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Guide · 8 min read · 1 source

How to qualify a POC before you agree to run it

The short answer

Before you agree to a POC, get four answers from the buyer: what the problem costs today, what result counts as a pass, who signs off on that result, and what happens the week after it passes. Write them down and have the buyer agree to them. If they can't answer yet, keep doing discovery first.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Veracity

A POC agreed too early

On the first call
  1. Agreed on the first callBefore anyone knows what the problem costs.
  2. Success means "see how it goes"No number, so nobody can say it passed.
  3. The person who signs never joinsThe readout goes to someone who can't say yes.
  4. It ends StallsNobody can say whether it was worth it.

A qualified POC

After discovery
  1. Agreed once the cost is knownThe buyer has put their own number on the problem.
  2. A pass is written downTheir number, in their words, agreed before it starts.
  3. The approver signs off on the criteriaThe person who signs knows what a pass means.
  4. It ends Next step bookedA pass leads to a dated meeting and the contract steps.
The same POC, agreed two ways. Both lanes step through it together. The difference is all in what you agree before it starts.
01 / Why qualify first

Why should you qualify a POC before you agree to it?

A POC takes weeks of work from both sides. If it starts before anyone knows what the problem costs, it ends with nothing to measure. The buyer's team liked it, or didn't, and the deal waits for someone to decide what that means.

Stalls are common. Forrester found that 86% of B2B purchases stall at some point in the buying process.1 A POC with no agreed pass is one of the easiest places for that to happen.

From the Veracity launch film. The buyer says plant managers got paid late twice this year. "Let's just run a quick pilot" is struck and stamped doomed POC. With Veracity, the next question asks what the team had to absorb afterward. Find the cost first.

That is how Veracity helps here. While the buyer is still answering, one open question appears on your screen, built on the impact, the cause or what happens next. As they keep talking, it upgrades in place with their own words, so the cost comes up before the pilot does. After the call, the recap has a Risks section next to Diagnosis, MEDDPICC and Improve.

02 / Before you say yes

What has to be true before you say yes?

Get each of these in writing, in the buyer's words, before the POC starts. A shared one-page plan with all seven is enough.

  • What the problem costs today. In their number: "Two people spend a week every month on reconciliation."
  • What counts as a pass. One result they can measure: "Month-end close in two days instead of four."
  • Who decides whether it passed. By name, and they have agreed to the pass before it starts.
  • A start date and an end date. Book the readout meeting on the day you agree the POC.
  • Who on their side does the work. The names, and how many hours a week each one has for it.
  • The data and access you need. What systems, which data, and who can grant access.
  • What happens after a pass. The next meeting, the security review and the steps to a signed contract.

The last item is the paper process from MEDDPICC. If nobody can describe it, a pass won't turn into a deal on any date you can plan for.

03 / Questions to ask

What questions qualify a POC?

Each one is a single open question you can ask as written. The ones that start "You mentioned" only work once the buyer has told you that fact.

The cost

  • What does this problem cost the team in a normal month?
  • You mentioned two people spend a week on reconciliation. What would they work on instead?

The pass

  • At the end of the POC, what result would tell you it worked?
  • Which number would you show your leadership?

The sign-off

  • Who will decide whether the POC passed?
  • What will they want to see in the readout?

The work

  • Who on your side will have time for this during the POC?
  • Who can give us access to the data it needs?

After a pass

  • If it passes, what happens the following week?
  • Once you decide, what does it take to get a contract signed?
Instead of
Want to run a quick pilot to see if it works?A yes or no question with no pass in it. The buyer says yes, and you have agreed to a POC nobody can win.
Ask
You mentioned month-end close takes four days. What would a POC need to show about that for you to move forward?It uses their own fact, and their answer is the pass.
04 / Warning signs

What are the signs of a POC that won't close?

  • "Let's just try it and see." Ask "What result would tell you it worked?" before you agree to anything.
  • No end date. A POC with no end never reaches a decision. Set the end date and book the readout meeting the same day.
  • The person who signs won't join the readout. Ask "Who will decide whether the POC passed?" and invite that person to the readout.
  • Success is "the team likes it". Liking won't get through an approval. Ask "Which number would you show your leadership?"
  • Nobody on their side has time. If no name has hours set aside, the POC runs on your effort alone and ends when you stop.
  • They ask for a POC before telling you the problem. Ask "What's prompting you to look at this now?" and run the discovery first.
05 / Sources

Where the number comes from

  1. 1
    Forrester. "Forrester: To Master B2B Buying Mayhem, Providers Must Prioritize Buyers' Needs." Press release on The State Of Business Buying, 2024. December 4, 2024. forrester.comUsed for: 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process.

More figures on how B2B purchases stall: discovery call statistics.

06 / Questions

Questions, answered

A proof of concept: a short, scoped test of your product on the buyer's own data or systems, to show it can solve their problem before they buy.
A POC usually tests whether it can work, on a small scope. A pilot usually runs it with real users for a set period. People use the words loosely, so agree on the scope, the dates and what counts as a pass whichever word you use.
One result the buyer can measure, in their own number, agreed before the POC starts. For example: month-end close in two days instead of four.
The person who will approve the purchase, or someone they have named. Get them to agree to what counts as a pass before the POC starts, and invite them to the readout.
As short as the success criteria allow. Set the end date before it starts, and book the readout meeting at the same time.
Keep reading
GuideMEDDPICC explained, with questions for each letterIncluding Metrics and the paper process.Read → GuideQuestions to ask a technical buyerThe people who usually ask for the POC.Read → FeatureCall grading that shows the question you could have askedA recap with Risks, and a grade for every question.Read →

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