getting Deal reviews right

In my last post I wrote about pipeline reviews, weekly touch bases on deal status to spot key next steps and provide input to forecasting.

This week, it’s Deal reviews – in-depth discussions around a specific deal where we have the relevant team in the room (see below) and we thoroughly investigate all aspects of the opportunity.

I like to use MEDDICC (or MEDDPICC) to analyse opportunities. It’s not the only way to do this well, but it’s popular today, many sellers are familiar with it, and it is damn effective.

For a relatively straightforward opportunity – perhaps if you’re selling in the commercial space or if your sales process is relatively constrained – then 15 minutes can be enough. If this is a complex deal or anything approaching enterprise, then you likely need up to 60 minutes.

Each week, decide which deal/s to cover based on progress, importance, visible challenges, etc. If you have, say, 20 active deals in a quarter, do at least one and possibly two deal reviews each week. This way you will cover everything in the quarter. This could apply to the company as a whole, but equally to a single team in a larger sales organisation.

It is crucial that there is good preparation in advance, based on a standard template.

* This should be based on MEDDICC to help spot all key challenges. * Ensure it covers all of the key personas that your deals need to engage with. * It must identify progress against all key actions in your sales process. * Note challenges the Seller is aware of and the support they most need.

(I have a template I can share, let me know.)

The seller prepares and distributes a day in advance. Everyone involved must review in advance, allowing some degree of discussion in the document.

During the meeting, keep it tight. Don’t have the Seller describe everything in the document – everyone should already have read that. Instead, address questions, the challenges the Seller has identified, and challenges the rest of the team spots.

You need the right people in the room. The Seller, their manager, the presales engineer (if applicable), the product team (if this customer might justify product work), and the executive sponsor too.

Coming out of this, the Seller will have a number of actions. Perhaps clarifying the Decision Process, maybe influencing the Decision Criteria, it may be necessary to test the Champion, or arrange further engagement with the Economic Buyer. Track those actions carefully and make sure they are pursued effectively.

The document, including the discussion notes and the actions, is a useful tool for the Seller and their manager as the deal progresses towards closure.

If you have smaller deals, they may well not justify this level of investment. Instead, consider doing 4+ deal reviews in an hour, each one prepared against a relatively minimalistic template, again using MEDDPICC. This will help your team drive their deals more effectively, and to learn from each other.