Understand
Context
How software is built today, which tools are in place, and where teams collaborate.
Sales development playbook
Qualification that creates momentum
A practical guide to understanding the customer, finding real business value, and deciding the right next action.
MEDDPICC
BANT
SPIN
Challenger
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Conversation starter
Why do we want to qualify?
The point
Qualification is not about proving the buyer is worthy of our time
It is about proving that a meaningful change is worth the customer’s time.
Expose
Impact
What the current state costs in time, risk, developer effort, and missed priorities.
Align
Priority
Why this matters now and which executive or operational goal it supports.
Advance
Action
Agree on a specific next step with an owner, purpose, and timeframe.
Why qualify?
Good qualification protects customer time and seller focus
For the customer
1Connect technical friction to an outcome leadership already cares about.
2Clarify trade-offs, stakeholders, and the cost of leaving the current state unchanged.
3Create a credible path from conversation to evaluation, decision, and adoption.
For the account team
1Prioritize accounts where there is a real problem, reachable value, and a reason to act.
2Bring AEs and specialists evidence, not vague interest or unverified seat estimates.
3Forecast based on customer evidence and next events, not seller optimism.
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Conversation starter
What makes a good qualification?
What good looks like
A qualified opportunity has evidence across four dimensions
Problem
Specific
A concrete gap in delivery, security, collaboration, governance, or developer experience.
Impact
Material
The gap affects an agreed metric, priority, deadline, cost, or risk profile.
People
Connected
We understand who feels the pain, who shapes the decision, and who can mobilize change.
Progress
Mutual
The customer agrees to a logical next event because it helps them make a better decision.
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Conversation starter
What qualification methodologies do we use internally at GitHub?
Framework choice
BANT opens the door. MEDDPICC tells us whether a complex deal can move.
BANT | fast initial signal
B
Budget
Is funding available, planned, or dependent on a business case?
A
Authority
Who can approve, block, or influence this change?
N
Need
What important problem are they trying to solve?
T
Timing
What event or deadline creates urgency?
MEDDPICC | complex deal evidence
M
Metrics
Quantified value.
E
Economic buyer
Final authority.
D
Decision criteria
How options are judged.
D
Decision process
How approval happens.
P
Paper process
Legal and procurement.
I
Implicate pain
Why change matters.
C
Champion
Internal mobilizer.
C
Competition
Vendor, build, or no action.
In the conversation
SPIN creates discovery. Challenger adds a point of view.
Discovery methodology
SPIN
Use structured questions to move from the customer’s situation to problems, business implications, and the value of change.
Insight methodology
Challenger
Bring a relevant point of view that reframes the problem, connects to the customer’s priorities, and guides a useful next step.
Qualification questions
Start with the customer’s operating environment
Current tools
Where does version control happen today? GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or multiple platforms? Which AI tools are developers using, such as Copilot, Cursor, Claude, or internal solutions?
Scale and collaboration
How many developers, contractors, and external teams collaborate across those platforms? How many repositories and business units are involved?
Current gaps
What is not on GitHub today, and why? Where are controls inconsistent? How is security handled across the SDLC? Where does AI lack governance or adoption?
Ongoing priorities
Which initiatives matter this year: cloud migration, platform consolidation, AI rollout, application security, developer experience, cost reduction, or faster delivery?
Avoid these traps
Five habits that create false qualification
01
Checklist interrogation
Running through framework fields without following the customer’s story.
02
Premature pitching
Mapping every answer to a feature before understanding impact and priority.
03
Accepting vague language
Treating “security is important” or “AI is strategic” as sufficient evidence.
04
Single-threading
Confusing a helpful contact with authority, influence, or a tested champion.
05
Seller-only next steps
Sending decks and waiting instead of agreeing a customer-owned decision event.
Reset
Stay curious longer
Summarize what you heard, test it, and ask what you have missed.
Takeaways
If you only remember 3 things from today
01 · Why qualify?
Focus
Protect customer time and seller effort by proving there is a meaningful change worth pursuing.
02 · Who to qualify?
People
Qualify the problem with users, the impact with business stakeholders, and the decision with authority.
03 · What matters most?
Evidence
A specific problem, material impact, connected stakeholders, and a mutual reason to move forward.