Today, I’ll be sharing the Universal Preparation framework with you, it’s so powerful, easy and impactful. 

The sophistication of this concept lies in its simplicity.

Every powerful customer meeting is 3 parts preparation, 1 part execution. 

When you think about preparation, we use the UPF to break it down into 5 essential components:

What do they have “too much” of?

What do they have “too little” of?

What should “go up” for them? 

What should “come down” for them?

What should “accelerate” for them?

This is useful not only in sales, but this structure is also a powerful exercise for self-awareness and evaluation. 

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Every Friday, I’ll email you 1 actionable tip to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader so your teams overdeliver and win deals, even in a slow economy. 

Let’s dive in…

1. What do they have too much of?

It’s crucial for you to identify the excesses in your customer’s current scenario. 

It might be a case of too much misalignment between teams, or too many processes that limit agility. Discover all the elements that hold your customer back.

2. What do they have too little of? 

Equally important is to recognize what’s lacking. 

Is there a deficiency in teaming that is creating silos? Is there too little confidence within the leadership to embark on a large-scale digital transformation?

Too much and too little are the primary qualitative elements that may be priorities for your customer..

3. What should go up for them?

Hers is where you identify the areas of improvement and growth that are necessary. 

Think in terms of KPIs. 

If you are looking at a sales organization, this could mean boosting revenue or volume. 

4. What should come down for them? 

This component involves identifying what needs to be reduced or eliminated. 

For a sales team, this might involve pinpointing stalls in the pipeline that are slowing down sales. For your customer this could be KPIs like bad attrition, long lead times, customer churn etc.

5. What should accelerate for them? 

Finally, identify the areas where speed is of the essence. 

In a sales context, deal velocity might be the key area of focus. For your customer, this might relate to their innovation metrics on time to market, cultural integration between companies etc.

The beauty of this framework is its simplicity and universal applicability. 

It’s not confined to a single context.

I’ve found it to be an effective tool for self-analysis, helping me identify my own strengths and weaknesses, and guiding me towards my personal improvement. 

What do I have too much of? Perhaps it is my ego that is getting in the way of making sound decisions.

What do I have too little of? Perhaps I lack the drive or the “hunger” that is necessary to reach my goals

What should go up for me? On a personal level, I might want to speed up my progress in my role or improve my skill set.

What should come down for me? In a personal sense, I might need to reduce time spent on non-productive activities (digital drifting)

What should accelerate me? Personally, this could mean accelerating my learning curve or quickly adapting to changes, so that I could stay ahead of the change.

In a recent workshop where I introduced this preparation framework, I was surprised to see how such a simple framework could stretch people’s thinking. 

Maybe, you can do this as a brainstorming exercise with your sales team for all your key accounts.

Whether you’re using it for client analysis, for understanding your team better, or for personal growth, the universality of this framework is its true strength. 

Here’s wishing you all the best as you explore this framework and use it to create more success for yourself, your team, and your customers.

If this resonates with you, Subscribe to the CXO Sales Playbook Newsletter. 

Every Friday, I’ll email you 1 actionable tip to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader so your teams overdeliver and win deals, even in a slow economy.