Manager field guide · Deal IQ · SPICED

SPICED Under Pressure

Customer-centric discovery evidence, decision mapping, and handoff readiness for live B2B programs

SPICED is customer-centric qualification: Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, and Decision context. Use this guide when your cohort runs Winning by Design style discovery, not MEDDPICC deal inspection.

Explore Deal IQMEDDPICC manager guideGame rulebook

Who this is for

Enablement teams on Winning by Design or customer-centric GTMManagers coaching SDRs and AEs on discovery and handoffRevOps owners aligning pipeline stages to qualification evidence
  • · Not a SPICED certification programme
  • · Not a separate product: same Deal IQ engine, framework chosen per room
  • · Not the game rulebook (see link for Alex, Klara, and turn mechanics)

Manager wizard · Step 2

Room setup

  1. 01Create roomManager wizard, Step 2 Scenario Setup. Under Qualification framework, select SPICED. MEDDPICC remains the default for other cohorts.
  2. 02Stage 0SPICED rooms default Stage 0 (pipeline generation) on. Reps earn Situation and Pain before deep Impact work.
  3. 03Lead lifecycleOptional MQL, AQL, SQL labels on Stage 0 when enabled. Light promotion when Situation is validated and meetings carry a pain hypothesis.
  4. 04ExtensionsPaper Process and Competition stay off unless you explicitly need late-stage MEDDPICC-style extensions inside a SPICED run.

Seven cells on the SPICED board

Element reference

S

Situation

Customer describes their world in specifics, not your persona slide.

The buyer's current environment: tools, org context, and how they operate today.

Moves up: Research before outreach. Ask how their team supports company goals, not generic role questions.

Early mistake: Pitching before you can summarise their situation back accurately.

  • ?Can the rep restate the buyer environment without notes?
  • ?Which facts came from the customer vs LinkedIn only?
  • ?Is Situation validated before Pain depth?
P

Pain

Named pain with source. Separate operational pain from executive narrative.

Quantitative and qualitative problems the buyer feels today.

Moves up: Separate symptom from cause. Ask what breaks when the workaround fails.

Early mistake: Treating politeness as pain. Accepting vendor-supplied pain language.

  • ?Did the customer name the pain, or did we suggest it?
  • ?Is quantitative pain documented where it exists?
  • ?Who feels it daily?
I

Impact

Customer links pain to money, risk, or reputation without our ROI slide.

Rational business outcome and emotional stakes if pain persists.

Moves up: Ask what happens if they do nothing. Connect one person's pain to team outcomes.

Early mistake: Impact slides before Impact is confirmed in conversation.

  • ?What number or deadline did the buyer attach to delay?
  • ?Is impact organisational, not only individual frustration?
  • ?Did we test "so what?" on the stated pain?
CE

Critical Event

Customer names the event, consequence of missing it, and who owns the date.

A buyer-owned date or event that forces a decision. Not seller quarter end.

Moves up: Test urgency with "what happens if you miss that date?" Never invent deadlines.

Early mistake: Seller-created urgency. End-of-quarter pressure without buyer milestone.

  • ?Who set the date, us or them?
  • ?What is the cost of missing it in their words?
  • ?Is the event tied to Impact already validated?
DP

Decision Process

Customer-drawn path with names and gates, not our CRM stage names.

Steps from evaluation to signed agreement inside the customer org.

Moves up: Walk a recent purchase. Ask where deals like this stalled last year.

Early mistake: Assuming verbal interest equals process clarity.

  • ?What happens after the next meeting?
  • ?Where do security or legal enter?
  • ?Who must approve before signature?
DC

Decision Committee

Named roles, access plan, and who blocks vs sponsors.

People who influence and approve. Economic authority mapped to names.

Moves up: Map committee before assuming one contact is enough. Test access with small asks.

Early mistake: Single-threaded deals. Friendly contact treated as full committee coverage.

  • ?How many stakeholders have we engaged?
  • ?Who can say no after our champion says yes?
  • ?Is economic authority named, not inferred?
DCR

Decision Criteria

Ranked criteria in customer language. Proof requirements per criterion.

How the buyer will compare options, including unstated risk criteria.

Moves up: Ask how they chose the last vendor. Shape criteria with evidence, not feature dumps.

Early mistake: Competitive positioning before criteria are explicit.

  • ?Top three criteria in their order?
  • ?Which criteria favour us vs status quo?
  • ?What proof do they need for each?

Objection coaching

ACE on objections

  • Acknowledge · Acknowledge: name what you heard without defensiveness.
  • Clarify · Clarify: one sharp question that exposes the real blocker.
  • Evidence · Evidence: customer story or proof tied to their criteria, not a feature list.

Klara references ACE in SPICED rooms when reps rush to pitch or dodge clarification. Coach reps to slow down on objections, not win arguments.

Debrief output

Handoff readiness

Deal IQ scores handoff readiness from SPICED depth: Situation, Pain, Impact, and Critical Event documented, plus Decision context started. Player and manager both see the verdict in debrief.

  • Ready: CS could inherit a usable SPICED summary. Core elements have evidence.
  • Partial: Gaps remain in one or two core elements. Coach before live customer handoff.
  • Not ready: Discovery incomplete. Do not treat the run as production-ready documentation.

Facilitator

75-minute pilot

0-10

Frame

Confirm SPICED room. Review seven cells and Stage 0 lead lifecycle if enabled.

10-45

Run

Facilitated play. Pause once after Situation and Pain land.

45-60

Debrief

Review element scores, ACE moments, handoff readiness verdict.

60-75

Manager plan

Assign one element per rep for next live deal review.

FAQ

Is SPICED a different Deal IQ product?+

No. Same simulation. Manager selects SPICED at room creation. Board, coaching, scoring, and reports follow that framework for the cohort.

Can one room switch frameworks mid-programme?+

No. Create a new room or reset the scenario if you need to change framework. Prevents mixed evidence on the board.

Do we still get champion mechanics in SPICED?+

Champion is a stakeholder mechanic, not a board column. Reps still build advocates; coaching emphasises committee and criteria instead of MEDDPICC champion tests.

How is this different from the MEDDPICC manager guide?+

MEDDPICC guide covers deal inspection and fold discipline. This guide covers customer-centric sequence, Stage 0 lifecycle, ACE, and CS handoff.

How is this different from the Deal IQ rulebook?+

Rulebook covers turns, Alex, Klara, AP, and levels. This guide covers what managers inspect in SPICED evidence after the run.

Run a SPICED cohort

Create the room with SPICED selected, run one facilitated session, debrief on handoff readiness the same week.

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