Course 15A · Lesson 2 of 12
Modern B2B sales methods
| Work | Grade | Verdict | What we take |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Challenger Sale (Dixon, Adamson, 2011) | Mixed | Safe; rational drowning only with caveat | Teach, tailor, take control; the warmer and reframe as an insight opener; the buyer's own numbers instead of fear |
| The Challenger Customer (Adamson and others, 2015) | Mixed | Safe | Find and equip the mobiliser; discount the talkers |
| The End of Solution Sales (HBR, 2012) | Mixed | Safe | Lead with insight where the pain is not yet felt |
| SPIN Selling (Rackham, 1988) | Mixed | Safe (question types and order; closing techniques do not help in large sales); Advance versus Continuation with caveat | Implication and need-payoff questions; an advance, not a continuation. Never quote the 47-rep or photo-store figures |
| Sandler Selling System (1967) | Weak | Safe (contract); caveat (pain funnel, negative reverse) | Up-front contract with "no" acceptable. Do not teach "all prospects lie" |
| Gap Selling (Keenan, 2018) | Weak | Safe | Current state, future state, the gap |
| Command of the Message (Force Management) | Weak | Safe (core); caveat (extras, the unverified "mantra" name) | The three questions in owner wording; before scenario, outcomes, required capabilities. Do not teach the MongoDB case |
| MEDDIC and MEDDPICC | Weak | Caveat | Economic buyer, decision and paper process on considered deals. Do not teach the growth lore |
| The Qualified Sales Leader (McMahon, 2021) | Weak | Caveat | Champion tests based on action; the walk-away test |
| BANT and CHAMP | Weak | Caveat | A simple checklist only |
| The JOLT Effect (Dixon, McKenna, 2022) | Mixed | Safe; indecision-band win rates with caveat | Judge indecision, one recommendation, limit exploration, take risk off |
| Great Demo! (Cohan, 2003) | Weak | Safe | The Situation Slide; do the last thing first; first value moment as the onboarding goal |
| Never Split the Difference (Voss, 2016) | Weak to mixed | Safe (labels, "that's right"); caveat (mirrors, accusation audit, calibrated questions, voice) | Labels, "that's right", calibrated questions, accusation audit. Do not teach the buyer-side bargaining model to sellers |
| Fanatical Prospecting (Blount) | Weak | Caveat | The 30-day rule; a daily prospecting block |
| Sales EQ (Blount) | Weak | Caveat | Managing your own disruptive emotions |
| Objections (Blount, 2018) | Weak | Caveat | The ledge for brush-offs. Do not teach "anchor, disrupt, ask" |
| 4T and "poke the bear" (trainer, vendor) | Weak | Caveat | Detached, problem-led outreach with "feel free to say no" |
| Flip the Script premise buckets | Weak | Caveat | Build the opening premise from the prospect's own posts |
| Lavender cold email data (2023, 2026) | Vendor data; Mixed | Safe; do not teach the reading-level or 50 to 125 word rules | Openers of 25 to 50 words; phone-friendly formatting |
| Gong Labs call research (2018 to 2025) | Vendor data; Mixed | Caveat; do not teach the 43:57 talk ratio | 11 to 14 questions; next steps; peer-matched proof; price late |
| Predictable Revenue (Ross, Tyler, 2011) | Mixed | Safe | Outbound only above about $15,000 annual contract value; specialised roles |
| From Impossible to Inevitable (Ross, Lemkin, 2016) | Weak | Caveat | Nail a niche before scaling |
| The Sales Acceleration Formula (Roberge, 2015) | Mixed | Safe; caveat (hiring traits, one-skill coaching, practice gate, churn-quartile figure) | Hiring traits; one-skill coaching; practice gate; weighted commission |
| Founding Sales (Kazanjy) | Weak | Caveat | Founders close the first deals and write the process with exit criteria |
| SaaStr founder-sales advice (Lemkin) | Weak | Caveat | The founder sells first; hire two sellers, not one |
| Amp It Up (Slootman, 2022) | Weak | Caveat | One vertical and one motion at a time |
| Bowtie and SPICED (Winning by Design) | Weak | Safe | SPICED record; critical event; expansion after the sale. Results uncited |
| To Sell Is Human (Pink, 2012) | Weak to mixed | Caveat | Attunement; clarity through fewer choices and a specific ask. The ambivert claim is weak |
| Obviously Awesome (Dunford) | Mixed | Safe; caveat on the 10-step process | Five positioning components; real alternatives; big fish, small pond |
| Sales Pitch (Dunford) | Weak | Caveat | An eight-step group pitch starting with insight and alternatives |
| The Mom Test (Fitzpatrick, 2013) | Weak | Caveat | Past-tense questions; commitment in time, reputation or cash |
| Way of the Wolf (Belfort, 2017) | Weak; author convicted of fraud | Caveat (three tens only) | The "three tens" as a deal-review diagnostic only. Do not teach looping, pain amplification or tonal pressure |
| Mutual action plans (vendors) | Weak | Caveat | A short plan timed to the critical event, including paper process. Never quote an uplift figure |
| Girard follow-up system | Weak | Caveat | Systematic follow-up and asking for referrals |
| Zig Ziglar's books | Weak | Do not teach | Nothing |
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