Value Selling Isn’t the Problem. Execution Is
- Lolita Trachtengerts
- Jan 12
- 4 min read
In the Spotlight with Mark Pecaro, Founder and CEO of Scale AI GTM
Value selling has been around for decades. Frameworks, playbooks, methodologies. And yet, enterprise deals still stall, pipelines still slip, and expansion remains harder than it should be.
The issue isn’t belief.
It’s execution.
In the latest episode of In the Spotlight, host Roi Carmel sits down with Mark Pecaro, Founder and CEO of Scale AI GTM, to unpack why value selling breaks down in practice and what modern revenue leaders must do differently to close, expand, and scale.
Mark brings firsthand experience from scaling sales organizations at Cisco, Sumo Logic, Mixpanel, and Firefly, and now advises founders and RevOps teams navigating the jump from $10M to $25M ARR.
His perspective is direct. Value selling doesn’t fail in theory. It fails when teams can’t operationalize it.
Value Selling Does Not End at the Signature
Most teams treat value selling as a pre-sales activity. Discovery. Business cases. ROI slides.
Mark argues that’s only half the equation.
Real growth happens post-sale. Value realization is where land-and-expand actually lives. When outcomes are documented, shared, and understood beyond the original buying group, expansion becomes a byproduct of execution.
Value, Mark explains, can be simplified into three buckets. Revenue. Cost. Risk.
If you’re delivering against at least one of those and proving it over time, you’re solving real business problems for CIOs, CTOs, and infrastructure leaders. If you’re not, you’re just pitching.
"Value selling doesn’t stop at the signature. Real growth happens when value is realized, documented, and shared across the organization."
Champions, Coaches, and Where Deals Really Break
One of the most practical parts of the conversation centers on champions.
Mark and Roi explore why deals often stall even when teams believe they have strong champions in place. Influence and authority don’t always sit with the same person. And when organizations get complex, the difference matters.
A well-liked internal advocate is not always the person who can unblock a deal when pressure hits. Teams that fail to map influence accurately often discover the problem too late.
This is where MEDDPICC helps. Not as a checklist, but as a living execution framework that forces teams to test assumptions, identify gaps, and build real alignment across stakeholders.
“When RevOps operates strategically, the CRO becomes a force multiplier. Not because the goal changes, but because execution finally does.”
Why More Sales Tech Hasn’t Fixed Sales Outcomes
Despite a decade of investment in sales technology, quota attainment hasn’t improved. Customer acquisition costs haven’t dropped meaningfully. Mark doesn’t see this as a tooling problem.
He sees it as a prioritization problem.
Most tools optimize activity. Few improve execution in the middle and late stages of the funnel, where deals are won or lost. Adding more pipeline doesn’t fix poor conversion. More dashboards don’t fix unclear ownership.
The teams that win focus less on volume and more on traceability. What was said. What was agreed. What changed. And what evidence supports the forecast.
The Rise of Strategic RevOps
One of the clearest themes in the episode is the evolution of RevOps.
Four years ago, Mark observed that only a small fraction of RevOps teams operated strategically. Most were buried in operations, keeping systems running and data clean.
That’s changing.
Today’s strongest teams are led by strategic RevOps. Teams that step back, design the operating system, and connect tools, data, and process into a coherent execution layer.
When RevOps plays that role, something else happens.The CRO becomes a force multiplier.
Not because targets change.Because execution finally matches ambition.
“The most successful revenue teams today are driven by strategic RevOps, not just operational RevOps.”
AI, Traceability, and Removing Human Bias
AI is everywhere in go-to-market conversations. Mark’s take is pragmatic.
AI only works when teams trust the system behind it.
RevOps sits at the center of that trust. Setting guardrails. Driving adoption. Ensuring data reflects reality, not optimism. AI should improve visibility across deals, reduce human bias, and surface evidence, not create more workflows.
Traceability becomes the north star. Every touchpoint. Every stage. Backed by factual data that leadership can rely on.
The Path Forward
Value selling isn’t broken. Sales teams aren’t broken.
Execution is the gap.
Teams that win treat value as an ongoing motion, not a sales tactic. They invest in strategic RevOps. They prioritize systems that drive clarity and trust. And they use AI to strengthen execution, not distract from it.
Listen to the Full Conversation
Q&A
Q: Why does value selling fail in so many enterprise sales teams?
A: Because it’s often treated as a pre-sales exercise only. Without post-sale value realization, outcomes aren’t proven, expansion stalls, and credibility erodes.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about champions?
A: That engagement equals influence. True champions have both authority and the ability to unblock decisions when organizations get complex.
Q: How should teams actually use MEDDPICC?
A: As an execution framework, not a checkbox. It should surface gaps, drive action plans, and align teams around reality, not optimism.
Q: Why hasn’t sales technology improved quota attainment?
A: Most tools optimize activity, not execution. Without traceability and evidence in mid and late funnel stages, outcomes don’t change.
Q: What role does RevOps play in the AI era?
A: RevOps owns the operating system. They drive adoption, set guardrails, and ensure AI improves visibility and removes bias rather than adding noise.
Q: What’s the biggest shift revenue leaders need to make now?
A: Stop chasing more pipeline and start fixing execution. Value is created when strategy, systems, and behavior align.
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