[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-358180-105":53,"doc-detail-358180-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","after-the-discovery-call-the-ae-playbook-for-driving-deals-from-demo-to-close","After the Discovery Call - The AE Playbook for Driving Deals from Demo to Close","","After the discovery call, this playbook explains how best account executives turn initial discovery meetings into booked revenue. It frames why B2B buying has changed, emphasizing independent research by buyers and buying committees that evaluate deals in non-linear ways. It then provides meeting-by-meeting guidance: a qualification-led demo with five acts, structured alignment, a proven negotiation process, and tactics to secure signatures while keeping stakeholders engaged and accelerating outcomes.",{"@graph":63,"@context":123},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/after-the-discovery-call-the-ae-playbook-for-driving-deals-from-demo-to-close/358180/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/after-the-discovery-call-the-ae-playbook-for-driving-deals-from-demo-to-close/358180.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Oliver","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-09-23",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115,119],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"Why has the salesperson-buyer relationship changed in B2B deals?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"Buyers now access more and higher-quality information independently, spend significant time researching, and often work through committees rather than individual employees. This changes how deals progress and increases complexity across stages and tasks.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"What is the five-act framework for a qualification-led demo?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"The playbook uses Gong’s Five-Act Demo Structure: contextual overview, upside-down demo, social proof, solve exactly, and next steps. Each act is designed to address the buyer’s pain points and reinforce relevance.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the playbook guide alignment after the demo?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"It focuses on persona identification and a mutual action plan (MAP), with steps covering preparation, ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem-solving, and action and implementation. It also emphasizes value-based pricing communication.",{"name":120,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What approach does the playbook recommend for securing signatures?",{"text":122,"@type":110},"It outlines meeting and collaboration tactics: arrange standing meetings, collaborate cross-functionally, and use a listen-diagnose-prescribe approach to resolve concerns and drive toward signature decisions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":125,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":56},358180,1791735852,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":145,"read_time":8},8796095461610,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","After the discovery call:  \nThe AE playbook for driving deals from demo to close  \n1  \nTable of contents  \n1. The salesperson-buyer relationship has changed  \n2. Meeting \\#1: Demo  \na. Qualification-led demo framework  \nb. Act 1: The contextual overview  \nc. Act 2: The upside-down demo  \nd. Act 3: Social proof  \ne. Act 4: Solve exactly  \nf. Act 5: Next steps  \ng. Product-led demo strategy  \nh. Premature presentation syndrome  \ni. Turn features into narratives  \n3. Meeting \\#2: Alignment  \na. Persona identification  \nb. Mutual action plan (MAP)  \nb. Step 1: Preparation and planning  \nc. Step 2: Defining the ground rules  \nd. Step 3: Clarification and justification  \ne. Step 4: Bargaining and problem-solving  \nf. Step 5: Action and implementation  \ng. Build to your price and wrap in benefits  \nh. Put your price up and shut up  \ni. Never discount without a trade  \nj. Pick your medium carefully  \n5. Meeting \\#4: Signatures  \na. Arrange standing meetings  \nb. Collaborate cross-functionally  \nc. Listen, diagnose, prescribe  \n4. Meeting \\#3: Negotiation  \na. A proven process for negotiations  \n2  \nThe salesperson-buyer relationship has changed.  \nReps were once the only route into a company and its services or products. They were guardians of information and answers. When a buyer wanted something, they went to their sales rep.  \nBut as suppliers’ content marketing strategies ramped up and buyers gained access to more — and higher quality — information, the dynamic shifted. When a buyer wanted to check pricing details or clarify technical documentation, they did soon their own.  \nToday, buyers spend 45% of their time independently researching. What about vendors? They have to make do with a measly 17% of a buyer’s time. (Note: That’s all potential vendors, not just you.)  \nThe individual buyer is long-gone, too.  \nCompanies employ committees, not individual employees, to compare products and select services. These buying groups are composed of six to 10 decision-makers, each armed with independently sourced information.  \nWith a host of buyers at the helm, deals are growing more convoluted. Instead of progressing along a linear path (awareness, education, selection, onboarding, impact, and growth), modern buyers jump around, focusing on the stages and tasks that most interest them.  \n“Buying jobs don’t happen sequentially but more or less simultaneously. And if we were to map out a real B2B buying journey, it would look a lot less like a step-by-step linear process and a lot more like a big bowl of spaghetti.”  \nBrent Adamson, Distinguished VP of Advisory at Gartner  \nCSO Update: The new B2B buying journey and its implication for sales  \nA lot has changed: power dynamics, selling roles, information access, and more. But don’t think we’re advising B2B sales reps to capitulate. Far from it. Sellers and managers who rebuild their sales motion around their buyers are poised to win big: engaged stakeholders, deal acceleration, and increased revenue.  \n4  \nOver the last few months, we’ve profiled sales leaders and practitioners at the front of this transformation.  \nWe’ve learned how they’re reclaiming control over the sales process by focusing on a handful of key meetings and touchpoints.  \nA typical sales process  \nEach blue triangle represents an opportunity to leverage Calendly to get you to the next meeting, faster.  \nIn “The Art of Cold Outreach,” we explored how high-performing Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) are getting replies, landing meetings, and generating pipeline.  \nIn this e-book, we’re moving down the sales process, revealing how the best account executives (AEs) are turning initial discovery meetings into booked revenue.  \nWe’ll reveal the strategies that render their demos irresistible and their proven tactics for achieving stakeholder alignment. We’ll break down their negotiation tips and their processes for getting signatures. We’ll give you all the tools necessary to not just survive this sea change of B2B buy","cbCain8missBMON8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCain8missBMON8","pdf",986650,32,"English","# The salesperson-buyer relationship has changed\n# Meeting #1: Demo\n## Qualification-led demo framework\n### Act 1: The contextual overview\n### Act 2: The upside-down demo\n### Act 3: Social proof\n### Act 4: Solve exactly\n### Act 5: Next steps\n# Meeting #2: Alignment\n## Persona identification\n## Mutual action plan (MAP)\n## Step 1: Preparation and planning\n## Step 2: Defining the ground rules\n## Step 3: Clarification and justification\n## Step 4: Bargaining and problem-solving\n## Step 5: Action and implementation\n# Meeting #3: Negotiation\n## A proven process for negotiations\n# Meeting #4: Signatures\n## Arrange standing meetings\n## Collaborate cross-functionally\n## Listen, diagnose, prescribe","[{\"question\":\"Why has the salesperson-buyer relationship changed in B2B deals?\",\"answer\":\"Buyers now access more and higher-quality information independently, spend significant time researching, and often work through committees rather than individual employees. This changes how deals progress and increases complexity across stages and tasks.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the five-act framework for a qualification-led demo?\",\"answer\":\"The playbook uses Gong’s Five-Act Demo Structure: contextual overview, upside-down demo, social proof, solve exactly, and next steps. Each act is designed to address the buyer’s pain points and reinforce relevance.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the playbook guide alignment after the demo?\",\"answer\":\"It focuses on persona identification and a mutual action plan (MAP), with steps covering preparation, ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem-solving, and action and implementation. It also emphasizes value-based pricing communication.\"},{\"question\":\"What approach does the playbook recommend for securing signatures?\",\"answer\":\"It outlines meeting and collaboration tactics: arrange standing meetings, collaborate cross-functionally, and use a listen-diagnose-prescribe approach to resolve concerns and drive toward signature decisions.\"}]","After the Discovery Call - The AE Playbook for Driving Deals from Demo to Close | PDF",1790133133]