Latest / Sales Leadership with Fexingo: Quota Carriers, Sales Managers, and Revenue Teams / How Top Reps Turn a Proof of Concept into a Done Deal
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, there's a moment in almost every enterprise sale that makes or breaks the deal. It's not the demo, it's not the proposal. It's the proof of concept. The POC. Luna: Yeah, and I bet most reps either love them or hate them. Love them because they get to show the product. Hate them because they drag on and often die a slow death. Lucas: Exactly. And the thing is, a POC is supposed to reduce risk for the buyer. But too often it becomes this open-ended trial where the prospect gets the product for free, uses it casually for a month, and then goes quiet. No decision, no next step, just silence. Luna: So what's the fix? How do top reps turn a proof of concept into a done deal instead of a black hole? Lucas: It comes down to treating the POC like a joint project, not a vendor demo. And that starts before the first user logs in. Top reps set success criteria at kickoff. They sit down with the champion and the economic buyer and literally define what 'success' looks like in measurable terms. Luna: Can you give me a concrete example? Because 'success criteria' sounds a bit vague. Lucas: Sure. Let's say you're selling a project management tool. A vague success criterion would be 'the team communicates better.' A measurable one would be 'we reduce the time to generate a weekly status report from three hours to under thirty minutes.' That's specific, it's tied to a metric, and it's something you can actually test during the pilot. Luna: And if you don't define that at the start, you're basically setting yourself up for a 'we'll see' at the end. Lucas: Right. And here's the thing — the success criteria also give you a reason to check in. You can say, 'We agreed we'd measure time on report generation. How are we doing?' That's a natural conversation, not a 'just checking in' call that everybody dreads. Luna: So it's almost like you're building a scorecard. The champion is tracking progress, you're tracking progress, and you're reviewing it together. Lucas: Exactly. And top reps do this weekly. They schedule a recurring thirty-minute check-in every week for the duration of the pilot. It's not a 'do you have questions?' call. It's a progress review, where you walk through the scorecard, celebrate wins, and troubleshoot blockers. Luna: But what if the champion is too busy or just doesn't show up? That's a red flag, right? Lucas: Huge red flag. If your champion is ghosting you during the pilot, that's a signal that the urgency isn't there. And that's when you need to go back to the economic buyer and ask the hard question: 'Is this still a priority?' Because if it's not, you're better off killing the pilot early than letting it drag for another month. Luna: That's a brave move. But I imagine it saves everyone time and positions you as somebody who respects their time. Lucas: It does. And it's especially important near the end of the pilot. Let's say you're two weeks from the scheduled end date. Top reps don't wait for the final meeting. They start the renewal conversation early. They ask the champion, 'Based on what you've seen, are we on track to meet the success criteria?' And if the answer is yes, they start talking about next steps: procurement, legal, implementation. Luna: So you're basically planting the seeds of the deal before the pilot even officially ends. Lucas: Exactly. And I want to share a specific example because it's so illustrative. A friend of mine runs sales for a mid-market software company. They had a deal with a logistics firm, and the POC was going great for the first two weeks — the champion was engaged, usage was high. Then suddenly, nothing. Two weeks of silence. Luna: The classic black hole. What did he do? Lucas: He didn't send a 'just checking in' email. He reached out to the champion and said, 'I noticed we haven't had our check-in in a couple weeks. Is the pilot still on track? Is there a blocker I should know about?' And the champion replied, 'Oh, we got busy, but it's fine.' That was his warning sign. Luna: So he didn't take 'it's fine' at face value. Lucas: No. He asked to reschedule the check-in for the next day, and when they got on the call, it turned out the champion's boss was questioning the ROI and had put the evaluation on hold. So my friend immediately asked to meet the boss. And in that meeting, he reframed the pilot as a shared project — 'Here's the scorecard, here's the measurable progress, here's the feedback from the end users.' He brought the data. And that turned the tide. Luna: So the scorecard became the evidence. It wasn't just 'trust me, it's good.' It was 'here's the proof.' Lucas: Exactly. And that's the difference between a rep who lets a POC die and one who drives it to a close. They treat it as a project with milestones, with a champion who's accountable, and with a clear path to the economic buyer. Luna: And I imagine the economic buyer appreciates that because they don't want to make a decision based on a gut feeling. They want data. Lucas: Right. And you're giving them exactly that. Now, one more thing that top reps do — they build a plan for what happens after the pilot. They don't just end with 'so, do you want to buy?' They have a specific proposal ready, with pricing, implementation timeline, and a contract. They've already aligned with legal on the terms. So when the success criteria are met, they can say, 'Great, let's sign.' Luna: So they remove friction at the end. The deal doesn't stall because the paperwork isn't ready. Lucas: Exactly. And they also anticipate objections. They know the economic buyer might say, 'Can we extend the pilot another month?' So they're ready with a response: 'We can, but the success criteria were met in week three. What would an extra month tell you that you don't already know?' That's a fair question. Luna: That's a good one. It forces them to either commit or admit they're not actually serious. Lucas: Right. And sometimes that honesty is the best move. You'd rather lose a deal early than spend two months on a pilot that was never going anywhere. Luna: This is so practical. I've been in sales workshops where they talk about POC best practices, but it's always so abstract. This feels like something I could actually use today. Lucas: And that's the goal. If today was actually useful to you, the way these episodes stay ad-free is listener support. You can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, and it's a small gesture that keeps the lights on here. No ads, no sponsors, just our voices and the occasional caffeine boost. Lucas: So back to the POC — what would you say is the most common mistake you see reps make? Luna: Probably not having a clear end date. They just let it run indefinitely, and the urgency fades. You need that deadline to create momentum. Lucas: Completely agree. And I'd add that reps often forget to involve the economic buyer until the very end. But if you've been keeping them in the loop from the start, showing them progress checkpoints, then the final decision feels like a formality. Luna: So the key is to treat the POC like a mini-project, not a demo. Define success, meet weekly, and never lose sight of the end goal. Lucas: Exactly. And the next time you're about to kick off a POC, ask yourself: 'If this pilot succeeds, what does the next step look like?' If you can't answer that, you're not ready to start. Luna: And if you can answer it, you're probably going to close more deals. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And to our listeners, go make your POCs count.