GPCT and GPCTBA/C&I explained

G: Goals

What the buyer needs to achieve, ideally with a number and a date. A goal is a target the business is measured on: revenue, retention, cost, speed, compliance.

Listen for: Targets set by leadership, numbers in the buyer's own KPIs, and goals that changed recently.

1. What are your main goals for this year?
2. What number are you being measured on?
3. Who set that target?
4. How does it compare with last year?
5. Which goal matters most to your leadership?
6. What would hitting it mean for the business?
7. Has the goal changed recently? Why?
8. How confident are you of hitting it as things stand?
9. Which goals does your team own directly?
10. What would exceeding it look like?
11. Are there goals you have had to put aside to focus on this one?

A 3 looks like: A specific, measured goal with a deadline, owned by the buyer and set by leadership.

P: Plans

How the buyer intends to reach the goal: projects underway, hires, tools and changes already decided. Plans show whether they are serious and where you might fit or compete.

Listen for: Plans that depend on hope, plans already failing, and plans that leave a gap you fill.

1. How do you plan to reach that goal?
2. What have you already started?
3. What is working so far?
4. What is not working as well as you hoped?
5. Who owns the plan?
6. What resources have been set aside for it?
7. Have you done something like this before? What did you learn?
8. Where does the plan depend on things outside your control?
9. What would you change about the plan if you could?
10. Are you planning to hire, buy or build to get there?
11. How will you know by mid-year whether the plan is on track?

A 3 looks like: The plan, its owner and its progress known, with a clear gap you can fill.

C: Challenges

What stands in the way of the plan. HubSpot's article calls this one of the most important moments in a sale, because it is where you find out whether you can help.

Listen for: Obstacles they have already hit, obstacles they expect, and challenges they are uncomfortable naming.

1. What could stop you from hitting the goal?
2. What has already got in the way?
3. Why has this been hard to solve?
4. Which challenge worries you most?
5. Is it a people, process or technology problem?
6. What have you tried to overcome it?
7. Why did that not fully work?
8. Do you have the skills in-house to solve it?
9. Is the challenge growing or shrinking?
10. What would your manager say the biggest challenge is?
11. If this challenge disappeared tomorrow, how much closer would you be to the goal?

A 3 looks like: A specific challenge, confirmed with examples, that you can solve and that directly blocks the goal.

T: Timeline

When the goal must be met and when work needs to start. Timing comes from the goal's deadline, not from your quarter.

Listen for: Deadlines tied to the goal, lead times for implementation, and events such as a financial year end or a launch.

1. When does the goal need to be met?
2. When would you need to start to make that?
3. How long would implementation realistically take?
4. What milestones are you working to?
5. What else is happening in the business at the same time?
6. Are there periods when your team cannot take on a change?
7. What happens if you start a quarter later?
8. Is there a board meeting or review where progress will be checked?
9. How long do decisions like this usually take here?
10. When would you want to have chosen a partner?

A 3 looks like: A deadline linked to the goal, with a start date and decision date worked back from it.

B: Budget

Whether the buyer can invest to reach the goal, and whether they agree the return justifies it. Ask after GPCT, once the size of the goal and the challenge are clear.

Listen for: Money set aside for the plan, the value of hitting the goal, and how investment decisions are made.

1. What have you set aside to reach this goal?
2. How do you decide whether an investment like this is worth it?
3. What return would you expect?
4. What is hitting the goal worth to the business?
5. What is missing it worth, in lost revenue or extra cost?
6. Is budget already allocated, or would it come from somewhere else?
7. Who would need to approve the spend?
8. When is budget for next year set?
9. Have you priced other ways to get there?
10. Would a phased approach make approval easier?

A 3 looks like: A funded or fundable investment, with the expected return agreed and the approval route known.

A: Authority

Who decides and who influences. HubSpot notes that sellers often reach the economic decision maker later in the process; the aim early on is to know who they are and how to reach them.

Listen for: Who owns the goal, who owns the budget, and whether they are the same person.

1. Who owns this goal?
2. Who would make the final decision?
3. Who else needs to be involved?
4. How have similar decisions been made before?
5. Who might have concerns?
6. What does the decision maker care about most?
7. How would you like to involve them?
8. Is a committee or board involved?
9. Who would use what we provide day to day?
10. If you recommended this, how likely is it to be approved?

A 3 looks like: Decision maker named and engaged, influencers mapped, and your contact's role in the decision clear.

C: Negative consequences

What happens if the buyer misses the goal: to the business, to the team and to them personally. This is where urgency comes from, and where your solution is shown to reduce risk.

Listen for: Personal stakes, budget cuts, restructures and competitive threats.

1. What happens if you do not hit the goal?
2. How would that affect your team?
3. How would it affect you personally?
4. What would leadership do?
5. Would it affect next year's budget or headcount?
6. How would competitors take advantage?
7. Has the business missed a goal like this before? What happened?
8. What is the cost of staying as you are for another year?
9. Who would be most affected by a miss?
10. How would customers notice?

A 3 looks like: Specific consequences, personal and business, stated by the buyer and important to the decision maker.

I: Positive implications

What happens if the buyer hits or beats the goal. These are the benefits your champion will repeat internally, so get them in the buyer's words.

Listen for: Promotions, bonuses, expansion plans, recognition and the next goal after this one.

1. What happens if you hit the goal?
2. What would it mean for you personally?
3. What would your team be able to do next?
4. How would leadership react?
5. What would it make possible next year?
6. How would customers benefit?
7. What would beating the goal by a margin look like?
8. Would it change your budget or headcount?
9. Who else in the business benefits?
10. How would you tell the story of the win internally?

A 3 looks like: Clear benefits stated by the buyer, with at least one that matters to the decision maker.

GPCTBA/C&I NOTES: {{prospect company}}, {{contact and title}}   Date: {{date}}

Goals: what they need to achieve, with numbers
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Plans: how they intend to reach it
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Challenges: what stands in the way
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Timeline: when it has to happen
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Budget: what is available to solve it
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Authority: who decides and who influences
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Negative consequences: what happens if they miss the goal
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Positive implications: what happens if they hit it
{{impact on them, their team and the business}}

Agreed next step: {{step, attendees, date}}

MEETING HANDOVER: {{prospect company}}
Meeting: {{date and time}}, {{length}} minutes, {{video or phone}}
Booked by: {{SDR name}}   Account executive: {{AE name}}

Who is attending
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Others invited or mentioned: {{names and titles}}

Why they agreed to meet (their words)
"{{the reason they gave, as close to verbatim as possible}}"

What they told us
Current situation: {{tools, team, process}}
Problem or goal: {{what is not working or what they want to achieve}}
Impact they mentioned: {{cost, time, risk, revenue}}
Timing: {{deadline, contract end, project start, budget cycle}}
Decision: {{who else is involved, how they buy}}
Budget: {{anything said, or "not discussed"}}

Qualification score: {{framework}} {{score}} of {{max}}. Gaps: {{elements scored below 2}}

What the prospect expects from the meeting
{{what the SDR promised: a conversation, a comparison, a specific question answered}}

Watch outs
{{objections raised, competitor mentioned, sensitivity, anything not to say}}