Core Skills
Deal Strategy & Qualification
Strategy is choosing where to compete, on what terms, and — crucially — when to walk away.
Most sellers conflate activity with progress. Deal strategy is the act stepping back and asking: given everything we know about this opportunity, what is the highest-leverage next move?
The qualification stance
is continuous. Re-qualify after every stage. The bravest qualification act is *late* disqualification — walking away from a deal that no longer meets the bar. This protects credibility and frees capacity for winnable deals.
Five strategic questions
- Why buy at all? Is there a genuine , or are we competing with ?
- Why now? What changes if they wait six months?
- Why us? What makes us uniquely suited to this buyer's situation?
- Who decides? Have we met the or have a credible path to them?
- What could kill it? What are the top three risks and what is each mitigation?
Choosing your strategy
- Frontal: when you are the leader and the criteria favor you
- Flanking: when you are not the favorite — change the criteria
- Fragment: split the deal so you win a beachhead, then expand
- Defensive: when you are the — strengthen your moat, raise switching costs
- Develop: walk away now, return when conditions change
The deal review
A useful internal is uncomfortable. Senior leaders should pressure-test , demand evidence strength, and ask 'what would have to be true for this to slip?' Theatre reviews where everyone agrees are worthless.
Key terms in this topic
Related topics
MEDDIC & MEDDPICC
The dominant qualification framework for complex enterprise B2B deals — the discipline that separates forecast from fiction.
Stakeholder Mapping & Influence
Modern enterprise deals involve 6–10 stakeholders. Mapping them and earning influence with each is the work.
Client Research & Preparation
Preparation is the single highest-leverage investment in enterprise selling. Two hours before a meeting beats two weeks of follow-up after.