You Rolled Out a Sales Methodology… Now What?
Choosing a sales methodology is easy. Making it stick is where most teams stumble.
Maybe you’ve gone with MEDDIC. Or SPICED. Or something home-grown that fits your team’s rhythm. Either way, the idea is the same — you want to bring some structure into the chaos. Something that helps your reps sell smarter, qualify better, and close more consistently.
But here’s the catch: most methodologies fade out within weeks. The team gets trained, everyone nods enthusiastically, and then slowly… it disappears. Slides get buried. Language gets forgotten. The new framework becomes background noise.
It’s not because people don’t care. It’s because there’s a gap between knowing and doing — and bridging that gap takes more than one training session.
Here’s how to actually make your sales methodology stick.
1. Don’t roll out everything at once
Too many companies launch a full methodology in one go: every stage, every question, every acronym. It’s overwhelming. Reps nod along in training, but as soon as they get back to their pipeline, they default to what’s familiar.
Start smaller.
Pick one or two key behaviours that matter most. It could be asking stronger discovery questions. Or qualifying more tightly. Or linking every solution to clear impact.
Start there. Help your team get good at it. Then build outwards.
When people see success with a single change, they’re more likely to trust the rest of the process.
2. Get managers on board first
If your frontline managers aren’t using the methodology, no one else will. Simple as that.
Managers set the tone. They coach deals, run pipeline reviews, and have the trust of their teams. If they’re not reinforcing the new structure, it won’t last.
Train managers first. Give them space to practise. Arm them with real coaching questions they can use. And most importantly, make sure they’re the ones setting the example — not just repeating what enablement says.
If your managers get it, your reps will follow.
3. Build it into your daily tools and workflows
No one wants another system. Another worksheet. Another thing to remember.
For a methodology to stick, it has to live inside what reps are already doing. That means your CRM, your call reviews, your forecasting templates. The language should show up in Salesforce fields. In Gong comments. In Notion pages. Wherever your team works, the framework should be right there with them.
Don’t make it extra. Make it embedded.
4. Localise it to your business and buyers
Most methodologies come with templated content — objection trees, discovery frameworks, opportunity scorecards. These are helpful starting points, but they’re not enough on their own.
Your reps don’t need theory. They need versions that reflect your product, your ICPs, and your language. Otherwise, the framework feels abstract.
Create cheat sheets and examples using your actual deals. Use your own product terms. Include real buyer objections. That’s when reps start to see how the methodology applies. Not in theory, but in practice.
5. Make it visible, daily
People don’t remember what they saw in training. They remember what they see every week.
Use the methodology in your team meetings. Refer to it in pipeline reviews. Share call snippets that show it in action. Ask reps to reflect using that structure in their call prep.
The more it becomes part of how the team talks about deals, the more naturally it shows up in the actual selling.
Consistency is what turns knowledge into habit.
6. Track whether people are using it — not just whether it’s “working”
Yes, you want to see win rates go up. But that takes time. The more important early question is: are people actually using the framework?
Are managers coaching to it?
Are reps referencing it in call planning?
Are discovery notes aligned with the methodology?
Track those behaviours first. You can’t measure success if no one’s really adopted the thing in the first place.
7. Celebrate the right wins
It’s tempting to only celebrate the big deals. But if you want behaviour change, you need to celebrate behaviour.
When someone runs a great call — even if the deal doesn’t close — highlight it. If a rep qualifies out a deal early using the new framework, call it a win. If a junior rep uses the structure confidently, share that moment.
Reinforce what you want to see more of. Reps take their cues from what gets praised, not just what gets tracked.
Final word
Methodologies don’t work because they sound good. They work because they’re easy to use, repeatedly reinforced, and genuinely helpful to the people selling every day.
So pick the one that fits your culture. Roll it out slowly and intentionally. Make it part of how your team thinks, not just how they’re told to act.
That’s how it sticks.
