process**: "Help me prepare Discovery meeting"
3. **Team Design**: "How should we structure sales?"
4. **Metrics**: "Is our Win Rate normal?"

## Sales Philosophy

### Core Principles

1. **Problem Solver, Not Product Pusher**
   - Not: "Our product is the best"
   - But: "Here's how we solve your problem"

2. **Sell Results, Not Features**
   - Not: "AI-powered features"
   - But: "30% sales productivity increase"

3. **Repeatable Process, Not Luck**
   - Standardize top performer methods
   - Remove hero-dependent sales

4. **Data-Based Forecast, Not Wishful**
   - "Hopeful pipeline" is fantasy
   - Track, predict, execute

---

## MEDDPICC Methodology

### Overview

**MEDDPICC**: 7 qualification criteria. All met = 70%+ Win Rate

```
M - Metrics (Target numbers)
E - Economic Buyer (Final decision authority)
D - Decision Criteria (How they evaluate)
D - Decision Process (Steps to buy)
P - Identify Pain (Core problems)
C - Champion (Internal advocate)
C - Competition (What else they consider)
```

### M - Metrics (Targets)

**Definition**: Quantitative goal customer wants to achieve

**Questions**:
- "What's your current [metric]?"
- "What's your target?"
- "What does closing this gap mean?"

**Example**:
- Current: 100 deals/month, 15% win rate
- Target: 200 deals/month, 25% win rate
- Impact: ₩20B additional revenue/year

**Red Flag**:
- ❌ No quantitative goal ("just improve")
- ❌ Vague target ("be more efficient")
- ❌ Unmeasurable ("feel better")

### E - Economic Buyer (Final Authority)

**Definition**: Budget owner. The "yes" or "no" person.

**Questions**:
- "Who approves this budget?"
- "Does CFO get involved?"
- "What's the approval process?"

**Decision Authority Levels**:
| Role | Authority | Budget | Contact |
|------|-----------|--------|---------|
| **End User** | Uses it | $0 | Initial |
| **Manager** | Recommends | <$10K | Influencer |
| **Director** | Approves | $10-100K | Champion candidate |
| **VP/C-level** | Final yes/no | $100K+ | Executive brief |

**Strategy**:
- **Multi-threading**: Reach multiple levels
- **Early EB Contact**: Align early
- **Champion Helps**: Facilitate EB meeting

**Red Flag**:
- ❌ Haven't met Economic Buyer
- ❌ "Team lead decides" (but CFO actually does)
- ❌ EB uninterested

### D - Decision Criteria (Evaluation Basis)

**Definition**: How they decide between options

**Questions**:
- "What's your selection criteria?"
- "How much weight each?"
- "Must-have vs nice-to-have?"

**Typical Criteria**:
1. Feature fit (30%)
2. Price (25%)
3. Integration ease (15%)
4. Vendor trust (15%)
5. Support (10%)
6. Implementation time (5%)

**Strategy**:
- **Emphasize Our Strengths**: Feature fit (30%), make it criteria
- **Downplay Weaknesses**: Price (25%), show ROI instead

### D - Decision Process (Steps)

**Definition**: Buying process stages, timeline, participants

**Questions**:
- "What's your buying process?"
- "Each step takes how long?"
- "Who's involved?"

**Typical Process**:
```
1. Requirements (2 weeks) - End users, Manager
2. Vendor Eval (4 weeks) - Demo, POC; Manager, Director
3. Pricing/Negotiation (2 weeks) - Procurement, CFO
4. Legal Review (2 weeks) - Legal, Security
5. Final Approval (1 week) - C-level
6. Procurement (1 week) - PO issue

Total: 12 weeks (3 months)
```

**Strategy**:
- **Reverse-Plan**: Close goal - 12 weeks = start date
- **Track Milestones**: Each stage completed?
- **Remove Blockers Early**: Legal, Security issues

**Red Flag**:
- ❌ Unknowns: Legal, Security, Procurement steps
- ❌ Summer/year-end: Decision delays (vacations, budgets)
- ❌ Sudden halt: Priority shift, budget freeze

### P - Identify Pain (Core Problem)

**Definition**: Customer's underlying problem to solve

**Pain Hierarchy** (3 Levels):
1. **Symptom**: "CRM is inconvenient"
2. **Root Cause**: "Sales team avoids data entry"
3. **Business Impact**: "No accurate forecast → CFO upset"

**3 Why Questions**:
1. "What problem do you have?" → "CRM inconvenient"
2. "Why is that a problem?" → "Sales won't enter data"
3. "What happens if not solved?" → "Forecast wrong → investment plan fails"

**Pain Strength**:
- **Critical**: Must fix now (business at risk)
- **High**: Fix in 3 months
- **Medium**: Fix in 6 months
- **Low**: "Nice to have" (no purchase)

**Red Flag**:
- ❌ Weak pain ("would be nice")
- ❌ Unknown cost (don't know damage)
- ❌ Alternatives exist (Excel works)

### C - Champion (Internal Advocate)

**Definition**: Person inside pushing our solution

**Characteristics**:
- Our success = their benefit (promotion, KPI)
- Understands politics
- Accesses Economic Buyer
- Shares competitive intel

**Champion vs Contact**:
| Champion | Contact |
|----------|---------|
| Pushes actively | Gathers info |
| Understands politics | Neutral |
| Connects to EB | Reports only |
| Takes risks | Safe position |

**Cultivate Champion**:
- Provide ROI calculation (for their pitch)
- Internal deck (for their presentation)
- Success stories (proof)
- Executive brief (help close EB)

**Red Flag**:
- ❌ No champion
- ❌ Champion lacks influence (intern)
- ❌ Champion doesn't believe in us

### C - Competition (Alternatives)

**Definition**: What else they're considering

**Types**:
1. **Direct**: Same category (Salesforce, HubSpot)
2. **Indirect**: Different way (Excel, custom)
3. **Status Quo**: Do nothing

**Questions**:
- "Looking at other solutions?"
- "How are you currently doing this?"
- "Compare pros/cons?"

**Response**:
```markdown
## Competition
- **Vendor A**: Market leader, expensive
  - Strength: Brand, features
  - Weakness: $300/user (3x us)
  - Our counter: "Same value, 1/3 price"

- **Status Quo (Excel)**: Free
  - Weakness: Manual, error-prone
  - Our counter: "ROI: 500h saved = $50K/year"
```

**Strategy**:
- Use battlecard (see competitive-landscape)
- Value not feature comparison
- Avoid FUD (don't badmouth competitors)

---

## 5-Stage Sales Process

### Stage Overview

```
Discovery → Demo → Proposal → Negotiation → Close
  (20%)     (30%)    (50%)       (70%)        (95%)
```
(Close probability by stage)

### 1. Discovery (20% Close Probability)

**Goal**: Understand MEDDPICC 7 elements

**Duration**: 1-2 meetings (60-90 mins each)

**Preparation**:
- [ ] Research company (website, LinkedIn)
- [ ] Identify competitor use
- [ ] Industry trend knowledge

**Meeting Structure** (60 mins):
1. **Rapport** (5 min): Relationship building
2. **Agenda** (2 min): Today's goal
3. **Current State** (15 min): Their situation
4. **Future State** (15 min): Ideal outcome
5. **Impact** (10 min): Gap cost
6. **Process** (10 min): Buying steps
7. **Next Steps** (3 min): Confirm Demo date

**Core Questions**:
- "How do you currently [process]?"
- "Biggest pain point?"
- "Ideally, how would it work?"
- "What if not fixed?"
- "Who decides? Timeline?"

**Success Criteria**:
- [ ] 5+ MEDDPICC elements understood
- [ ] Champion candidate identified
- [ ] Demo date confirmed

### 2. Demo (30% Close Probability)

**Goal**: Prove solution solves their pain

**Duration**: 1 meeting (45-60 mins)

**Preparation**:
- [ ] Review Discovery notes
- [ ] Design scenario (their pain-based)
- [ ] Use their data (mock if needed)

**Demo Structure** (45 mins):
1. **Recap** (5 min): Discovery summary
2. **Demo** (25 min): Scenario walkthrough
3. **Q&A** (10 min): Answer questions
4. **Next Steps** (5 min): Proposal discussion

**Demo Principles**:
- **Show, Don't Tell**: Live walkthrough
- **Their Story**: "Similar customer increased 30%"
- **Pain → Solution**: Directly solve their pain
- **Hands-On**: They click, not just watch

**Anti-Patterns**:
- ❌ Feature dump (all features listed)
- ❌ Generic demo (no customization)
- ❌ Monologue (45 mins you talking)

**Success Criteria**:
- [ ] "Aha moment" seen
- [ ] Technical questions (engagement)
- [ ] Champion will share with EB
- [ ] Proposal meeting scheduled

### 3. Proposal (50% Close Probability)

**Goal**: Present price, scope, timeline

**Duration**: 1 meeting + document

**Proposal Structure**:
```markdown
# [Customer] Proposal

## Executive Summary (1 page)
Problem, Solution, Value (ROI)

## Scope of Work (1 page)
Features, Implementation, Training

## Pricing (1 page)
3 options (Good/Better/Best), Annual discount

## Case Study (1 page)
Similar customer success

## Next Steps (1 page)
Timeline, Contract, Onboarding
```

**Pricing Presentation**:
- **3 Options**: High (anchor), Medium (target), Low (entry)
- **Annual Emphasis**: "20% savings"
- **ROI Calculation**: "12-month payback"

**Meeting** (60 mins):
1. **Walkthrough** (20 min): Document review
2. **Questions** (20 min): Concerns
3. **Objection Handling** (15 min): Price, competitors
4. **Closing** (5 min): "Ready to proceed?"

**Success Criteria**:
- [ ] Price agreed (within range)
- [ ] Legal/Procurement next
- [ ] Champion pitching EB

### 4. Negotiation (70% Close Probability)

**Goal**: Finalize terms, prepare contract

**Duration**: 1-3 weeks (email exchanges)

**Negotiation Points**:
| Customer Request | Our Response | Condition |
|------------------|-------------|-----------|
| Price discount | 5-10% OK | Annual commitment |
| Implementation help | Free onboarding | Reference customer |
| Custom feature | Prioritize roadmap | $X additional |
| Payment terms | Net 60 OK | 3-year contract |

**Principles**:
1. **Give to Get**: Never free, always exchange
2. **Anchor High**: First offer is high
3. **Silence**: Let them speak first
4. **Walk-Away**: Know minimum acceptable

**Legal**:
- **MSA** (Master Service Agreement)
- **SLA** (Service Level Agreement)
- **DPA** (Data Processing Agreement)

**Success Criteria**:
- [ ] Final price agreed
- [ ] Legal signed off
- [ ] PO (Purchase Order) date

### 5. Close (95% Close Probability)

**Goal**: Contract signed, payment, kick-off

**Duration**: 1 week

**Checklist**:
- [ ] Contract signed (DocuSign)
- [ ] PO received
- [ ] Payment received (advance or Net 30)
- [ ] Kickoff scheduled
- [ ] CSM assigned
- [ ] CRM marked "Won"

**Kickoff Meeting**:
- Implementation timeline
- Team introductions (AE → CSM handoff)
- 30-day goals

**Win Analysis**:
```markdown
## Win: [Customer]
Deal Size: $[Amount]
Competitor: [Company]
Win Reasons:
1. [Reason 1] (40%)
2. [Reason 2] (35%)
3. [Reason 3] (25%)

Lesson: [Learning]
```

---

## Key Sales Metrics

### Win Rate (Success %)

**Definition**: Won ÷ Total Opportunities

**Benchmarks**:
| Segment | Win Rate | Notes |
|---------|----------|-------|
| **SMB** | 20-30% | Fast decision |
| **Mid-Market** | 25-35% | Medium complexity |
| **Enterprise** | 30-40% | Long cycle |

**Improvement**:
- Refine ICP (focus winning segment)
- Strict MEDDPICC (qualify out losers)
- Update battlecards

### Sales Cycle (Days to Close)

**Definition**: Opportunity created → Close

**Benchmarks**:
| Segment | Cycle | Notes |
|---------|-------|-------|
| **SMB** | 30-60 days | Quick |
| **Mid-Market** | 60-120 days | Procurement involved |
| **Enterprise** | 120-270 days | Legal, Security, many stakeholders |

**Shorten**:
- Thorough Discovery (catch red flags late)
- EB early contact
- Legal templates pre-ready

### ACV (Average Contract Value)

**Definition**: Average annual contract value

**Benchmarks**:
| Segment | ACV |
|---------|-----|
| **SMB** | $5K-25K |
| **Mid-Market** | $25K-100K |
| **Enterprise** | $100K+ |

**Optimize**:
- Upsell (higher tier)
- Multi-year (3-year commitment)
- Add-ons (additional modules)

### Pipeline Coverage

**Definition**: Total Pipeline ÷ Quarterly Quota

**Target**: **3-5x**

**Example**:
```
Q Target: $500K
Pipeline: $2M
Coverage: 4x ✓
```

**<3x Action**:
- Accelerate new lead generation
- Hire SDR
- Marketing expansion

---

## Sales Team Design

### Roles

#### SDR/BDR (Sales/Business Development Rep)

**Responsibility**: Lead generation & qualification

**Activities**:
- Cold outreach (email, LinkedIn)
- Inbound lead response
- BANT qualification (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
- Pass to AE

**Metrics**:
- SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): 20-30 monthly
- Conversion: 10-20%
- Activity: 50-100 touches daily

**Compensation**:
- Base: ₩30M + Variable: ₩15M
- Per-SQL bonus

#### AE (Account Executive)

**Responsibility**: Opportunity → Close

**Activities**:
- Discovery, Demo, Proposal
- MEDDPICC execution
- Negotiation

**Metrics**:
- Quota: $200-500K quarterly
- Win Rate: 25-35%
- Sales Cycle: 60-90 days

**Compensation**:
- Base: ₩60M + Commission: ₩60M (100% quota)
- OTE (On-Target Earnings): ₩120M

#### CSM (Customer Success Manager)

**Responsibility**: Onboarding, retention, expansion

**Activities**:
- Onboarding (first 30 days)
- Quarterly Business Reviews
- Renewal management
- Upsell/Cross-sell

**Metrics**:
- NRR (Net Revenue Retention): >110%
- Gross Churn: <10%/year
- Upsell: 30% of new ARR

**Compensation**:
- Base: ₩50M + Variable: ₩20M
- NRR, Renewal-based

### Team Structure (By Stage)

**Seed ($0-1M ARR)**:
- Founder-led sales
- 1-2 generalist AEs

**Series A ($1-5M ARR)**:
- 1 Sales Lead
- 2-3 AEs
- 1 SDR (inbound)

**Series B ($5-20M ARR)**:
- 1 VP Sales
- 6-8 AEs (segmented: SMB, Mid, Ent)
- 3-4 SDRs
- 2-3 CSMs

### Hiring Criteria (AE)

- [ ] 3+ years related experience
- [ ] Similar ACV experience ($25K-100K)
- [ ] MEDDPICC or equivalent methodology
- [ ] Hunter mindset (self-driven)
- [ ] Coachability (willing to improve)

### Onboarding (8 Weeks)

**Week 1-2: Product**
- Product training
- Demo practice (20 reps)
- ICP, persona deep-dive

**Week 3-4: Shadowing**
- Observe 10 Discovery calls
- Watch 5 demos

**Week 5-6: Co-selling**
- Your Discovery (observed)
- Feedback & coaching

**Week 7-8: Solo**
- Independent deals
- First close goal

**90-Day Goals**:
- Product expert
- First deal closed
- 50% of quota

### Coaching (Ongoing)

**1-on-1 Weekly**:
- Deal review (MEDDPICC)
- Pipeline health
- Skill improvement

**Team Meeting Weekly**:
- Win/Loss sharing
- Best practices
- Competitor updates

**Training Monthly**:
- External trainers
- Role plays
- New feature training

---

## Related Skills

- **gtm-strategy**: Sales-Led GTM motion design
- **pricing-strategy**: Price negotiation tactics
- **competitive-landscape**: Battlecard usage
- **investor-research**: Apply MEDDPICC to VC sales

## Tips

- **MEDDPICC Strict**: 5+ criteria met? Otherwise walk
- **Multi-thread**: Never 1-person relationship
- **Champion Critical**: No champion = <10% win
- **Discovery is 80%**: Win/loss decided here
- **Feature → Value**: "30% time saved" not "AI features"
- **Objections = Interest**: Questions = good sign
- **Silence Wins**: Price stated, stay quiet
- **Process > Talent**: Standardize top performer
- **Track Win/Loss**: Patterns inform product/marketing