Command of the Message: Key Steps, Benefits, & Tips

Let’s begin!

What Is Command of the Message?

Command of the Message is a sales framework created and trademarked by Force Management (a sales training company).

This methodology allows your sales reps to build a straightforward case for how your solution will help the prospect and why they should choose you over any other company. The process is consultative, and the rep positions themselves as a trusted advisor.

Let’s dive deeper into how this sales methodology works.

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9 Key Stages of Command of the Message (with Examples)

The Command of the Message sales method consists of nine key steps that build an airtight value proposition, helping the prospect understand the value they will get from your product:

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We’ll explain these steps using a Scratchpad sales representative as an example. Scratchpad is a Salesforce plug-in that enhances CRM data hygiene, streamlines pipeline management, and ensures process adherence. We’ll show how our reps develop a custom value proposition for each sales conversation.

In this call, the prospect’s business is struggling with scalability due to bad CRM data. This resulted from reps not fully adopting Salesforce and finding it overly complex. 

The salesperson will listen to their concerns and desires. From there, they’ll craft a curated pitch highlighting all the Scratchpad features that improve Salesforce CRM adoption and data accuracy.

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1. The Current State

The first step in the Command of the Message methodology is to enquire about the prospect’s current situation. This includes their team setup, current tools, and goals they’re working towards. Most importantly, you want to know about the customer's pain points and what’s not working for them in their current state.

Example:

Sales Rep: "Can you tell me a little about your company, your team, and the tools you use for managing customer relationships?"

Prospect: "Sure, I’m the Sales Director at a growing fintech company. I oversee three sales managers and over 20 reps. Our sales organization is in a great position competitively, but we’re struggling with Salesforce as we scale."

Sales Rep: "What kind of challenges are you seeing with Salesforce?"

Prospect: "The reps find it hard to use Salesforce, so adoption and data consistency are real issues. They spend so much time on manual updates and data entry; it’s eating into their selling time, and a lot of errors are slipping through the cracks."

Sales Rep: "That sounds frustrating. It sounds like syncing and updating data is a challenge, too?"

Prospect: "Exactly. Keeping everything up to date feels like a constant battle, slowing us down. It’s hard to maintain efficiency when so much time is wasted on admin tasks."

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2. Negative Consequences

Now that your rep has some background information and context about the prospect’s pain points, you want them to discuss the potential problems they may cause in terms of things like:

  • Risks the company is facing for employee and customer satisfaction
  • Goals and targets they’re concerned about missing
  • How the customer’s pain points might affect their revenue and budget

This is crucial for building a value proposition because it gets the prospect to think about the consequences of not finding a solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "How is the difficulty with Salesforce adoption affecting your team’s performance and ability to hit targets?"

Prospect: "It’s a big problem. The data we’re working with is often inconsistent or inaccurate. That makes forecasting unreliable and undermines trust across the team. Leadership can’t rely on the metrics for decision-making, and things like misreported deal stages or deal sizes make it even harder."

Sales Rep: "That sounds challenging. How are the manual processes impacting your reps day-to-day?"

Prospect: "The reps are frustrated. It’s also putting a lot of strain on the sales managers. They’re starting to worry about retention."

Sales Rep: "If this continues as your team grows, what do you think the impact could be?"

Prospect: "It’s not sustainable. We’ll probably miss revenue targets, managers will burn out, and onboarding new reps will take longer. It’s already slowing us down, and as we scale, it could become a major bottleneck."

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3. Desired State

Next, you want to shift the conversation’s focus from what could go wrong to what could go right if the right solution came along to save the day. Your reps should ask how the prospect hopes the solution they purchase will change their business and address their pain points.

Example:

Sales Rep: "If you could wave a magic wand and solve these challenges, what would your team’s ideal workflow look like?"

Prospect: "I’d want a system where reps can update Salesforce quickly and easily, without all the manual hassle. That would free up more time for them to actually sell. Plus, the data would always be accurate and up-to-date, flowing seamlessly across teams."

Sales Rep: "That makes sense. How do you think that would affect your team’s day-to-day experience?"

Prospect: "It would be huge. The reps wouldn’t feel so frustrated, morale would improve, and onboarding new hires would be much easier. Managers and execs could finally trust the pipeline and forecasting data, which would make a big difference for planning and decision-making."

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4. Positive Outcomes

In this stage of the methodology, reps build on the desired state and get more specific about how the right solution can impact the company’s revenue, targets, and KPIs. These first four stages comprehensively prove why the prospect needs a solution. You’ll keep pulling on this thread to prove why they need your solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "If your team had accurate, real-time data and could focus more on selling, what impact would that have on your revenue and growth targets?"

Prospect: "It would make a big difference. We’d likely see higher win rates, shorter deal cycles, and a better chance of exceeding our quarterly goals. Plus, accurate forecasting would help leadership allocate resources more effectively, which is critical as we scale."

Sales Rep: "And how do you think it would affect your team overall?"

Prospect: "Improved workflows would definitely help with retaining our top performers. It would also reduce recruitment costs, which is a big plus."

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5. Required Capabilities

At this stage, the rep seeks to identify the specific capabilities the prospect requires in a solution to address their challenges and achieve their desired outcomes. This allows the rep to tailor the conversation around how their product meets those exact requirements, building alignment. 

Example:

Sales Rep: "What capabilities would a solution need to have to effectively solve these issues?"

Prospect: "It would need to be really easy to use. Minimal clicks for updating Salesforce fields is a must. It also has to integrate seamlessly with our existing tech stack and provide actionable insights for managers to keep the pipeline accurate."

Sales Rep: "Would it help if the tool could automate routine updates, like next steps or deal values from your sales calls?"

Prospect: "Absolutely. Automation would save reps hours every week and let them spend more time actually closing deals."

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6. Success Metrics

This stage focuses on understanding how the potential customer will measure the success of the solution. The rep should ask about the specific performance metrics the prospect considers most important, whether related to revenue, team efficiency, data accuracy, or customer satisfaction.

Knowing these metrics allows the rep to select proof points and features that will resonate with the prospect.

Example: 

Sales Rep: "What would success look like in terms of your revenue goals or team performance?"

Prospect: "We’ll be looking for improvements in Salesforce adoption, more accurate pipeline forecasts, and time saved on admin tasks."

Sales Rep: "That makes sense. What metrics will you use to measure whether a solution is successful?"

Prospect: "Ideally, we’d reduce the average time-to-close by 20%, achieve 95% data accuracy in Salesforce, and free up at least 5 hours per week per rep for selling. A measurable boost in team morale would also show us we’re on the right track."

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7. Positioning Your Solution

Up to this point, your rep has given the prospect the mic to tell you what they need and why. From here on, the rep takes center stage. It’s time to pull things together and show the potential customer why they need your solution and how it’s going to help them.

This step should be concise, focused, and tailored, ensuring the prospect sees the direct value of your solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "You mentioned challenges with Salesforce adoption, forecasting inaccuracies, and time-consuming admin tasks—all of which impact revenue and morale. Let me show you how Scratchpad can help.

First, our AI Sales Agent automates routine updates, like next steps and methodology fields, so your reps can focus on selling instead of admin work. It also monitors CRM hygiene, catching errors before managers need to step in and fix them.”

Prospect: "That sounds useful. How does the AI catch those errors?"

Sales Rep: "It flags inconsistencies, missing information, or outdated data, so managers don’t have to hunt these down manually.

We also offer Kanban boards and sales sheets—intuitive tools that let reps easily capture and sync data to Salesforce without added complexity.

These features not only reduce frustration and save time but also ensure clean, accurate data for reliable forecasting. Plus, Scratchpad’s unified workspace centralizes tasks and hand-offs, improving collaboration across teams and eliminating friction during transitions."

Note: Although proof points come in at step nine, it’s helpful to think of these last three stages in a less linear fashion. The sales representative can raise specific proof points for these features here as well.

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8. Differentiating from Competitors

At this stage, it’s essential to highlight how your solution stands apart from alternatives the prospect may be considering.

This isn’t about badmouthing competitors but rather showcasing how your product uniquely addresses the prospect’s challenges more effectively. A great rep will acknowledge these alternatives and explain why they often fall short, steering the prospect toward your solution as the better choice.

Example:

Sales Rep: "When companies face challenges with Salesforce adoption and data accuracy, they often try a few different approaches. For example, many double down on Salesforce by adding customizations or stricter processes. But as you’ve experienced, this often makes things harder for reps to adopt."

Prospect: "Yeah, we’ve tried that, and it just added more complexity for the team."

Sales Rep: "Exactly. Others turn to spreadsheets as a ‘source of truth,’ but these don’t sync with Salesforce, leading to manual, error-prone workflows. And some use note-taking tools to improve productivity, but those don’t address CRM hygiene or team collaboration either.

That’s where Scratchpad stands out. It gives your team tools they’re already comfortable with, like Kanban boards and sales sheets, but fully integrates them with Salesforce. This ensures data accuracy, saves time, and actually makes the CRM work for your team instead of the other way around.

Plus, when reps test multiple tools, they consistently choose Scratchpad. That reinforces how much easier it makes adoption and improves data quality overall."

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9. Proof Points

At this final stage, your rep reinforces their positioning by providing tangible evidence of your solution's effectiveness.

Proof points help solidify trust and credibility, showing prospects that your solution has a track record of delivering results for companies like theirs. Real-world data and success stories help bridge the gap between theory and action, giving the prospect confidence in their decision.

Example:

Sales Rep: "Let me share a few success stories from customers who faced similar challenges. One customer reduced their sales cycle by 30% in just 60 days after implementing Scratchpad. Their reps focused more on selling and less on admin work—exactly what you mentioned your team needs."

Prospect: "That’s impressive. What made the biggest difference for them?"

Sales Rep: "It was the combination of automation and intuitive tools that eliminated the manual workload, allowing their reps to stay focused on closing deals.

In another case, a few reps using Scratchpad had significantly more accurate forecasts and consistently updated pipelines than their peers. Imagine the impact that could have if your entire sales organization adopted it.”

Prospect: "That kind of improvement would definitely help with our forecasting challenges."

Sales Rep: "Exactly. Customers have also seen a 25% improvement in Salesforce hygiene and up to 70% more data inputs—both critical for reliable forecasting and smoother hand-offs between teams.

"If you’d like, I can share more detailed data or reports to help with your decision."

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Command of the Message in Summary

At its core, this sales method revolves around articulating value in a clear, concise, and highly relevant way. It’s helpful to think of Command of the Message in three phases:

  • Stage 1-4: Focus on learning about the prospect’s context, challenges, potential problems that could result from their pain points, and desired outcomes in their own words. This foundational knowledge sets the direction of the conversation.
  • Stage 5-6: Uncover what the prospect needs in a solution and how they’ll measure success. This informs how your reps can best position your solution’s value.
  • Stage 7-9: Command the message! Take control to prove your solution solves their problems better than any alternative. Reps showcase relevant features and proof points tied directly to what they’ve learned.

But you might be wondering: What comes after step nine to secure a conversion?

While the prospect is in the decision phase, your reps can stay in touch to:

  • Address final objections
  • Coordinate demos or trials
  • Provide resources to back up proof points
  • Engage additional stakeholders

The Command of the Message methodology positions your reps as trusted advisors, aligning with prospects’ goals and building the confidence needed to close deals. Next, let’s explore the additional benefits of adopting this proven approach.

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6 Standout Advantages of the Command of the Message Methodology

Adopting the Command of the Message methodology offers transformative advantages for your sales team and business. By focusing on value articulation, consistency, and alignment, this framework drives better results across every stage of the sales process.

  • Empower Your Team to Sell Confidently: Structured training and a deep focus on your solution’s value give reps the confidence to excel in every conversation.
  • Have More Consistent Interactions and Results: Consistent messaging leads to more predictability and stability in terms of customer satisfaction and sales.
  • Improve Your Competitive Position: Clear differentiation helps your reps position your solution more favorably against competitors.
  • Close Bigger Deals More Often: Highlighting value encourages more sales at higher price points, increasing deal sizes.
  • Shorten Your Sales Cycle: Prospects can make informed decisions more quickly when reps concisely communicate value with lots of supporting arguments.
  • Build Lasting Relationships: As long as you deliver the promised value, the Command of the Message method’s trust-building interactions lay the groundwork for loyalty and recurring revenue.

Ultimately, all these benefits work together to improve your revenue, both for current gains and long-term growth. It’s not just about closing more deals; it’s about building a customer base that deeply understands the value of your product.

Now, if you’re considering the Command of the Message framework for your company, there are a few crucial building blocks you need to put in place to ensure successful adoption and effective implementation.

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5 Key Elements for Implementing Command of the Message

Adopting the Command of the Message methodology requires a strategic approach to ensure its principles are effectively embedded into your sales process.

Here are some tips:

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1. Internal Setup

Successful implementation of Command of the Message starts with a solid foundation. 
First, secure buy-in from key stakeholders, including sales leaders, marketing teams, and executives, to ensure alignment across the organization.

You may also need to craft new buyer personas or refine existing ones to better understand your ideal customers. This will help you prepare to train reps on what questions to ask prospects in sales calls.

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2. Training and Coaching

Whenever you implement a new methodology, you’ll need to train your reps to use it properly.

Begin by preparing sales training materials that document:

  • Common problems your product solves.
  • Core value proposition statements.
  • Proof points and success stories to share with prospects.
  • Questions to ask during each stage of the sales process.

Deliver comprehensive initial training sessions to introduce the framework and ensure team-wide understanding. Follow up with continuous sales coaching through hands-on practice, workshops, and gamification to keep reps engaged. Regularly revisit materials and reinforce skills to maintain momentum and drive consistent results.

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3. Mastering Key Sales Skills

Success with Command of the Message relies on developing and honing methodology-specific sales fundamentals, including:

  • Consistency: Ensuring all reps adhere to the framework and deliver aligned messaging.
  • Clear Value Communication: Teaching reps to focus on business outcomes rather than listing product features.
  • Listening and Agility: Training reps to adapt the message based on each prospect’s unique needs.
  • Consultative Selling: Positioning reps as trusted experts who build credibility through insight and guidance.
  • Proactive Leadership: Empowering reps to take control of conversations and drive toward the prospect’s desired outcomes.

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4. Tracking Success

Implementing a framework is just the beginning—you need to measure its impact. You can do this in a number of ways to get a clear, holistic picture:

  • Setting Goals and Benchmarks: These give you something to measure success against. They should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) — E.g., Achieving a 20% increase in win rate by the end of Q4, or reducing the average sales cycle by 10 days in the next six months.
  • Select and Track KPIs: Performance metrics help you understand how well your sales team members are executing the framework. Examples include win rate, average deal size, time to conversion, pipeline velocity, lead-to-opportunity conversion rates, etc.
  • Assess Qualitative Feedback: Numbers tell part of the story, but qualitative feedback adds valuable context. Talk to sales reps, sales managers, and other departments to gather their insights and pain points.
  • A/B Testing Messaging Options: Experiment with different value articulation options and proof points and compare the data to see what resonates with your prospects. 

You can use the information gathered from tracking to refine your sales processes and training materials. It could even inform your marketing strategies, improving alignment, and the quality of leads in your pipeline.

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5. Integrating the Sales Methodology into Your CRM

Incorporating your sales model into your CRM ensures that it becomes a central part of your team’s workflow rather than an abstract concept.

What does this look like in practice?

Your CRM should allow you to add custom fields and workflows that align with the framework’s stages to guide reps through the sales process. You may be able to create playbooks, battle cards, and training documentation to help them practice the methodology effectively.

If your CRM is limited regarding features that help with sales methodology adoption, you can use a plug-in like Scratchpad. This approach will simplify data entry, improve adherence, and support reps in maintaining consistent messaging.

Let’s take a closer look at how Scratchpad can help.

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Streamline Your Sales Processes and Drive Growth with Scratchpad

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You’ve already heard a bit about Scratchpad from our salesperson in the examples above. Scratchpad is a powerful tool with many use cases, including helping sales teams implement sales methodologies.

Here are some of Scratchpad’s key features that help with framework adoption:

  • AI Sales Agent: Automates data capture from sales calls, ensuring that crucial details like next steps and framework fields are accurately updated in Salesforce.
  • Pipeline Management: Consolidates sales notes, tasks, and advanced views into a single hub, making it easier for reps to manage their workflows. This centralization ensures reps stay aligned with the framework, maintaining consistency in messaging, follow-ups, and task prioritization.
  • AI Inline Coaching: Provides real-time prompts to help reps follow your sales update protocols, reminding them to add missing details and refine their inputs. 
  • Process Adherence Tools: Scratchpad’s intuitive views and workflow tiles simplify Salesforce interactions, guiding reps through the necessary steps to adhere to the framework.
  • Automations: Allows sales leaders to build automations, workflows, and playbooks tailored to Command of the Message to ensure reps consistently follow the framework.
  • CRM Hygiene Monitoring System: Makes it easy to identify where processes are breaking down and which reps may need additional coaching.
  • Deal Rooms: Organizes deal activity in Slack, bringing real-time collaboration and transparency to complex deals. Reps and stakeholders can track progress and provide input without leaving their workflow, ensuring seamless alignment with the methodology.
  • AI Sales Sheets: Offers a spreadsheet-like interface that allows reps to search, edit, and update Salesforce fields effortlessly. Real-time pipeline visibility ensures reps and managers can track progress against the framework’s stages and quickly address any discrepancies.
  • Zero Boards: Generates daily to-do lists that help reps stay organized and ensure critical follow-ups aren’t missed.
  • Data Accuracy and Insight: Ensures Salesforce data is always up-to-date, enabling reliable analysis and segmentation.
  • Sales Notes: Allows reps to capture insights from customer conversations quickly and sync them directly with Salesforce. With AI-generated summaries, reps can maintain detailed records while staying focused on consultative, value-driven conversations.

By leveraging Scratchpad’s features, your team members can adopt the Command of the Message methodology with ease, ensuring consistency, adherence, and potent value articulation at every stage of the sales process.

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4 FAQs About Command of the Message

Wondering if the Command of the Message framework is right for your team?

The answers to these frequently asked questions should help to clarify this for you:

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1. Who Should Use Command of the Message?

Command of the Message is best suited for B2B sales teams dealing with complex products that require consultative selling.

It’s also ideal for companies whose solutions deliver significant value to customers. Emphasizing value to customers is an important part of justifying charging a premium and getting customers to see that it’s worth it.

On the other hand, teams selling simple, low-ticket products may find this methodology too detailed for their needs.

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2. How Does Command of the Message Compare to Other Sales Methodologies?

Command of the Message is one of many sales methodologies sales leaders have created to teach teams to sell more effectively. Here are some other popular frameworks:

  • MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion): A qualification framework designed to ensure high-quality deals by focusing on measurable results and aligning solutions with customer needs.
  • MEDDPICC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition): An extension of MEDDIC that adds two additional elements. Paper process refers to understanding administrative and legal steps (paper process), while competition means differentiating your offering against competitors. 
  • BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing): A straightforward qualification process that evaluates whether a prospect has the resources, need, and authority to make a purchase within a specific timeframe.
  • SPICED (Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision Process): A diagnostic sales methodology that focuses on uncovering a prospect’s challenges, understanding their urgency, and aligning solutions with their goals.
  • Solution Selling: A customer-centric approach that prioritizes identifying the prospect’s problems and positioning your product as the tailored solution to address those issues.
  • Sandler Selling System: A consultative sales model emphasizing mutual agreement between the buyer and seller while focusing on uncovering the buyer’s true pain points and motivations.
  • Challenger Sale: A methodology that empowers reps to teach, tailor, and take control of the sales conversation by challenging a prospect’s assumptions and presenting unique insights.
  • ValueSelling Framework: A framework that helps sales teams uncover the business value of their solution for each prospect, connecting product benefits to measurable outcomes.
  • Miller Heiman Sales Process: A structured methodology that focuses on strategic account management and mapping out key stakeholders to maximize the chances of closing large, complex deals.
  • Inbound Selling: Focuses on attracting and engaging prospects by addressing their needs and providing value through tailored solutions, aligning the sales process with the buyer's journey.

Choosing the right sales methodology depends entirely on your team, product, and sales goals. 

Some methodologies, like BANT, work well for straightforward sales. Others, such as MEDDIC or Command of the Message, excel in complex B2B environments.

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3. What Are the 3 Principles of Messaging Alignment in Command of the Message?

Alignment between marketing and sales is a core part of Command of the Message. It ensures consistent messaging that resonates with buyers from the start to the end of the buyer’s journey.

Messaging alignment in Command of the Message is built on three key principles:

  • Value Comprehension: Marketing teams must identify and respond to market trends, crafting messages that resonate broadly across each distribution channel (like websites, social media, and collateral).
  • Value Offering: Insights from the market and customers are translated into products and services, with messaging that addresses specific pains and aligns with business objectives.
  • Value Engagement: Sales teams are enabled to articulate the company’s value and differentiation during conversations. This includes value messaging—creating buyer-focused, actionable messages that connect customer requirements with solutions, ensuring alignment and consistent value delivery.

In other words, the products need to match the messaging, the marketing needs to match the products, and sales needs to match the marketing.

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4. What’s the Difference Between Command of the Message vs Command of the Sale?

Command of the Message and Command of the Sale are complementary methodologies from Force Management, targeting different aspects of the sales process.

Command of the Message helps sales teams articulate value and differentiation, aligning messaging with customer needs for impactful conversations and larger deals. It’s particularly useful for training account executives and reps with actionable steps for engaging prospects.

Command of the Sale focuses on sales qualification and process execution, aligning sales activities with the buyer’s decision-making journey. It’s ideal for a sales development representative (SDR), sales leader, manager, or executive responsible for strategy.

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Unlock Sales Success with the Command of the Message Strategy

Command of the Message is a powerful sales methodology that enables teams to deliver value-driven conversations, align with customer needs, and close complex deals more effectively. It empowers sales reps to drive meaningful outcomes and build trust with prospects.

To maximize its potential, it’s crucial to integrate the methodology into your CRM so that reps can follow the framework seamlessly, maintain consistent messaging, and capture accurate data.

With Scratchpad, you can simplify Salesforce CRM workflows, improve data quality, and empower your team to implement methodologies like Command of the Message with ease.

Try Scratchpad for free today to see how it can transform your sales process, motivate reps, and drive growth.

December 4, 2024
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Ben Gould

Command of the Message: Key Steps, Benefits, & Tips

Command of the Message is a specialized sales methodology designed to help teams articulate value and position the rep as a trusted advisor to the prospect.

It provides a structured framework that guides reps through complex sales processes, ensuring consistency, clarity, and better outcomes.

So, should you choose Command of the Message as a sales framework for your sales team?

We’ll answer this question and guide you through how the methodology works, its benefits, and the key factors required for successful implementation.

This Article Contains

Let’s begin!

What Is Command of the Message?

Command of the Message is a sales framework created and trademarked by Force Management (a sales training company).

This methodology allows your sales reps to build a straightforward case for how your solution will help the prospect and why they should choose you over any other company. The process is consultative, and the rep positions themselves as a trusted advisor.

Let’s dive deeper into how this sales methodology works.

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9 Key Stages of Command of the Message (with Examples)

The Command of the Message sales method consists of nine key steps that build an airtight value proposition, helping the prospect understand the value they will get from your product:

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We’ll explain these steps using a Scratchpad sales representative as an example. Scratchpad is a Salesforce plug-in that enhances CRM data hygiene, streamlines pipeline management, and ensures process adherence. We’ll show how our reps develop a custom value proposition for each sales conversation.

In this call, the prospect’s business is struggling with scalability due to bad CRM data. This resulted from reps not fully adopting Salesforce and finding it overly complex. 

The salesperson will listen to their concerns and desires. From there, they’ll craft a curated pitch highlighting all the Scratchpad features that improve Salesforce CRM adoption and data accuracy.

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1. The Current State

The first step in the Command of the Message methodology is to enquire about the prospect’s current situation. This includes their team setup, current tools, and goals they’re working towards. Most importantly, you want to know about the customer's pain points and what’s not working for them in their current state.

Example:

Sales Rep: "Can you tell me a little about your company, your team, and the tools you use for managing customer relationships?"

Prospect: "Sure, I’m the Sales Director at a growing fintech company. I oversee three sales managers and over 20 reps. Our sales organization is in a great position competitively, but we’re struggling with Salesforce as we scale."

Sales Rep: "What kind of challenges are you seeing with Salesforce?"

Prospect: "The reps find it hard to use Salesforce, so adoption and data consistency are real issues. They spend so much time on manual updates and data entry; it’s eating into their selling time, and a lot of errors are slipping through the cracks."

Sales Rep: "That sounds frustrating. It sounds like syncing and updating data is a challenge, too?"

Prospect: "Exactly. Keeping everything up to date feels like a constant battle, slowing us down. It’s hard to maintain efficiency when so much time is wasted on admin tasks."

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2. Negative Consequences

Now that your rep has some background information and context about the prospect’s pain points, you want them to discuss the potential problems they may cause in terms of things like:

  • Risks the company is facing for employee and customer satisfaction
  • Goals and targets they’re concerned about missing
  • How the customer’s pain points might affect their revenue and budget

This is crucial for building a value proposition because it gets the prospect to think about the consequences of not finding a solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "How is the difficulty with Salesforce adoption affecting your team’s performance and ability to hit targets?"

Prospect: "It’s a big problem. The data we’re working with is often inconsistent or inaccurate. That makes forecasting unreliable and undermines trust across the team. Leadership can’t rely on the metrics for decision-making, and things like misreported deal stages or deal sizes make it even harder."

Sales Rep: "That sounds challenging. How are the manual processes impacting your reps day-to-day?"

Prospect: "The reps are frustrated. It’s also putting a lot of strain on the sales managers. They’re starting to worry about retention."

Sales Rep: "If this continues as your team grows, what do you think the impact could be?"

Prospect: "It’s not sustainable. We’ll probably miss revenue targets, managers will burn out, and onboarding new reps will take longer. It’s already slowing us down, and as we scale, it could become a major bottleneck."

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3. Desired State

Next, you want to shift the conversation’s focus from what could go wrong to what could go right if the right solution came along to save the day. Your reps should ask how the prospect hopes the solution they purchase will change their business and address their pain points.

Example:

Sales Rep: "If you could wave a magic wand and solve these challenges, what would your team’s ideal workflow look like?"

Prospect: "I’d want a system where reps can update Salesforce quickly and easily, without all the manual hassle. That would free up more time for them to actually sell. Plus, the data would always be accurate and up-to-date, flowing seamlessly across teams."

Sales Rep: "That makes sense. How do you think that would affect your team’s day-to-day experience?"

Prospect: "It would be huge. The reps wouldn’t feel so frustrated, morale would improve, and onboarding new hires would be much easier. Managers and execs could finally trust the pipeline and forecasting data, which would make a big difference for planning and decision-making."

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4. Positive Outcomes

In this stage of the methodology, reps build on the desired state and get more specific about how the right solution can impact the company’s revenue, targets, and KPIs. These first four stages comprehensively prove why the prospect needs a solution. You’ll keep pulling on this thread to prove why they need your solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "If your team had accurate, real-time data and could focus more on selling, what impact would that have on your revenue and growth targets?"

Prospect: "It would make a big difference. We’d likely see higher win rates, shorter deal cycles, and a better chance of exceeding our quarterly goals. Plus, accurate forecasting would help leadership allocate resources more effectively, which is critical as we scale."

Sales Rep: "And how do you think it would affect your team overall?"

Prospect: "Improved workflows would definitely help with retaining our top performers. It would also reduce recruitment costs, which is a big plus."

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5. Required Capabilities

At this stage, the rep seeks to identify the specific capabilities the prospect requires in a solution to address their challenges and achieve their desired outcomes. This allows the rep to tailor the conversation around how their product meets those exact requirements, building alignment. 

Example:

Sales Rep: "What capabilities would a solution need to have to effectively solve these issues?"

Prospect: "It would need to be really easy to use. Minimal clicks for updating Salesforce fields is a must. It also has to integrate seamlessly with our existing tech stack and provide actionable insights for managers to keep the pipeline accurate."

Sales Rep: "Would it help if the tool could automate routine updates, like next steps or deal values from your sales calls?"

Prospect: "Absolutely. Automation would save reps hours every week and let them spend more time actually closing deals."

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6. Success Metrics

This stage focuses on understanding how the potential customer will measure the success of the solution. The rep should ask about the specific performance metrics the prospect considers most important, whether related to revenue, team efficiency, data accuracy, or customer satisfaction.

Knowing these metrics allows the rep to select proof points and features that will resonate with the prospect.

Example: 

Sales Rep: "What would success look like in terms of your revenue goals or team performance?"

Prospect: "We’ll be looking for improvements in Salesforce adoption, more accurate pipeline forecasts, and time saved on admin tasks."

Sales Rep: "That makes sense. What metrics will you use to measure whether a solution is successful?"

Prospect: "Ideally, we’d reduce the average time-to-close by 20%, achieve 95% data accuracy in Salesforce, and free up at least 5 hours per week per rep for selling. A measurable boost in team morale would also show us we’re on the right track."

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7. Positioning Your Solution

Up to this point, your rep has given the prospect the mic to tell you what they need and why. From here on, the rep takes center stage. It’s time to pull things together and show the potential customer why they need your solution and how it’s going to help them.

This step should be concise, focused, and tailored, ensuring the prospect sees the direct value of your solution.

Example:

Sales Rep: "You mentioned challenges with Salesforce adoption, forecasting inaccuracies, and time-consuming admin tasks—all of which impact revenue and morale. Let me show you how Scratchpad can help.

First, our AI Sales Agent automates routine updates, like next steps and methodology fields, so your reps can focus on selling instead of admin work. It also monitors CRM hygiene, catching errors before managers need to step in and fix them.”

Prospect: "That sounds useful. How does the AI catch those errors?"

Sales Rep: "It flags inconsistencies, missing information, or outdated data, so managers don’t have to hunt these down manually.

We also offer Kanban boards and sales sheets—intuitive tools that let reps easily capture and sync data to Salesforce without added complexity.

These features not only reduce frustration and save time but also ensure clean, accurate data for reliable forecasting. Plus, Scratchpad’s unified workspace centralizes tasks and hand-offs, improving collaboration across teams and eliminating friction during transitions."

Note: Although proof points come in at step nine, it’s helpful to think of these last three stages in a less linear fashion. The sales representative can raise specific proof points for these features here as well.

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8. Differentiating from Competitors

At this stage, it’s essential to highlight how your solution stands apart from alternatives the prospect may be considering.

This isn’t about badmouthing competitors but rather showcasing how your product uniquely addresses the prospect’s challenges more effectively. A great rep will acknowledge these alternatives and explain why they often fall short, steering the prospect toward your solution as the better choice.

Example:

Sales Rep: "When companies face challenges with Salesforce adoption and data accuracy, they often try a few different approaches. For example, many double down on Salesforce by adding customizations or stricter processes. But as you’ve experienced, this often makes things harder for reps to adopt."

Prospect: "Yeah, we’ve tried that, and it just added more complexity for the team."

Sales Rep: "Exactly. Others turn to spreadsheets as a ‘source of truth,’ but these don’t sync with Salesforce, leading to manual, error-prone workflows. And some use note-taking tools to improve productivity, but those don’t address CRM hygiene or team collaboration either.

That’s where Scratchpad stands out. It gives your team tools they’re already comfortable with, like Kanban boards and sales sheets, but fully integrates them with Salesforce. This ensures data accuracy, saves time, and actually makes the CRM work for your team instead of the other way around.

Plus, when reps test multiple tools, they consistently choose Scratchpad. That reinforces how much easier it makes adoption and improves data quality overall."

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9. Proof Points

At this final stage, your rep reinforces their positioning by providing tangible evidence of your solution's effectiveness.

Proof points help solidify trust and credibility, showing prospects that your solution has a track record of delivering results for companies like theirs. Real-world data and success stories help bridge the gap between theory and action, giving the prospect confidence in their decision.

Example:

Sales Rep: "Let me share a few success stories from customers who faced similar challenges. One customer reduced their sales cycle by 30% in just 60 days after implementing Scratchpad. Their reps focused more on selling and less on admin work—exactly what you mentioned your team needs."

Prospect: "That’s impressive. What made the biggest difference for them?"

Sales Rep: "It was the combination of automation and intuitive tools that eliminated the manual workload, allowing their reps to stay focused on closing deals.

In another case, a few reps using Scratchpad had significantly more accurate forecasts and consistently updated pipelines than their peers. Imagine the impact that could have if your entire sales organization adopted it.”

Prospect: "That kind of improvement would definitely help with our forecasting challenges."

Sales Rep: "Exactly. Customers have also seen a 25% improvement in Salesforce hygiene and up to 70% more data inputs—both critical for reliable forecasting and smoother hand-offs between teams.

"If you’d like, I can share more detailed data or reports to help with your decision."

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Command of the Message in Summary

At its core, this sales method revolves around articulating value in a clear, concise, and highly relevant way. It’s helpful to think of Command of the Message in three phases:

  • Stage 1-4: Focus on learning about the prospect’s context, challenges, potential problems that could result from their pain points, and desired outcomes in their own words. This foundational knowledge sets the direction of the conversation.
  • Stage 5-6: Uncover what the prospect needs in a solution and how they’ll measure success. This informs how your reps can best position your solution’s value.
  • Stage 7-9: Command the message! Take control to prove your solution solves their problems better than any alternative. Reps showcase relevant features and proof points tied directly to what they’ve learned.

But you might be wondering: What comes after step nine to secure a conversion?

While the prospect is in the decision phase, your reps can stay in touch to:

  • Address final objections
  • Coordinate demos or trials
  • Provide resources to back up proof points
  • Engage additional stakeholders

The Command of the Message methodology positions your reps as trusted advisors, aligning with prospects’ goals and building the confidence needed to close deals. Next, let’s explore the additional benefits of adopting this proven approach.

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6 Standout Advantages of the Command of the Message Methodology

Adopting the Command of the Message methodology offers transformative advantages for your sales team and business. By focusing on value articulation, consistency, and alignment, this framework drives better results across every stage of the sales process.

  • Empower Your Team to Sell Confidently: Structured training and a deep focus on your solution’s value give reps the confidence to excel in every conversation.
  • Have More Consistent Interactions and Results: Consistent messaging leads to more predictability and stability in terms of customer satisfaction and sales.
  • Improve Your Competitive Position: Clear differentiation helps your reps position your solution more favorably against competitors.
  • Close Bigger Deals More Often: Highlighting value encourages more sales at higher price points, increasing deal sizes.
  • Shorten Your Sales Cycle: Prospects can make informed decisions more quickly when reps concisely communicate value with lots of supporting arguments.
  • Build Lasting Relationships: As long as you deliver the promised value, the Command of the Message method’s trust-building interactions lay the groundwork for loyalty and recurring revenue.

Ultimately, all these benefits work together to improve your revenue, both for current gains and long-term growth. It’s not just about closing more deals; it’s about building a customer base that deeply understands the value of your product.

Now, if you’re considering the Command of the Message framework for your company, there are a few crucial building blocks you need to put in place to ensure successful adoption and effective implementation.

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5 Key Elements for Implementing Command of the Message

Adopting the Command of the Message methodology requires a strategic approach to ensure its principles are effectively embedded into your sales process.

Here are some tips:

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1. Internal Setup

Successful implementation of Command of the Message starts with a solid foundation. 
First, secure buy-in from key stakeholders, including sales leaders, marketing teams, and executives, to ensure alignment across the organization.

You may also need to craft new buyer personas or refine existing ones to better understand your ideal customers. This will help you prepare to train reps on what questions to ask prospects in sales calls.

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2. Training and Coaching

Whenever you implement a new methodology, you’ll need to train your reps to use it properly.

Begin by preparing sales training materials that document:

  • Common problems your product solves.
  • Core value proposition statements.
  • Proof points and success stories to share with prospects.
  • Questions to ask during each stage of the sales process.

Deliver comprehensive initial training sessions to introduce the framework and ensure team-wide understanding. Follow up with continuous sales coaching through hands-on practice, workshops, and gamification to keep reps engaged. Regularly revisit materials and reinforce skills to maintain momentum and drive consistent results.

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3. Mastering Key Sales Skills

Success with Command of the Message relies on developing and honing methodology-specific sales fundamentals, including:

  • Consistency: Ensuring all reps adhere to the framework and deliver aligned messaging.
  • Clear Value Communication: Teaching reps to focus on business outcomes rather than listing product features.
  • Listening and Agility: Training reps to adapt the message based on each prospect’s unique needs.
  • Consultative Selling: Positioning reps as trusted experts who build credibility through insight and guidance.
  • Proactive Leadership: Empowering reps to take control of conversations and drive toward the prospect’s desired outcomes.

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4. Tracking Success

Implementing a framework is just the beginning—you need to measure its impact. You can do this in a number of ways to get a clear, holistic picture:

  • Setting Goals and Benchmarks: These give you something to measure success against. They should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) — E.g., Achieving a 20% increase in win rate by the end of Q4, or reducing the average sales cycle by 10 days in the next six months.
  • Select and Track KPIs: Performance metrics help you understand how well your sales team members are executing the framework. Examples include win rate, average deal size, time to conversion, pipeline velocity, lead-to-opportunity conversion rates, etc.
  • Assess Qualitative Feedback: Numbers tell part of the story, but qualitative feedback adds valuable context. Talk to sales reps, sales managers, and other departments to gather their insights and pain points.
  • A/B Testing Messaging Options: Experiment with different value articulation options and proof points and compare the data to see what resonates with your prospects. 

You can use the information gathered from tracking to refine your sales processes and training materials. It could even inform your marketing strategies, improving alignment, and the quality of leads in your pipeline.

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5. Integrating the Sales Methodology into Your CRM

Incorporating your sales model into your CRM ensures that it becomes a central part of your team’s workflow rather than an abstract concept.

What does this look like in practice?

Your CRM should allow you to add custom fields and workflows that align with the framework’s stages to guide reps through the sales process. You may be able to create playbooks, battle cards, and training documentation to help them practice the methodology effectively.

If your CRM is limited regarding features that help with sales methodology adoption, you can use a plug-in like Scratchpad. This approach will simplify data entry, improve adherence, and support reps in maintaining consistent messaging.

Let’s take a closer look at how Scratchpad can help.

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Streamline Your Sales Processes and Drive Growth with Scratchpad

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You’ve already heard a bit about Scratchpad from our salesperson in the examples above. Scratchpad is a powerful tool with many use cases, including helping sales teams implement sales methodologies.

Here are some of Scratchpad’s key features that help with framework adoption:

  • AI Sales Agent: Automates data capture from sales calls, ensuring that crucial details like next steps and framework fields are accurately updated in Salesforce.
  • Pipeline Management: Consolidates sales notes, tasks, and advanced views into a single hub, making it easier for reps to manage their workflows. This centralization ensures reps stay aligned with the framework, maintaining consistency in messaging, follow-ups, and task prioritization.
  • AI Inline Coaching: Provides real-time prompts to help reps follow your sales update protocols, reminding them to add missing details and refine their inputs. 
  • Process Adherence Tools: Scratchpad’s intuitive views and workflow tiles simplify Salesforce interactions, guiding reps through the necessary steps to adhere to the framework.
  • Automations: Allows sales leaders to build automations, workflows, and playbooks tailored to Command of the Message to ensure reps consistently follow the framework.
  • CRM Hygiene Monitoring System: Makes it easy to identify where processes are breaking down and which reps may need additional coaching.
  • Deal Rooms: Organizes deal activity in Slack, bringing real-time collaboration and transparency to complex deals. Reps and stakeholders can track progress and provide input without leaving their workflow, ensuring seamless alignment with the methodology.
  • AI Sales Sheets: Offers a spreadsheet-like interface that allows reps to search, edit, and update Salesforce fields effortlessly. Real-time pipeline visibility ensures reps and managers can track progress against the framework’s stages and quickly address any discrepancies.
  • Zero Boards: Generates daily to-do lists that help reps stay organized and ensure critical follow-ups aren’t missed.
  • Data Accuracy and Insight: Ensures Salesforce data is always up-to-date, enabling reliable analysis and segmentation.
  • Sales Notes: Allows reps to capture insights from customer conversations quickly and sync them directly with Salesforce. With AI-generated summaries, reps can maintain detailed records while staying focused on consultative, value-driven conversations.

By leveraging Scratchpad’s features, your team members can adopt the Command of the Message methodology with ease, ensuring consistency, adherence, and potent value articulation at every stage of the sales process.

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4 FAQs About Command of the Message

Wondering if the Command of the Message framework is right for your team?

The answers to these frequently asked questions should help to clarify this for you:

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1. Who Should Use Command of the Message?

Command of the Message is best suited for B2B sales teams dealing with complex products that require consultative selling.

It’s also ideal for companies whose solutions deliver significant value to customers. Emphasizing value to customers is an important part of justifying charging a premium and getting customers to see that it’s worth it.

On the other hand, teams selling simple, low-ticket products may find this methodology too detailed for their needs.

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2. How Does Command of the Message Compare to Other Sales Methodologies?

Command of the Message is one of many sales methodologies sales leaders have created to teach teams to sell more effectively. Here are some other popular frameworks:

  • MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion): A qualification framework designed to ensure high-quality deals by focusing on measurable results and aligning solutions with customer needs.
  • MEDDPICC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition): An extension of MEDDIC that adds two additional elements. Paper process refers to understanding administrative and legal steps (paper process), while competition means differentiating your offering against competitors. 
  • BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing): A straightforward qualification process that evaluates whether a prospect has the resources, need, and authority to make a purchase within a specific timeframe.
  • SPICED (Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision Process): A diagnostic sales methodology that focuses on uncovering a prospect’s challenges, understanding their urgency, and aligning solutions with their goals.
  • Solution Selling: A customer-centric approach that prioritizes identifying the prospect’s problems and positioning your product as the tailored solution to address those issues.
  • Sandler Selling System: A consultative sales model emphasizing mutual agreement between the buyer and seller while focusing on uncovering the buyer’s true pain points and motivations.
  • Challenger Sale: A methodology that empowers reps to teach, tailor, and take control of the sales conversation by challenging a prospect’s assumptions and presenting unique insights.
  • ValueSelling Framework: A framework that helps sales teams uncover the business value of their solution for each prospect, connecting product benefits to measurable outcomes.
  • Miller Heiman Sales Process: A structured methodology that focuses on strategic account management and mapping out key stakeholders to maximize the chances of closing large, complex deals.
  • Inbound Selling: Focuses on attracting and engaging prospects by addressing their needs and providing value through tailored solutions, aligning the sales process with the buyer's journey.

Choosing the right sales methodology depends entirely on your team, product, and sales goals. 

Some methodologies, like BANT, work well for straightforward sales. Others, such as MEDDIC or Command of the Message, excel in complex B2B environments.

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3. What Are the 3 Principles of Messaging Alignment in Command of the Message?

Alignment between marketing and sales is a core part of Command of the Message. It ensures consistent messaging that resonates with buyers from the start to the end of the buyer’s journey.

Messaging alignment in Command of the Message is built on three key principles:

  • Value Comprehension: Marketing teams must identify and respond to market trends, crafting messages that resonate broadly across each distribution channel (like websites, social media, and collateral).
  • Value Offering: Insights from the market and customers are translated into products and services, with messaging that addresses specific pains and aligns with business objectives.
  • Value Engagement: Sales teams are enabled to articulate the company’s value and differentiation during conversations. This includes value messaging—creating buyer-focused, actionable messages that connect customer requirements with solutions, ensuring alignment and consistent value delivery.

In other words, the products need to match the messaging, the marketing needs to match the products, and sales needs to match the marketing.

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4. What’s the Difference Between Command of the Message vs Command of the Sale?

Command of the Message and Command of the Sale are complementary methodologies from Force Management, targeting different aspects of the sales process.

Command of the Message helps sales teams articulate value and differentiation, aligning messaging with customer needs for impactful conversations and larger deals. It’s particularly useful for training account executives and reps with actionable steps for engaging prospects.

Command of the Sale focuses on sales qualification and process execution, aligning sales activities with the buyer’s decision-making journey. It’s ideal for a sales development representative (SDR), sales leader, manager, or executive responsible for strategy.

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Unlock Sales Success with the Command of the Message Strategy

Command of the Message is a powerful sales methodology that enables teams to deliver value-driven conversations, align with customer needs, and close complex deals more effectively. It empowers sales reps to drive meaningful outcomes and build trust with prospects.

To maximize its potential, it’s crucial to integrate the methodology into your CRM so that reps can follow the framework seamlessly, maintain consistent messaging, and capture accurate data.

With Scratchpad, you can simplify Salesforce CRM workflows, improve data quality, and empower your team to implement methodologies like Command of the Message with ease.

Try Scratchpad for free today to see how it can transform your sales process, motivate reps, and drive growth.

December 4, 2024
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Ben Gould
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