# Methodology Coaching Cheat Sheet for 1:1s

> The exact questions to ask in a 1:1 to coach a rep's MEDDIC or Challenger-style skill gaps directly, instead of defaulting to a status review of their open deals.

Free cheat sheet for sales managers. Topic: [Sales Process & Methodology (MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger)](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/sales-process-methodology-meddic-spin-challenger/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/methodology-coaching-cheat-sheet-1on1s/

## How to use it

Before each 1:1, pick 1–2 skill areas based on where this rep's real deals are stalling, ask the diagnostic question about a specific live account, listen for the red-flag pattern, and close with the coaching question instead of giving direct advice.

## What's inside

- 7 skill areas: discovery/questioning, economic buyer access, champion development, business case/metrics, decision process navigation, competitive positioning, and objection handling
- A diagnostic question to ask for each skill area
- The specific red-flag answer that signals a real gap in that skill
- A coaching follow-up question designed to make the rep find their own next step
- Guidance on picking 1–2 skill areas per 1:1 instead of running all seven every time

A deal-status 1:1 asks "what's happening with this account?" A methodology-coaching 1:1 asks a diagnostic question, listens for a specific red flag, and then coaches with a question, never a lecture. Pick 1–2 skill areas per 1:1 based on where a rep's deals are actually stalling; don't run all seven every time.

## 1. Discovery & Questioning
**Ask:** "Walk me through the last three questions you asked before you pitched anything."
**Red flag:** The rep can't recall asking an implication question ("what happens if this doesn't get fixed?"), they moved straight from stating the situation to pitching a solution.
**Coach with:** "What would have happened if you'd asked one more 'so what' before you presented?"

## 2. Economic Buyer Access
**Ask:** "Who's the economic buyer on your top three deals, and when did you last speak to them directly?"
**Red flag:** The rep only knows the EB's name and title, has never spoken with them, and relies entirely on the champion's secondhand account of what they think.
**Coach with:** "What's stopping your champion from getting you 15 minutes with them?"

## 3. Champion Development
**Ask:** "What has your champion personally risked to move this deal forward?"
**Red flag:** The champion has only ever forwarded emails or scheduled meetings: never taken a real internal risk, like pushing a budget conversation or defending you in a meeting you weren't in.
**Coach with:** "What would you need to show them for them to be willing to do that?"

## 4. Business Case / Metrics
**Ask:** "What number is the buyer defending internally, in their own words?"
**Red flag:** The rep can restate the value proposition fluently, but not a number the buyer has personally committed to in front of others.
**Coach with:** "Whose number is this, yours or theirs? What would make it theirs?"

## 5. Decision Process Navigation
**Ask:** "What are the next three steps to signature, with dates and owners attached?"
**Red flag:** The rep can describe the steps in general terms but can't name who owns each one or when it happens.
**Coach with:** "What happens to this deal if nobody owns the next step?"

## 6. Competitive Positioning (teach / tailor / control)
**Ask:** "What did you teach this buyer about their own business that they didn't know coming in?"
**Red flag:** The rep can list product differentiators fluently, but nothing that actually reframed how the buyer thinks about their problem.
**Coach with:** "What's one insight from a similar customer you could bring into this account?"

## 7. Objection Handling
**Ask:** "Tell me about the last real objection you got, and exactly what you said back."
**Red flag:** The rep's response was a rebuttal or a feature dump, not a question that reopened the conversation.
**Coach with:** "What question could you have asked instead of answering it head-on?"

## How to run these 1:1s

- Pick the 1–2 skill areas most relevant to where this rep's pipeline is actually stalling, check their MEDDPICC scores or forecast-call answers first.
- Use real, recent examples from their own calls wherever possible; a hypothetical is a weak substitute for "tell me what you actually said on Tuesday."
- Every "coach with" question is deliberately a question, not advice: the goal is the rep articulating their own next step, not you handing them a script.
- Revisit the same skill area the following week if the red flag persists; one 1:1 rarely fixes a habit.