Most B2B sales organisations don't fail because of bad people. They fail because they lack a shared language and a structured approach to the full commercial cycle. The DECIDE Framework provides that structure — from the first conversation to long-term account growth.
Apply this framework to your sales organisationBuilt from experience leading and advising B2B sales teams across the DACH market.
Each discipline builds on the previous. Skip one and the system breaks.
One framework your entire sales organisation can align around.
Map the real buying landscape before you pitch anything.
Most sales conversations start too early — before the seller truly understands who is involved, what they care about, and what will actually drive the decision. Discover is about slowing down to go faster. It means investing time to understand the full stakeholder map, the political dynamics, the history of the problem, and the criteria that will determine the outcome.
Do you know exactly who will make this decision and what they each need to see?
Build credibility through insight — before you pitch anything.
Buyers don't want to be sold to. They want to make good decisions. The most effective sales professionals position themselves as thinking partners, not vendors. Educate is about sharing genuine insight that helps buyers think differently about their situation — demonstrating expertise in a way that earns trust and creates preference long before a proposal lands on the table.
Are you seen as a trusted advisor — or just another vendor in the process?
Question the status quo. Surface the cost of doing nothing.
The single biggest competitor in most B2B sales is not a rival vendor — it is inertia. Buyers stay with the familiar because change feels risky. Challenge is about helping buyers see the real cost of their current situation, reframing what "good enough" actually means, and creating the commercial urgency that motivates action. Done well, this is not adversarial — it is a service.
Have you made the cost of inaction more visible than the risk of change?
Shape the decision criteria to align with your differentiated strengths.
Every complex B2B decision is evaluated against a set of criteria — some explicit, some not. Influence is about understanding those criteria deeply and helping shape them in ways that reflect genuine differences between you and alternatives. This is not manipulation: it is ensuring that the things you do distinctively well are visible, valued, and weighted appropriately in the evaluation.
Are the decision criteria aligned with what you do distinctively well?
Guide the process forward. Keep momentum. Lead to the next step.
Deals don't close themselves. Even when buyers are motivated and the value is clear, complexity, internal politics, and competing priorities can stall progress indefinitely. Direct is about taking responsibility for the momentum of the deal — being proactive, structured, and clear about what needs to happen next and why. Sellers who lead the process close more.
Do you own the momentum in this deal — or are you waiting for the buyer?
Deliver on the promise. Turn new clients into long-term advocates.
Winning the deal is not the finish line — it is the starting line of the real commercial relationship. Execute is about delivering on what was promised, creating tangible early value, and building the kind of relationship that leads to retention, expansion, and referrals. The best sales organisations understand that a great delivery is also the strongest sales tool they have.
Are you delivering outcomes that make renewal and expansion the obvious choice?