There are a ton of sales techniques, if you follow some master sales people you will also find new ways using ai workflows and adaptations to different verticals, that are well worth considering. So technically, you will start with something and make it your own, so it fits your vertical.
Until, you hire sales reps.
Then you need structure. You will work on scripts, and follow a method you know works for your vertical, so you can train your reps.
I will focus on the more widely known sales frameworks I encountered over the past years of building startups, with a special focus on the sales cycle length, because that is pretty much what makes or breaks your company.
If I forgot something, send me a creative insult on social.
Overview of Sales Frameworks
First, let us get an overview over the major sales frameworks out there, short and sweet.
I got 14 here for you. There certainly are more but I have not really looked at them and, frankly, 14 is already a lot for my hypercreative brain.
1. SPIN Selling (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff)
• Best for: B2B consultative sales, solution-based selling
• Strengths: Guides prospects to self-realize their pain points and the need for change.
• Weaknesses: Time-consuming; doesn’t work really well with transactional or highly competitive sales where prospects want quick answers.
2. CHALLENGER Sales
• Best for: Competitive industries (SaaS, finance, complex B2B)
• Strengths: Establishes credibility by challenging prospects with new insights. Works well with analytical buyers.
• Weaknesses: Can be confrontational if not executed well; requires deep industry knowledge.
3. MEDDIC / MEDDPICC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition)
• Best for: Enterprise, long-cycle, high-ticket sales
• Strengths: Ensures deep qualification, reducing wasted time on weak leads.
• Weaknesses: Complex and process-heavy; not ideal for fast-paced or low-value sales.
4. SANDLER Selling
• Best for: Relationship-driven sales, professional services
• Strengths: Focuses on mutual commitment before presenting solutions, preventing wasted demos.
• Weaknesses: Can feel rigid; prospects might resist the upfront questioning.
5. BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)
• Best for: Quick lead qualification in B2B sales
• Strengths: Simple and effective for weeding out poor-fit prospects early.
• Weaknesses: Too rigid for consultative sales; doesn’t explore deeper motivations.
6. FAB (Features, Advantages, Benefits)
• Best for: Product-driven sales (retail, SaaS, tech)
• Strengths: Helps sales reps clearly communicate value by linking features to benefits.
• Weaknesses: Can feel overly scripted; risks focusing too much on features instead of customer needs.
7. SNAP Selling (Simple, iNvaluable, Align, Priority)
• Best for: Busy, modern buyers (e.g., executives, B2B tech)
• Strengths: Cuts through complexity, making the buying decision easier.
• Weaknesses: Works best in early stages; lacks deep qualification structure.
8. NEAT Selling (Needs, Economic Impact, Access to Authority, Timeline)
• Best for: Solution-based B2B sales
• Strengths: Focuses on customer needs and ROI, leading to stronger engagement.
• Weaknesses: Can be difficult to apply to short sales cycles or transactional sales.
9. GAP Selling
• Best for: Problem-centric sales (consulting, B2B solutions)
• Strengths: Highlights the “gap” between a prospect’s current state and their desired state, creating urgency.
• Weaknesses: Requires skilled reps who can ask deep, insightful questions.
10. SPICED (Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision)
• Best for: B2B SaaS and services
• Strengths: Similar to SPIN but integrates urgency with the “Critical Event” factor.
• Weaknesses: Can be time-consuming if not well-executed.
11. MILLER-HEIMAN (Strategic Selling)
• Best for: Complex, multi-stakeholder sales (e.g., corporate accounts)
• Strengths: Helps navigate large organizations and political decision-making.
• Weaknesses: Requires in-depth planning and doesn’t work well for smaller deals.
12. LAER (Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, Respond)
• Best for: Customer success, account management, retention sales
• Strengths: Enhances trust and helps handle objections effectively.
• Weaknesses: Not focused on new business acquisition.
13. AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
• Best for: Marketing-driven sales (advertising, direct sales)
• Strengths: A classic model that aligns with customer psychology.
• Weaknesses: Lacks qualification depth for B2B sales.
14. LOVED (Listen, Observe, Validate, Engage, Disrupt)
• Best for: Relationship-based sales (consulting, high-trust industries)
• Strengths: Emphasizes trust and emotional connection.
• Weaknesses: Not as structured for high-volume or transactional sales.
Because we all like graphs, I made a graph for you.
Sales Cycle Length
Since I focus on startups, let’s break these techniques down by sales cycle length, because that is what really matters if you are in dire need for cash, aka, daily life at a startup.
Now, this has to be taken with a grain of salt. We have excruciatingly long cycles with most buyers, yet for our smaller ticket clients we use SNAP. The reason being, the decision is usually done fast by the owner directly, so being quick pays out - even if it takes long until cash comes waltzing through the doors.
For our larger clients however, we tend to have a more a strategic selling, because it takes forever until they decide. AND THEN IT TAKES FOREVER UNTIL MONEY COMES KNOCKING AS WELL. (rant over, sorry)
1. Short Sales Cycles (Low-ticket, SMB (owner decisions), transactional sales, B2C SaaS, e-commerce, self-serve models)
Works well
• BANT → Quick qualification for fast-moving leads
• AIDA → Great for marketing-driven, impulse purchases
• FAB → Strong for product-driven, feature-benefit sales
• SNAP Selling → Ideal for busy buyers who want simple, fast decisions
Why?
• These models focus on efficiency, quick conversions, and reducing friction.
• Price sensitivity is higher, so you need to quickly establish value.
2. Mid-Length Sales Cycles (SMB to Mid-Market B2B SaaS, professional services, software solutions with some customization)
Works well
• SPIN Selling → Helps uncover needs and align value
• NEAT Selling → Focuses on ROI and decision-making factors
• SPICED → Adds urgency by identifying critical events
• CHALLENGER Sales → Strong for differentiation in competitive spaces
Why?
There are usually more decision-makers involved, so deeper qualification is needed.
Buyers need to see clear ROI, but speed is still important.
3. Long Sales Cycles (Enterprise SaaS, deep-tech, complex B2B, multi-stakeholder deals, high ACV products)
Tends to work well
• MEDDIC / MEDDPICC → Ensures full qualification and alignment
• MILLER-HEIMAN (Strategic Selling) → Helps navigate large organizations
• GAP Selling → Creates urgency by showing the pain of inaction
• SANDLER Selling → Builds commitment before pitching a solution
Why?
• Enterprise sales involve multiple stakeholders, longer negotiations, and higher deal values.
• You need to focus on decision-making processes, ROI, and internal politics.
This means, you have often almost a consultative role for a long time with various people, thus, alignment and trust are usually pretty important.
Which approach fits your startup best?
Here are some thoughts
• Are you selling B2C, B2B, D2C, a mix?
• What’s your typical deal size and sales cycle length?
• Are you doing outbound, inbound, or product-led growth (PLG)?
Larger tickets tend to take longer, but you cannot generalise this. Lets say you know the CEO of a larger corporation well and talk directly to them, you might end up having an incredibly short sales cycle for a massive ticket.
Product led Growth
Product-Led Growth (PLG) Sales is a model where the product itself drives acquisition, conversion, and expansion. Less a traditional sales approach.
It is something a lot of startups with freemium models do, sort of, we let the product speak for us. As business developer, this needs a bit more finetuning because a lot of firepower lies in the messaging, marketing, branding, lead gen and key accounting, so you might do more marketing and partnerships than sales funnel building.
How PLG Sales Works
1. Self-Serve First → Users try the product (often via a free trial or freemium model).
2. Product Experience Sells → The product demonstrates its own value, reducing the need for heavy sales efforts.
3. Sales Assists, Not Pushes → Sales teams focus on upselling and onboarding demos, often with the decisionmakers directly instead of the ones having to do the work afterwards.
The best sales techniques for PLG seem to be fast ones in my experience, because once people try your product you can remove friction and build your case around the experience the user has. For instance, a pain point discovery can be completely individualised from the first word on, once you know what the potential client exactly needs to do with the tool, no?
• SNAP Selling → Focuses on making buying easy for busy users.
• SPICED → Helps identify user pain points and urgency.
• CHALLENGER Sales (for enterprise expansion) → Positions sales as consultants, helping businesses maximize the product’s value. This one is tricky, as it has a tendency to let you become an agency, so you have to really be careful not to burn your team with high demand but low pay clients.
PLG worked great for SaaS startups like Slack, Zoom, and Notion.
If I were to choose one, it is SNAP, the one we choose as well.
The reason is, you have the chance to work with the client on their timeline and you can increase the urgency they already have without pushing for it.
• S (Simple): Reduce friction—make signup, activation, and upgrades effortless.
• N (iNvaluable): Show users how your product is a “must-have” (not just “nice-to-have”) for the job to be done.
• A (Align): Connect with the user’s goals and existing workflows, you basically explain product features on their use case.
• P (Priority): Create urgency by showing why they should act now, working with their deadline.
I think there might be more to it, but it is already late and I feel like I need a pizza to digest all the sales talk.
Cya on the other side of the funnel.
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