SPICED Evidence by Pipeline Stage

On-demand reference for the sales-methodology skill.

Different SPICED scores are required at different stages. This prevents deals from moving too fast or stalling.

DISCOVERY STAGE (0-30 days):
  Goal: Build situation + pain foundation
  Minimum SPICED score: 4+ (any combination)
  Must have:
    - Situation ≥ 1 (know who you're talking to and what they do)
    - Pain ≥ 1 (identified a problem, even if not quantified)
  Red flags to exit:
    - Pain score stays at 0 after 2 calls (they don't actually care)
    - Situation score stays at 0 (can't even schedule a follow-up)
    - Buyer says "we're happy with status quo and have no budget" (not a deal)

QUALIFICATION STAGE (30-60 days):
  Goal: Validate impact + critical event + decision process
  Minimum SPICED score: 8+
  Must have:
    - Situation ≥ 2 (know their operating model)
    - Pain ≥ 2 (quantified in euros)
    - Impact ≥ 1 (they've articulated future state)
    - Critical Event ≥ 1 (identified deadline or trigger)
    - Decision ≥ 1 (know who's involved)
  Red flags to exit:
    - After 3 calls, Critical Event is still 0 (no real urgency, deal will stall)
    - Pain stays at 1 (no quantification; they're not serious)
    - Decision is 0 (still no idea who the economic buyer is)

SOLUTION DESIGN / PROPOSAL (60-90 days):
  Goal: Close decision + champion gaps, prepare proposal
  Minimum SPICED score: 10+
  Must have:
    - Situation ≥ 2 (understand how to position solution)
    - Pain ≥ 2 (can quantify savings/upside against their cost)
    - Impact ≥ 2 (they've modelled the business case)
    - Critical Event ≥ 1 (driven timeline for proposal delivery)
    - Decision ≥ 2 (know decision process, have champion, identified economic buyer)
  Red flags to delay proposal:
    - Decision score is 1 or 0 (haven't talked to economic buyer; proposing to wrong person)
    - Impact score is 0 or 1 (haven't modelled upside; proposal will be about price)
    - Pain quantification is missing (can't tie ROI to specific problem)

NEGOTIATION / CLOSE (90+ days):
  Goal: Close economic buyer, handle legal/procurement
  Minimum SPICED score: 12+
  Must have:
    - All elements ≥ 2
    - Economic buyer directly engaged (not through champion)
    - Decision process walkthrough complete (know exact path to signature)
    - Commercial terms pre-qualified (no surprises in legal/procurement)
  Red flags to escalate:
    - Economic buyer hasn't been engaged directly by this stage (you've been relying on champion)
    - Critical Event passed (May board was the deadline, it's now June)
    - Procurement introduces new requirements not discussed before (scope creep)