Sales Methodologies Glossary

BANT is a classic sales qualification framework that checks four criteria: Budget, Authority, Need and Timing. Developed at IBM, it's a fast way to decide whether a lead is worth pursuing — though modern, customer-centric frameworks often extend or replace it.

MEDDIC is a B2B sales qualification framework focused on six elements: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain and Champion. Built for complex, high-value deals, it forces reps to prove they understand what it takes to win.

MEDDPICC is a B2B sales qualification framework that scores how well you understand and can win a deal across eight dimensions: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Paper process, Identify pain, Champion and Competition. It's used to expose the gaps in a deal before they kill it.

SPICED is a customer-centric sales and success framework built around five elements — Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical event and Decision. Popularized by Winning by Design, it reframes qualification around the customer's desired outcome and the cost of inaction rather than your product's features.

SPIN Selling is a questioning methodology from Neil Rackham's research that structures discovery around four question types: Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff. It guides buyers to articulate their own pain and the value of solving it, rather than pitching features.

The Challenger Sale is a methodology, from research by Dixon and Adamson, arguing that the best reps “challenge” customers — teaching them something new about their business, tailoring the message to each stakeholder, and taking control of the conversation — rather than just building rapport.

The Sandler Selling System is a consultative methodology that treats selling as a mutual qualification process between equals. It emphasizes building trust, uncovering pain and budget early, and disqualifying poor-fit deals fast — so reps spend time only on real opportunities.

Value selling (or value-based selling) is an approach that centers the entire sale on the quantified business value the customer will gain, rather than product features or price. Reps build a business case — often an ROI — so the decision rests on outcomes, not cost.

Solution selling is a methodology that focuses on diagnosing a customer's problem and presenting a tailored combination of products and services as the solution — rather than pushing a single product. It shifts the conversation from “what we sell” to “what you need solved.”

A champion is a person inside the prospect's organization who believes in your solution and actively sells it on your behalf when you're not in the room. Real champions have influence and a personal stake in the outcome — and identifying one is a core requirement of frameworks like MEDDPICC.

The economic buyer is the person with the authority to release budget and give final approval on a purchase. They may not attend early meetings, but no deal closes without their yes — which is why qualification frameworks insist on identifying and reaching them.