Key takeaways
- The process is the stages; the methodology is how sellers work within them.
- Each named methodology emphasises something different: questions, qualification or teaching.
- Choose by deal size, cycle length and the number of people in the decision.
- A methodology only works when it shows up in CRM fields, call notes and deal reviews.
Sales methodology vs sales process: what is the difference
A sales process says where a deal is; a sales methodology says how to move it. The process might run from first meeting to discovery, proposal, negotiation and close, with rules for leaving each stage.
The methodology fills those stages with behaviour. It decides what a seller asks in discovery, what they must learn before writing a proposal and what evidence makes a deal count as qualified. Two teams can share a process and sell very differently because of it.
What are the common sales methodologies
The common sales methodologies each put weight on a different part of the deal. This list describes them briefly, in our own words.
- SPIN Selling: questions in four kinds, about the situation, the problem, its implications and the value of solving it.
- MEDDIC: qualifies complex deals by metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, decision process, identified pain and a champion; MEDDPICC adds paper process and competition.
- Challenger: the seller teaches the buyer something new, tailors it to them and takes control of the conversation.
- BANT: a quick qualification check of budget, authority, need and timing.
- Solution selling: frames the product as the answer to a pain the buyer has admitted.
- Sandler: buyer and seller agree the rules of each conversation, and the seller qualifies hard before presenting.
How do you choose a sales methodology
Choose by the shape of your deals. Short, simple sales need a light qualification check such as BANT; long sales with many people involved benefit from the structure of MEDDIC; markets where buyers do not yet see the problem suit a teaching approach like Challenger.
Pick one and apply it consistently before adding another. A team where every seller follows a different methodology cannot compare deals or coach each other.
How do you put a sales methodology into practice
Put a sales methodology into practice by building it into the tools and meetings sellers already use. If it lives only in a training session, it fades within weeks.
Add CRM fields for the things the methodology asks sellers to learn, such as the economic buyer or the decision criteria. Use the same headings in call notes, and run deal reviews by asking which fields are still empty.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsCustom fields in the Pebbles Ai CRM (in Beta) can hold the parts of your methodology on each deal, such as the economic buyer or the decision criteria.
- FoundationAgent memoryTell an assistant which methodology your team follows and ask it to remember; Agent memory carries that short fact into later chats, such as preparing for a discovery call.
Common questions
Which sales methodology is best?
None is best for every team. The right one fits your deal size, sales cycle and buyers, and is one your sellers will actually use on every deal.
Can you combine sales methodologies?
Yes, and many teams do, for example SPIN-style questions in discovery with MEDDIC for qualification. Keep the combination written down so every seller uses the same mix.
Is BANT a sales methodology?
BANT is better described as a qualification framework. It checks whether a deal is worth pursuing but says little about how to run the conversation.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
