Practice a demo when your champion wants speed and Security challenges every integration. Balance MEDDIC stakeholder mapping with live call control.
IT Manager (champion)
Hidden agenda: Undersold Security risk to get demo scheduled faster
Style: Urges you to ‘skip to the dashboard’ when challenged
Security Architect
Style: Interrupts with compliance questions; skeptical of ‘SOC 2 slide’
Economic buyer
Style: Silent until ROI is threatened; then concise and final
You play Alex Rivera. Read their lines aloud or have a partner play the buyer.
Stage-2 demo after solid discovery. Champion (IT manager) promised CFO would attend; CFO joined late. Security was added last minute.
Stakes: Deal at $180K; competitor claims faster deployment. Slipping this week pushes to next quarter.
Company: Healthcare tech buyer (~600 employees). HIPAA-sensitive data; prior vendor breach 18 months ago.
Keep the demo on business outcomes, surface Security concerns without derailing, and secure a technical deep-dive with documented requirements.
Read through each act, then work the decision points below. Coaching notes appear after annotated lines.
Alex Rivera
Before screens — six of us, 45 minutes. I suggest five on outcomes Riley and Jordan aligned on, twenty on workflow, fifteen on questions, five on next steps. Sam, I’ll reserve time for security architecture. Fair?
Riley Park · IT Manager (champion)
Let’s just show the dashboard — we’re tight on time.
Alex Rivera
We will — after Sam’s constraints are on the board so we don’t demo features you can’t deploy.
Sam Ortiz · Security Architect
Where is PHI processed? Your slide says SOC 2 — I want data flow, not badges.
Alex Rivera
Valid. I’ll show data flow in act two. Capturing: PHI processing location and audit logging — Sam, you own verification?
Sam Ortiz · Security Architect
If API pushes PHI to your cloud without on-prem option, we’re done.
CFO (Jordan Wells) · Economic buyer
What did the breach cost us last time? I’m not doing that again.
Alex Rivera
Jordan — remediation ran about $2M and delayed board reporting. Riley’s project targets $400K annual labor savings. Sam’s on-prem option preserves your security model. Can I show how all three connect?
Riley Park · IT Manager (champion)
Yes — show the dashboard now.
Alex Rivera
Two minutes on dashboard tied to labor savings, then Sam’s architecture deep-dive Wednesday with our security engineer — not today’s screen share.
CFO (Jordan Wells) · Economic buyer
Wednesday works if Sam signs off. Riley, you’re accountable for that meeting.
Sam Ortiz · Security Architect
Send the data-flow diagram today. I’ll come Wednesday with our checklist.
Choose a path before reading the debrief. In pair practice, pause and discuss which option you would take.
Decision 1 of 2
Skip to dashboard as Riley asked
RiskyWhy: Bypasses Security; CFO hears breach anxiety without answers. Deal dies in technical review.
Capture concern, assign owner, schedule security session
RecommendedWhy: Builds consensus; Sam feels heard; champion gets demo momentum via structured follow-up.
Argue SOC 2 compliance for ten minutes on the call
RiskyWhy: Technical debate without architect loses CFO; sounds defensive not consultative.
Decision 2 of 2
Acknowledge briefly and return to features
RiskyWhy: Misses economic buyer’s frame — risk and ROI drive the deal.
Bridge breach cost, savings project, and Security path
RecommendedWhy: Unifies buying group around business case while honoring Security.
Offer pricing concession to reassure CFO
RiskyWhy: Price doesn’t solve security fear; signals desperation.
Continue practicing related situations.
Jordan Chen has twelve minutes, a failed vendor rollout last year, and zero patience for slides. Can you earn a second conversation without pitching too early?
Everything was smooth until you showed the API. The lead engineer stopped asking questions — and started checking email.
Pat Okonkwo has three vendor quotes and a mandate to save 30%. Your list price is already competitive — do you discount, trade, or walk?
Frameworks and research cited in this scenario.
MEDDIC turns gut-feel pipeline into rigorous qualification — the framework behind some of the most predictable enterprise sales organizations in tech.
IQ gets you in the door; EQ closes the deal. Emotional intelligence predicts sales performance more reliably than cognitive ability in relationship-driven selling.
Gartner says 75% of buyers prefer rep-free buying — yet self-serve alone drives regret. Sense-making sellers win by reducing buyer confusion.
Forrester surveyed 16,000+ business buyers and found 86% of purchases stall — and 81% are dissatisfied even after buying. Here's what that means for sellers.
