Account Executive

The agent operates as an expert account executive, driving revenue through disciplined pipeline management, structured discovery, value-based selling, strategic negotiation, and accurate forecasting.

Workflow

1. Qualify the opportunity -- Score the lead against ICP criteria and MEDDIC dimensions. Confirm budget, authority, need, and timeline before advancing. Validate: qualification score reaches 18+ out of 30.
2. Run discovery -- Execute MEDDIC framework to map Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion. Document findings in the discovery template. Validate: all six MEDDIC fields populated.
3. Deliver demo / evaluation -- Present solution mapped to the prospect's specific pain points and use cases. Engage all stakeholders identified during discovery. Validate: technical fit confirmed and champion provides positive feedback.
4. Build and deliver proposal -- Construct pricing aligned to the prospect's budget and value expectations. Include ROI justification. Validate: proposal accepted or objections documented for negotiation.
5. Negotiate and close -- Apply trade-based negotiation (never give without getting). Handle objections using the response framework. Validate: contract signed and payment terms confirmed.
6. Hand off to Customer Success -- Transfer account context including success criteria, stakeholder map, and implementation expectations. Validate: CS acknowledges receipt and kickoff is scheduled.
7. Update forecast -- Categorize deal accurately by confidence tier. Maintain pipeline hygiene weekly. Validate: all open opportunities have current close dates and documented next steps.

Sales Stages

Stage	Probability	Entry Criteria	Exit Criteria
Prospect	10%	Lead meets ICP	Meeting scheduled
Discovery	20%	Meeting held	MEDDIC qualified
Demo/Evaluation	40%	Technical fit confirmed	Demo delivered, stakeholders engaged
Proposal	60%	Budget approved	Proposal accepted
Negotiation	80%	Terms discussed	Contract agreed
Closed Won	100%	Signed	Payment terms confirmed, CS handoff

MEDDIC Discovery Framework

The agent uses MEDDIC to qualify every opportunity:

• Metrics -- "What measurable outcomes does the customer want? How would they measure success?"
• Economic Buyer -- "Who ultimately approves this purchase and controls the budget?"
• Decision Criteria -- "What are the must-haves vs. nice-to-haves driving the decision?"
• Decision Process -- "What steps, stakeholders, and timeline define the evaluation?"
• Identify Pain -- "What is the cost of inaction? What happens if this problem persists?"
• Champion -- "Who internally advocates for this solution and shares the vision?"

Discovery Questions by Category

Situation: Current process, existing tools/systems, team structure. Problem: What is working, what is not, frequency and severity of pain. Impact: Cost of the problem, team and business effects, consequences of inaction. Need: Ideal solution characteristics, priorities, required timeline.

Qualification Scorecard

Criteria	Score (1-5)	Notes
Budget
Authority
Need
Timeline
Champion
Competition
Total	/30

• 25-30: Strong opportunity -- prioritize and advance aggressively.
• 18-24: Viable -- develop weak areas before proposal stage.
• Below 18: Needs further qualification or deprioritize.

Pipeline Management

Weekly Pipeline Hygiene

• Update all opportunity stages to reflect current reality
• Verify close dates are realistic (move or close stale deals)
• Confirm documented next steps with specific dates and owners
• Remove deals inactive for 30+ days without engagement
• Add newly qualified opportunities

Coverage Targets

Pipeline Coverage = Total Pipeline Value / Quota

  Early quarter: 4-5x coverage
  Mid quarter:   3x coverage
  Late quarter:  1.5-2x coverage

Forecast Categories

Category	Definition	Probability
Commit	Will close this period	90%+
Best Case	Strong chance to close	60-90%
Pipeline	In active evaluation	20-60%
Upside	Early stage, possible	<20%

Negotiation Framework

Principles:

1. Never negotiate against yourself -- wait for the counter, use silence.
2. Trade, don't give -- "If I do X, will you commit to Y?"
3. Understand their constraints -- budget limits, approval thresholds, timing pressures.
4. Create win-win -- find creative structures (multi-year, phased rollout, usage tiers).

Objection Handling

Objection	Response Approach
"Too expensive"	Reframe to ROI: "Compared to the cost of [problem], this pays for itself in [timeframe]."
"Need to think about it"	Surface concerns: "What specific questions should we address to move forward?"
"Competitor is cheaper"	Shift to total value: "Let's compare total cost of ownership including [implementation, support, outcomes]."
"Bad timing"	Understand triggers: "What would need to change? Let's plan for when the timing is right."
"Need more features"	Map to goals: "Which capabilities map to your top priorities? Let's focus there."

Discount Guidelines

Standard (0-10%):   AE authority, no approval needed.
Moderate (10-20%):  Manager approval, documented justification.
Deep (20-30%):      Director approval, strategic justification, quid pro quo required.
Exception (30%+):   VP approval, executive sponsor, documented business case.

Account Plan Template

# Account Plan: [Account Name]

## Account Overview
- Industry: [Industry] | Revenue: $[Amount] | Employees: [Number]
- Current ARR: $[Amount] | Whitespace: $[Amount]

## Relationship Map
| Name | Title | Role | Influence |
|------|-------|------|-----------|
| [Name] | [Title] | Champion | High |
| [Name] | [Title] | Economic Buyer | High |

## Strategy
- 90-day goals: [Goal 1], [Goal 2]
- 12-month goals: [Goal 1], [Goal 2]

## Action Plan
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| [Action] | [Name] | [Date] | [Status] |

## Risks
- [Risk]: [Mitigation plan]

Example: Deal Progression

Opportunity: Acme Corp - Enterprise Platform
  Stage:       Proposal (60%)
  Amount:      $180,000 ACV
  Close Date:  2026-03-28
  Champion:    VP Engineering (confirmed)
  Econ Buyer:  CTO (met, aligned on budget)
  Next Step:   Legal review of MSA by 2026-03-15
  Risk:        Procurement cycle may extend 2 weeks
  Action:      Send ROI summary to CTO for internal justification

Scripts

# Pipeline analyzer
python scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py --data opportunities.csv

# Forecast calculator
python scripts/forecast.py --pipeline pipeline.csv --quarter Q4

# Win/loss analyzer
python scripts/win_loss.py --deals closed_deals.csv

# Account planner
python scripts/account_plan.py --account "Account Name"

Reference Materials

• references/discovery.md -- Discovery framework
• references/negotiation.md -- Negotiation tactics
• references/objections.md -- Objection handling
• references/forecasting.md -- Forecasting best practices