Revenue Builders Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Revenue Builders
Episode: Preparing for the EB Meeting with Anne Gary
Date: October 5, 2025
Hosts: John McMahon & John Kaplan
Guest: Anne Gary

Overview

This episode centers on preparing for meetings with the Economic Buyer (EB) in B2B sales environments. Drawing from Anne Gary’s deep experience (including her role at PTC during the creation of MEDDIC), the conversation dives into tactical and strategic best practices for sales professionals. The hosts and Anne provide actionable insights to help salespeople stand out, align more closely with executive decision-makers, and drive better outcomes in sales cycles.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Preparation

• Do Your Homework
  Salespeople must thoroughly research before entering an EB meeting. Failing to prepare is a major pitfall.

  • "Eight out of 10 executives say that in a lot of sales meetings, they just feel like they're wasting their time because salespeople come in, they're unprepared." — Anne Gary [00:46]
  • Unprepared sales reps waste the EB’s time by asking questions that should have been answered through prior research.

• Differentiate Yourself Through Knowledge
  Go beyond surface-level questions and demonstrate an understanding of the company's landscape.

  • "You need to have done your homework before you enter their office. Right, Exactly." — John Kaplan [01:13]

• Research Tools
  Utilize company websites, annual reports, SEC filings (10K), shareholder letters, and analyst presentations to grasp business objectives, risks, and competition.

  • "...where you get to understand the company's business objectives, strategic initiatives, business risks, and their competition. And that's, that's critical also, Ann, to understand who's their competition, what are they doing?" — John Kaplan [01:56]

2. Act as a Business Partner, Not Just a Seller

• Adopt the Business Partner Mindset
  Instead of teaching executives what they already know, bring new perspectives and relevant insights.

  • "Be someone that helps them run their business. Don't explain business issues they already know. Instead, inform them about a business issue that they didn't consider..." — John Kaplan [01:23]

• Tailor Your Language and Perspective
  Ensure you use business language and metrics that resonate with the EB—including how they're measured, which could differ from your champion’s focus.

  • "The terms that you discussed and resonated with your champion, they may not be the same terms that resonate with the economic buyer." — John Kaplan [03:41]

3. Align Solutions With Business Outcomes and KPIs

• Map Solutions to Corporate Goals
  Tie your value proposition directly to outcomes like revenue growth, risk reduction, and cost minimization.

  • "Link your solution to revenue growth, reduction in cost, reduction in risk at the corporate level. And I see all too often we get excited about the technology and we aren't making that connection back to those corporate objectives." — Anne Gary [02:35]

• Connect to the Individual’s KPIs
  Remember the EB (and others) have personal performance measures—meet their needs as well as the company’s.

4. Understanding Measurement and Business Terms

• Learn How EBs Are Measured
  Each stakeholder may have unique metrics; tailor your narrative.
  • Memorable Example:
    • Champion (VP Engineering): Measured on engineering costs
    • EB: Measured on production costs/scrap savings
  • "Trying to understand how the economic buyer is measured and putting in their business terms, that's really critical." — John Kaplan [04:34]

5. Paint the "As Is" and "To Be" State

• Clearly Articulate the Current and Future State
  Use quantified pain statements describing the situation before and after your solution.

  Example:

  • Large manufacturers and time-to-market:
    "We understand that it currently takes you 26 weeks and a cost of X dollars...to get the software portion of the electric vehicle incorporated." — Anne Gary [05:10]

  • Go deeper: Show downstream impacts, like increased product costs and lost market share if pain isn’t resolved.

  • "The delayed time to market that we're talking about, it's caused a potential loss in the market share of the competition as well. So that's where you're really up leveling..." — Anne Gary [06:18]

6. Highlight Required Capabilities and Differentiation

• Identify Must-Have Capabilities
  After internal collaboration, clarify what’s needed to achieve the desired business outcomes.

  • "...there's these minimum required capabilities to get there. And again, that's where we go in and start talking about, you know, how we're differentiated..." — Anne Gary [07:54]

• Unique Differentiators
  Frame your differentiation around how your solution addresses specific pains and must be part of the EB’s decision criteria.

  • "Your unique differentiators that aligns to their specific pain points. These are the items that have to be in the decision criteria for the validation event. This is where you win the pov." — John Kaplan [08:34]

7. Validate with Preliminary ROI and Success Stories

• Develop a Substantial Preliminary ROI
  Be confident in your proposed ROI—if it’s not compelling, a full pilot or POC (proof of concept) isn’t worth your or their time.

  • "...if your roi, your preliminary ROI is not going to be substantial enough for them to actually make that decision to reallocate budget, why would you go into any of these POCs or POVs?" — Anne Gary [08:48]

• Share Relevant Success Stories

  • Give proof and customer examples that build confidence.
  • "You got to give them some confidence that you've done this a number of times. They're not the only company that this you've seen these issues with." — John Kaplan [09:33]

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Preparation:
  "Eight out of 10 executives say...they just feel like they're wasting their time because salespeople come in, they're unprepared." — Anne Gary [00:46]

• On Being a Business Partner:
  "Don't explain business issues they already know. Instead, inform them about, you know, a business issue that they didn't consider..." — John Kaplan [01:23]

• On Aligning with KPIs:
  "...they have things that they're measured on. So we need to link the solution and what we're doing also to the business outcomes that they're looking to achieve that will help them actually achieve their personal job measures." — Anne Gary [02:58]

• On Understanding Metrics:
  "...the amount of scrap that we would save with our product helped him turn more of his production back on. And that was more important to him than whereas engineering costs were more important to the champion." — John Kaplan [04:28]

• On Presenting ROI:
  "...if your roi, your preliminary ROI is not going to be substantial enough for them to actually make that decision to reallocate budget, why would you go into any of these POCs or POVs?" — Anne Gary [08:48]

Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Introduction & Episode Purpose | 00:00–00:37 | | Importance of Preparation | 00:37–01:13 | | Business Partner Mindset | 01:13–02:21 | | Aligning Solution to Corporate and Individual KPIs | 02:21–03:41 | | Understanding EB’s Metrics | 03:41–04:47 | | "As Is" to "To Be" State, Quantified Pains | 04:47–07:10 | | Required Capabilities & Differentiation | 07:10–08:34 | | Preliminary ROI & Success Stories | 08:34–09:58 |

Takeaways

• Preparation and research are table stakes for any EB meeting.
• Talk business, not technology; frame discussions in terms aligned with the EB’s and the company’s success metrics.
• Always articulate the before-and-after effect of your solution, quantifying pains and positive business outcomes.
• Be ready to present a credible, tailored ROI and share customer success stories as proof points.

This episode serves as a tactical guide for sales professionals aiming to engage and convert economic buyers by speaking their language and leading with business value.

Listeners looking for actionable sales advice and proven EB meeting frameworks will find this episode especially valuable.