Making a Sales Methodology Stick
Enablement pros often hear, "We need MEDDIC. Go find someone who does it." In a recent Enablement Squad webinar with special guest Sam McKenna, founder of #samsales Consulting and former leader of LinkedIn Sales Navigator's net-new enterprise team, explained why that request is just the starting line.
Methodology is the bricks. Coaching is the mortar.
Frameworks like MEDDIC, MEDDPICC, and BANT are essential, Sam said, but they only tell reps what to find. Reps are told to identify the economic buyer and multi-thread, ask how, and get a shrug.
"It's the mortar that matters more than anything else."
Her fix is to skip the 17-week overhaul and change three or four behaviors, such as a subject line, a discovery question, or a research step. When reps see buyers react differently, belief follows.
Start with the problem, not the acronym
When a leader requests a methodology, respond like a good seller:
Tell me more.
What problem are we solving?
How will we measure success?
If the real goal is more top-of-funnel meetings, MEDDIC won't deliver them.
Sam says that you should show up to a call to solve, not to sell.
If you doubt the request, ask for a week or two, poll top performers and peers, and return with a business case. You may not win, but you'll have a great interview story.
Discovery is where it shows
Sam shared a call where the rep opened with a narrow question, got a feature-focused answer, talked for 28 minutes, and quoted $60,000. The buyer passed. A postmortem revealed their previous failed purchase had cost $800,000, and the rep never uncovered that pain.
"When you ask a narrow question, you're going to get a narrow response back."
The fix is training plus "playing the game tape": reviewing real calls and emails. She also noted that some leaders skip coaching because they don't want to admit they don't know how.
Reinforcement is where rollouts die
Sam sees implementations lag most after launch. Her reminder: "what doesn't get measured isn't going to be done."
Her tactics:
Secure top-down leadership buy-in, and have second- and third-line leaders review dashboards.
Start a wins channel and spotlight results on team calls.
Recruit top performers as early adopters. They love the limelight, so celebrate others' wins.
In one-on-ones, ask for "one win" by Friday, then follow up.
Form a SWAT team of five or six champions, rewarded with recognition, executive exposure, and swag rather than pay.
Give top performers an exclusive coaching track while everyone else learns the methodology.
One attendee added a smart challenge: don't rely on a top 20% alone. Raise more people to that standard.
Keep the human in the loop
AI scales efficiency, but Sam argued that context, EQ, and critical thinking remain human. One rep emailed a contact she'd met several times, ignoring both their history and the contact's repost on the exact topic. Buyers want "somebody that they can connect with as a human being." The same goes for battle cards: don't stop at features and benefits, answer the "so what?"
Your action items
Ask before agreeing. What problem does this methodology solve, and how will we measure it?
Pilot small. Test three or four behavior changes instead of a full overhaul.
Coach with real calls. Check whether reps open discovery with a broad question.
Measure behaviors. Try Sam's 3-2-1: three net-new meetings you source yourself lead to two demos or second meetings, which lead to one opportunity, weekly. Her LinkedIn team finished first by 25%.
Lock in leadership and dashboards before launch.
Launch a wins channel and recruit a champion group for candid feedback.
Build a separate program for top performers.
Sam's three takeaways: leadership alignment, dashboards, and relentless reinforcement.
