How to Qualify a POC Like an Enterprise Buying Process

When I was CRO of a $200M SaaS, doing POCs almost destroyed us—months wasted, team exhausted, buyers constantly delaying. Until my VP Sales said, “Kill the POC. We’ll validate value clearly in 3 hours flat”. Here's exactly how we rebuilt our sales process and cut our sales cycle by 50%: BACKGROUND: We were selling 100% enterprise. POCs were the automatic default: Heavy, technical validation lasting 1-3 months. It was painful… - Sales Engineers were overloaded - Buyers kept delaying due to resource issues - Buyers kept wanting more “just one more test” Initially, I thought: It’s Enterprise, that’s the game right? Until our VP Sales, Idan Arealy, joined. Two weeks in, he tells me: “No offense—but these POCs are total overkill.” “Buyers don’t need these endless tests.” “They’re not doubting the tech.” “They’re doubting the value.” “And we don’t need this complexity to prove value.” So he suggested a simpler, smarter alternative: The 'Use Case Workshop'—and it changed everything. Here’s the step-by-step: —— 1. Kickoff (45 min) - AE positions the workshop immediately post-demo: “Here’s what we typically do next to help validate real-world scenarios in just hours—no heavy lift needed. Shall we set it up?" - SE runs deeper disco into problem root causes in a kickoff call - AE sets clear Mutual Action Plan (MAP) 2. Internal Alignment (60 min) - SE & AE clearly define and build initial use-case solutions - Output: Slides outlining impactful solutions & open questions 3. Use Case Co-Design (45 min) - Live session with buyers walking through scenarios - Collaboratively refine solutions LIVE (e.g. Miro, slides): “Walk me through this problem in more detail—we’ll map exactly how solving it looks." 4. Prioritization & Wrap Up (30 min) - Jointly prioritize top 3 impactful use cases clearly: "Which scenarios, solved, would immediately solve [Problem]?" - Lock down committed next steps ↳ Result? - 3 focused hours (instead of months) - Clear, confident buyers ready to champion - 100% faster sales cycles & higher win rates —— POCs are NOT mandatory. Buyers don't want endless tests. Don’t default to what most buyers ask. Design what will solve what they need— With as little friction as possible. That's: Sales Process Design 101. P.S. We built Aligned to help manage the chaos of Complex Sales. 100% FREE Deal Room used by 40K AEs to run POCs, MAPs, etc. Try it https://lnkd.in/d_49kHZE

Your free POC is quietly killing your best deals. I’ve seen too many 7-figure opportunities die in pilot purgatory—not because the product failed, but because the seller hesitated to ask for real commitment upfront. Here’s what executive buyers are really saying when they ask for a free POC: “We’d like you to take all the risk while we decide if we might pay you later.” That’s not a partnership. That’s deferral dressed up as due diligence. There are only two times a POC should be free: 1. Testing a beta feature that needs real-world validation 2. Exploring a completely new use case that’s never been done Even then, get a signed commitment for a press release or case study in return. Free access for them should mean visibility and positioning for you. Now, when they ask for a POC, here's what you do: Don't call it that. Call it what it really is: A “strategic bridge investment.” This isn’t a trial—it’s the first phase of their transformation. The structure is simple: • Fixed scope with clear success metrics • A contractual trigger: full rollout signed by a specific date • Investment counts as credit toward the larger deal • No follow-through? They still pay full price Why this approach works better than traditional POCs: • It eliminates pilot purgatory • It creates shared timelines and alignment • It shifts the frame from transaction to transformation • It positions you as a strategic guide—not a vendor auditioning The mindset shift is everything: Start big. Stay big. Lead with the full vision of what’s possible. Then show them what they risk losing when they force you to think small. Real talk: Most sellers avoid this approach because they think it's "too aggressive." But here’s what I learned: This is how you stop shrinking 7-figure potential into 5-figure tests and start landing transformational enterprise partnerships that build lasting, compounding value. Curious to hear from others: What’s the biggest POC trap you’ve witnessed? Let's learn from our collective experience. 🐝

After 204 closed deals Here is how I use MEDDICC to create momentum immediately. (This is the version I wish I had when I started) Not theory. Not tick-boxing. Just part of the workflow. When I started as an AE, I just brushed through the sides in the book and moved on. Turns out that made me chase deals that weren't even real deals. My message: If you want to be a true seller. Learn MEDDICC. Period. Here’s how to actually use MEDDICC as an AE — not just talk about it in pipeline reviews. 1. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 — 𝗧𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 → Ask: “If we solve this, how would we measure success?” → Example: “10 hours/month saved = 120 hours/year = $X cost recovery” How I use it: Always mention measurable impact by call 2. If they can’t quantify it, it won’t get prioritized. 2. 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 — 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 + 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 → Ask: “Who owns the budget for something like this?” → Or: “Who would feel this ROI the most?” How I use it: I try to identify + involve them before the demo. If I can’t, I always ask to loop them in during proposal. 3. 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 — 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 → Ask: “What’s most important when comparing vendors?” → Bonus: Confirm priorities back in writing. How I use it: Build my proposal in their words. Not mine. 4. 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 — 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 → Ask: “What are the formal steps before we can get this signed off?” → “What’s happened in previous similar purchases?” How I use it: I build a mini deal plan inside every recap email. Align dates + next steps to keep everyone honest. 5. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻 — 𝗚𝗼 3 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 → Ask: “What happens if this stays the same?” → And then: “What’s the impact on you personally?” How I use it: If I can’t name a pain and a consequence, I disqualify or re-discover. No shallow pain = no deal. 6. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 → Ask: “Who else agrees this needs to change?” → Test them: “If I sent this recap to your CFO, what would they say?” How I use it: A real champion will coach you. If they won’t, they’re just an influencer. 7. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘁. → Ask: “What other options are you exploring?” → And: “What do you see as the key differences?” How I use it: Position by comparison, not defensiveness. Your job isn’t to bash—it’s to guide. How to bring it all together? Create a simple MEDDICC tracker per deal → I used a Google Sheet, now Hubspot → 1 row per deal, 7 columns, updated after every call → Color code: Green (locked), Yellow (in progress), Red (unknown) My bottom line: MEDDICC isn’t a checklist. It’s a deal-quality mirror. Use it live, not just retro. Use it early, not just in QBRs. Yours, JBTHE(MEDDICC)AE 𝗣𝗦. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗖 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲? 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗖  𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. #sdr #ae #coldcalling SDRs of Germany

Champify just closed a mid 6-figure deal with a $20B enterprise company. Here are the 7 important changes we had to make to our standard mid-market sales process to get to Closed Won: (1) We ran a condensed, well scoped POC We typically don’t do this but the use case was strong. In fact, it felt like the only way to drive momentum. We were confident we could deliver and knew it helped our chances of winning the account. (2) Had multiple text threads open with different parts of the buyer committee Our AE worked hand in hand with our Champion. I was on a text basis with the Economic Buyer and legal team. Our tech team was close to their technical counterparts. This helps shorten time between steps and allows prospects to open up more. (3) Executed a co-selling motion with other solutions in the account we integrate with Throughout the process, we learned of other vendors in the account we could play nicely with. They coached us through the status of their relationships, shared learnings on initiatives and their paper process. (4) Positioned a tertiary value prop that is less valuable in mid-market For enterprises, there are benefits of what we offer that are less valuable for mid-market customers. Once we discovered this, we positioned this use case more strongly and highlighted stories of customers’ using it in similar ways. Your product delivers different points of value to different segments of the market — whether you know it or not. (5) Openly discussed our roadmap as well as our POV on the the market We talk to dozens of companies a week facing similar challenges. They wanted to know our POV and we went into conversations with strong opinoins. We explained we weren’t a massive company (yet) and were transparent about to what we are building and why. (6) Positioned an “art of the possible” technical session This was something I’ve seen the best enterprise sellers do well. The more we could brainstorm and creatively problem solve TOGETHER, the more they opened up about adjacent issues and allowed us to collectively think bigger. Time on whiteboard > time on zoom. (7) We got creative on pricing to align to budget cycles, signing limits, and project backlogs We had to get creative in terms of where to land, what success they expected, and deal with the roadblocks of big company bureaucracy. Trying to sell a “standard agreement” here would have risked the deal and caused delays. TAKEAWAY: You can’t use your mid-market sales process to win strategic accounts. In fact, you need to throw it out the window. Enterprises don’t buy off of discovery > demo > proposal. You need to ask yourself what other value you can bring. Yes, I know... You worked hard to codify your existing sales process for your core ICP. But selling enterprise means you have to adjust. Get creative.

Your POC process is probably why you're not closing enterprise deals.   After analyzing POC outcomes across our portfolio, the data is clear: Companies with structured and priced POCs close 3x more deals than those running free pilots.   Why charge? Price signals seriousness. Even nominal fees filter serious buyers from tire-kickers. Frame your pilots as fixed-fee engagements: Say "we structure this as a 4-week, fixed-fee engagement to quantify value and build your business case."   Be sure to clarify pricing expectations in the process: If your pilot costs $5K but commercial deals are $100K-$300K based on the value unlocked, state this explicitly to avoid anchoring.   Here are 5 best POC best practices we see:   1. Define success criteria, not scope Align on specific KPIs, business outcomes, and who signs off before writing a line of code.   2. Time-box ruthlessly with weekly checkpoints POCs should run 30-90 days max. Set weekly or bi-weekly checkpoints to maintain urgency.   3. Pre-commit the path to commercial discussions Before starting any pilot, confirm that hitting the success metrics will trigger stakeholder presentations and commercial negotiations.   4. Demand access to the full buying center Technical users alone can't close deals. Ensure you meet decision-makers and budget holders during the POC, not after.   5. Document like a contract Formalize scope, terms, and deliverables in the agreement. Include specific responsibilities for both sides, data access requirements, success metrics, timelines, and post-POC commitments.   --   POCs are where your enterprise motion gets built. Treat them that way.   I wrote a guide to AI pricing with Madhavan Ramanujam and Joshua Bloom that discusses these ideas in more detail. If you're curious to dive deeper, I'll leave that link below. Also, Madhavan just released a new book called Scaling Innovation that also explores these topics. Highly recommend!

Hey Salespeople: Here is a mapping of MEDDPICC to sales process exit criteria as outlined in John McMahon's outstanding book The Qualified Sales Leader: 1. Discovery a. Scheduled next meeting b. Email to the prospect that outlines: -> Identified Pain (I) -> The players involved (Ch, Dp, E) -> Desired business outcome (M) -> Next step in the process (Dp) 2. Scoping a. Champion identified (Ch) b. Generate 3 documents: -> Cost justification with the as-is and to-be metrics (M) -> A PoV plan that directly correlates to the PoV criteria and preliminary cost justification (Dc, Dp) -> A preliminary pricing proposal which is a price quote based on the preliminary cost justification (E, M) c. Competition and Competitor’s Champion identified (Co) 3. Economic Buyer Meeting Held meeting to confirm the following for the validation event (i.e. PoV) -> Customer’s priority to buy (I, M) -> Intent to allocate funds to make the purchase (E) -> Business-level decision criteria (Dc) -> Product differentiators (Dc) - including weighting and scoring of each criteria 4. Validation Event (PoV) Complete successful PoV (Dp) 5. Business Case and Final Proposal Presented business case face-to-face with economic buyer with the final results of the validation event (E, M) 6. Negotiate and Close Signed contract (P)

Only 1% of companies are AI‑mature. Be the exception. 🚀 McKinsey: 92% will increase AI spend in 3 years, but only 1% feel “mature.” Pilot purgatory is real. 🧪 At Alhena, after a few hiccups, we’ve finessed the POC playbook: the only POCs that work don’t feel like POCs. Treat it like production and it becomes production. 🏭✅ How to run POCs that ship: 🤝 Joint workshops + weekly syncs 📚 Ingest full support corpus, product catalog, and KB; no toy data 🔒 Guardrails (grounding, retrieval, approvals) for 100% factual, on‑brand answers 🧭 Dedicated owners from both sides to unblock and ship 📈 Track KPIs from day 1; don’t celebrate demos, celebrate dollar impact ⏱️ In weeks with a leading retailer we saw: 💰 6× revenue per user 🛒 30% higher AOV ⚡ 4× conversion rate The POC was not really a POC, we go all in. Running an AI POC? Share what’s worked for you below. 👇

Why 95% of Tech Projects Fail — And How to Flip the Odds: A Practitioner’s View Over the past 25 years, I’ve seen the same headlines repeat with every wave of technological innovation: 95% of dotcom projects failed 95% of big data projects failed 95% of digital/advanced analytics projects failed 95% of mobile apps failed 95% of AI projects are failing The reasons? Surprisingly consistent — and rarely about the technology itself. The good news: by applying a few commonsense strategies, I’ve seen organizations flip the script — achieving 95% success and only 5% failure in tech-enabled business transformation initiatives. Here’s how: 🔹 Step 1: Align with Business Priorities Hundreds of ideas emerge from grassroots innovation — many of them good. But not all problems are worth solving. The key is to focus on ideas that tightly align with the organization’s strategic roadmap. If it’s not a top business priority, it’s unlikely to gain traction. 🔹 Step 2: Target Significant Value Creation The size of the opportunity matters. A $100M idea that spans multiple functions may seem boring but has far more organizational impact than a $100K idea that’s cool but limited to one sub-process. Set a minimum value threshold to filter out small ideas that consume resources but don’t scale. 🔹 Step 3: Secure C-Suite Sponsorship Early Too often, POCs are launched without senior leadership support. Even if successful, they stall without a champion to push through financial approvals. A simple litmus test: has a C-suite leader invested budgeted dollars in the POC? If not, pause and secure that commitment first. 🔹 Step 4: Involve the Right People If the idea matters, business leaders will appoint a product owner and relevant SMEs. But don’t forget change management — often overlooked in tech-driven projects. Without it, even the best solutions face resistance and poor adoption. 🔹 Step 5: Choose Wisely — POC vs. Pilot POCs are for technical feasibility. Pilots deliver working products with real user feedback. A successful pilot builds momentum and provides a financial benchmark for scaling. Know the difference — and choose the right path based on your goals. 🔹 Step 6: Communicate Success and Build Excitement Even the best pilot can fizzle out if no one knows it succeeded. Celebrate wins, share metrics, and tell the story of impact. When the organization sees tangible results and hears enthusiastic feedback from users, it builds momentum and creates pull for scaling. Excitement is contagious — use it to fuel adoption. Short AI videos with right scripts can do wonders and creates viral moments that helps build support at all levels of the organization. Please share your views

The POC is one of the most misunderstood tools in sales. Ever been dragged into a POC that… didn’t actually need to happen? Yeah. Same. 😒 POCs can win deals. They can also quietly burn weeks of time and momentum. The difference usually comes down to one thing… 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁? In most cases, it’s one of two reasons: 𝟭) 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲-𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 They don’t want to make the wrong call. This isn’t really about your product - it’s about their preserving their reputation. A full POC is often overkill here. You can usually get them comfortable with: - strong customer references - a tailored demo - a focused technical validation (e.g. test an integration) Solve for confidence, not a mini implementation. 𝟮) 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Some companies require a POC. It is what it is. If that’s the case - don’t “wing it.” Run it like a mini contract: - clear success criteria - defined test cases - tight timeline + end date - “If we hit this, we move forward” No structure = no decision. And one thing most reps forget... if they ask for a POC, ask for something too (e.g. an introduction to an executive or to another business unit head). If your team is investing real time, the deal should move forward in a real way. Not all POCs are bad. But unnecessary ones - they’re expensive deal killers disguised as progress.

"We need 300% pipeline coverage" Are you sure? Your POC win rate might be killing Your Pipeline… Here's something to think about: Last year I worked on a few deals directly where our POC crushed it - 65% faster patch deployment, automated workflows humming, security team raving about the UI. IT team loves how much time they'll save. Then the email landed: "We've decided to stay with our current vendor." Sound familiar? Here's the hard truth about why POC success only converts to closed deals 50% of the time in security sales: We're measuring the wrong things. Last year, I ran two identical POCs. Same product, similar organizations (SLED). One closed in 3 weeks, one died after 2 months of "great results." The difference? The successful POC ignored feature comparisons completely. Instead, we measured: - Hours saved on patch prioritization (dropped from 8 to 2 hours a week) - Average patch deployment time (cut from 14 days to 3) - Workflow disruption during deployment (zero changes to existing patch management process) The failed POC? We celebrated a 40% improvement in vulnerability detection rates. The team loved our UI. The technical win was clear. But we never quantified the operational impact. I learned this framework at Pavilion and Winning by Design Revenue Architecture course (credit to Jacco van der Kooij). This approach completely changed how I run POCs: 1. Baseline current operational metrics first - not scanning coverage 2. Map existing remediation workflows before showing new features 3. Track time saved in patch deployment, not capabilities added 4. Document integration friction points eliminated For Security Sellers and SEs: Start your POCs with "What keeps your team working late?" not "Let me show you our features." Map their operational pain before you demo a single capability. Because in 2025, security teams don't wake up thinking "I need a new tool" They need time back. Leading with operational impact isn't just a better pitch - it's the difference between a technical win and a closed deal. And maybe you don't need 300% pipeline coverage. Maybe you just improve conversion rates a bit more. If you're running security POCs and want to learn how to adapt this to your company, DM me. #securitysales #salesstrategy #cybersecurity