Laurel Hiedewohl

MEDDPICC is overengineered for deals < 50k ARR. BANT is useless for outbound generated deals. SPICED is not sophisticated enough for deals over 500k ARR. Do you have to work with any of these? Not necessarily. I studied most existing qualification methodologies (NEAT, SNAP, ANUM, etc.) and found they have four main factors in common: 1️⃣ They are using an acronym to highlight the importance of focusing on the Need/Pain/Problem of the prospect. Why they need to buy anything at all. 2️⃣ They want to describe the impact of not solving a problem and/or building a quantitative business case for larger deals. They stress the understanding of what happens if the problem is not solved in the near future. The why NOW. 3️⃣ They highlight the importance of a salesperson knowing with whom they talk. They use words such as “Authority”, “Economic Buyer”, “Decision maker”, Champion” and other roles. 4️⃣ They highlight the understanding of the process and/or timeline to get the signature of the prospect. Some only use “timeline”, some use “Decision Process” and others “Mutual Action Plan”. If you do not somehow direct the focus of your sales team on those four, you are probably doing something wrong. And what about other criteria? Add them if you think they are important for your process: "Competition" "Paper Process" "Competitive Event" How do you know they are important? Answer these three simple questions: - Why do we win deals - Why do we lose deals? - Why do deals slip? That is how MEDDIC came to life.

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Want the biggest GTM hack? Spend more time with your ideal customer. Why? - You hear their real problems. - You get fast, honest feedback. - They feel heard and build trust. - You use their words in your message. No automation can replace this. Automations, AI SDRs, LinkedIn hacks, and GTM engines are great. But they’re worthless if you don’t understand your customer. How often do you talk to your best customers?

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Your team is wasting too much time on the wrong deals. When I consult with companies, the biggest mistake I see is this: AEs working deals that will never move the needle. Smaller deals: - Take just as long, if not longer, to close - Are more likely to churn - Drain your team’s time and energy Here’s a quick exercise: Take the lowest 20% of your closed-won deals and estimate how much time your team spent on them. Now ask yourself, was it worth it? The reality is, if you let your AEs work these deals, they will. The fix? - Don't let them work them. Keep your best reps focused on deals that matter - Have a junior rep handle them if you really need to without it being a distraction for everyone else. Your top reps should be thinking about and closing revenue that moves the business forward. Anything else is just noise.

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Lots of VPs of Sales talk about CAC like it’s a single number. But CAC isn’t a number. It’s a portfolio. And every segment you sell into - SMB, MM, ENT - has its own CAC profile. If you’re burning $12K to land a $6K SMB customer, but $30K to land a $300K enterprise deal, your CAC isn’t broken. Your allocation strategy is. And if you’re still only measuring CAC at the company level? You’re flying blind. This is where leaders can separate themselves. You shouldn't just measure CAC. You should segment it, analyze it, and build around it. Here’s how to operate: 1. Stop treating CAC as a blended metric. Break it down by: - Segment: SMB vs MM vs ENT - Channel: Outbound vs Inbound vs Partner - Geography: Especially when global expansion is on the roadmap Because “our CAC is $17K” means nothing. But “our CAC in enterprise is $28K with a 9 month payback” is a decision making asset. 2. Act on what you learn. Once CAC is segmented, shift resources toward efficiency: - Reallocate reps to higher leverage segments. - Focus enablement on where ramp time is shortest. - Adjust comp plans and funnel targets to optimize payback. Basically, stop managing by gut and start optimizing by unit economics. 3. Simplify how CAC gets modeled. No 12 tab spreadsheet. No MBA required. Just start with this: - Take total S&M spend for the quarter (headcount, tech, programs, all in). - Map each cost center to the segment it supports. - Divide by new ARR closed per segment. That’s your directional CAC by segment. Clean enough to inform strategy. Tight enough to move fast. Example: Let’s say you spent $1.2M in sales & marketing last quarter. You break it down like this: - $400K was tied to your SMB motion (BDR team, paid media, onboarding). - $300K went toward mid-market (AEs, webinars, tool spend). - $500K supported enterprise (field reps, events, solutions consultants). Now, you look at new ARR: - SMB closed $150K - MM closed $600K - ENT closed $1.2M Your directional CAC per segment: -SMB = $400K / $150K = 2.67x CAC - MM = $300K / $600K = 0.5x CAC - ENT = $500K / $1.2M = 0.42x CAC On the surface, SMB looks like it’s growing. But holy moly it’s killing your efficiency. This back of the ol napkin CAC view is clean, fast, and tells you exactly where to scale or pull back. 4. Pair CAC with LTV and look for leverage. Don’t just ask, “Can we afford this rep?” Instead ask: - “Is the LTV in this segment big enough to justify our spend?” - “Are we acquiring customers we can actually retain and expand?” - “Where are we getting 4:1 returns...and where are we burning cash?” Find the segments where CAC gives you leverage anbd build everything around those. If your CAC model ends in one number, it’s not a model. It’s a guess. You don’t scale by chasing total pipeline. You scale by doubling down on efficient segments. The best revenue leaders I've known don’t ask for more leads. They ask for better economics. And they know exactly where to find them.

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Three Direct-to-Consumer Tactics that Shopify SaaS teams can use... DTC brands attract customers instead of chasing them. Meanwhile, most sales teams in the Shopify world rely on:  👋 Cold outbound  🥱 Generic demos  🥉 Discounting to close If you want buyers coming to you, let's steal some DTC tactics. 1️⃣ Build a Community, Not Just a Customer List DTC Example: Gymshark  Gymshark scaled to $1B by building a movement, creating an exclusive fitness community, and turning customers into brand advocates. SaaS Takeaway: - Create a Slack or LinkedIn group for customers and prospects - Host invite-only webinars and roundtables - Train reps to engage on LinkedIn before the demo 💡 Example: Klaviyo built user groups and live events to turn customers into promoters. 2️⃣ Sell the Emotion, Not Just the Features DTC Example: Liquid Death  They don’t sell water—they sell a rebellion, making their brand aspirational. SaaS Takeaway:  - Sell the transformation, not just the product - Use customer success stories to show before-and-after impact - Tap into buyer frustrations and position your product as the revolution 💡 Example: Global-e doesn’t sell “cross-border e-commerce.” They sell the dream of going global. 3️⃣ Turn Customers into Your Best Sales Reps DTC Example: Glossier, Inc.  Glossier scaled by turning customers into brand advocates through user-generated content and exclusivity. SaaS Takeaway:  - Build a referral program that rewards advocacy - Feature customers in case studies, LinkedIn posts, and testimonials - Give power users VIP access, betas, and insider perks 💡 Example: Shopify makes its merchants the face of its brand, turning them into its best sales reps. 🚀 Final Thought DTC brands don’t just sell—they create demand. I'm trying to do the same this year. 👇 What’s one DTC-inspired strategy you’ve seen work in SaaS?

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Most of the time SDRs target Founders, CEOs, or VPs in their outreach. Well, it completely makes sense, they are the decision-makers. They control the budget. On the other hand, also decision-makers ignore your emails. Obviously, not only because your offer is bad. But because C-suites are flooded with emails. I can tell you I get 5-10 cold emails every day. And  not always founders are closest to the problem you solve. My point is that you should never limit yourself to reaching out to decision-makers only. Start with the persona who feels the pain point. It could be a team lead, manager, or head of the department. They are more likely to reply and more likely to push your solution up internally. And keep the decision-makers in the loop, But don’t expect them to hop on from the first email. They will often move only when someone below nudges them. They are the gatekeepers. So, next time, try to reach out to 3-5 people in the same company. I have seen deals move faster when multiple people in the account are talking about you.

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