In the complex world of B2B selling, trust is built in stages. The challenge in all sales campaigns is ensuring the prospect trusts they are making the best decision for their business.
- Do they trust that the salesperson is giving them all of the information?
- Do they trust that the company will support them after the sale?
- Do they trust that the product will perform as they expect it to perform?
As I have explained in my book, Eliminate Your Competition, as well as the blog for that book and in this blog, the prospect needs to trust all three elements the salesperson is selling:
- They need to trust the product.
- They need to trust the company behind the product.
- They need to trust the salesperson.
Prospects listen to your sales message, review your materials, and hear your claims, but none of that guarantees belief or trust. Trust is validated when your claims are validated. That’s why validation events are crucial to any rigorous sales process.
In The Qualified Sales Leader, John McMahon stresses the importance of customer-driven validation. He cautions sales leaders against relying on internal optimism or anecdotal “good signals” from prospects. Instead, McMahon emphasizes observable proof—real buyer behavior that confirms alignment, commitment, and value. Validation events are when the customer takes action to validate that what you’ve promised is accurate and valuable.
An excellent sample sale process flow looks like this:
- Discover
- Scoping
- Economic Buyer Meeting
- Validation Event
- Business Case and Final Proposal
- Negotiate and Close
As you can see, the Validation Event is the last step before creating the final business case, which will be bundled with your final proposal.
What Is a Validation Event?
A validation event is any meaningful interaction or activity the prospect initiates to confirm that the vendor’s solution lives up to the promise.
It’s a moment of truth—when excitement gives way to evaluation, which produces either validation or doubt.
Later in this post, I will explain six validation events in more detail, but for now, they are:
- Proof of Value (PoV)
- Executive Sponsor Alignment
- Custom demonstration
- Reference Calls or Site Visits
- Implementation Action Plan Creation
- Internal Business Case Creation
Why They Matter in Complex B2B Sales
Except for commodity purchases, most B2B purchases involve multiple stakeholders and typically involve interoperability with other departments or teams. Validation events are the bridge between storytelling and substance. They mark the shift from “I think this might work” to “This will solve our problem.”
In his book, McMahon argues that without validation, sellers are simply forecasting based on emotion, not evidence. A validation event can serve as a mutual checkpoint, strengthening credibility and identifying friction early, long before a deal stalls in procurement or dies in legal review.
These events are not about what the salesperson says but what the buyer does. The salesperson often has to set up the conditions, do the coaching, or initiate the conversation that enables the prospect to take that action.
Used correctly, validation events eliminate wishful thinking from your pipeline. In most sales process flows, the Validation Event should occur after the sales team meets with the Economic Buyer and before the sales team prepares the final quote.
Six Common and Critical Validation Events
Let’s explore five practical examples of validation events and how they help validate the opportunity:
1. Proof of Value (PoV)
A controlled test of your product in the prospect’s environment or against their use case.
A PoV is where the buyer says, “We want to see if it performs as advertised.” If the prospect dedicates time, data, and internal resources to running a PoV, that’s a clear sign that they’re serious.
Equally important, a failed or delayed PoV is also a signal that savvy salespeople won’t ignore. A failed PoV, or one that never seems to get scheduled, is a significant red flag that your deal has problems, and you need to engage with your Champion to get things back on track. It usually means that you are not aligned with the Economic Buyer, and the EB is not pushing to achieve the goals you discussed in your meeting with the EB.
2. Executive Sponsor Alignment
When a senior executive on the buyer’s side requests a meeting with their peer.
A meeting between the prospect’s Executive Sponsor and the selling company’s top executive indicates that the deal has moved from evaluation to strategic consideration. If your Champion facilitates this access, they validate your solution’s internal interest and potential impact.
3. Custom demonstration
A custom demonstration is slightly different from the Proof of Value discussed above. In a PoV, the team will mimic the prospect’s use case to convince the Economic Buyer that your product can successfully achieve the prospect’s goals. In a custom demonstration, the sales team will likely only use standard demo resources to explain the concepts essential to the Executive Buyer.
A custom demonstration can be a validation event if three things are true (and only if all three things are true):
- The sales team has met with the Economic Buyer and understands the EB’s requirements for a successful transaction.
- Your Champion (not your Coach, as there is a difference) helps you develop the script and key demonstration points to showcase your product to the Economic Buyer.
- The custom demonstration audience includes the Economic Buyer.
4. Reference Calls or Site Visits
Requests to speak to existing customers or visit a reference site.
No buyer takes this step lightly. Reference calls aim to validate results, not listen to more sales talk. If your prospect initiates these conversations, it’s one of the most evident signs that they are preparing to buy and want last-mile confirmation.
It is essential to establish a quid pro quo for references. You are using one of your customers to sell for you, and that is an expensive commodity simply because you don’t want to abuse your existing customers. It is unfair to ask them to be a reference for you too often since they have a business to run and cannot sell for you full-time.
A common quid pro quo is to explain to the prospect that if you set up reference calls for them, you will need them to return the favor after they are happy customers. A common request is to tell them they must agree to be your reference for three requests for each reference call they initiate.
5. Implementation Action Plan Creation
A jointly developed plan that maps out implementation steps and decision milestones.
If the customer is willing to create a detailed timeline and assign internal owners to tasks, they invest in the relationship and the solution. Prospects don’t build a roadmap for a journey they don’t intend to take.
6. Internal Business Case Creation
When your Champion or Economic Buyer develops and circulates a business case internally to justify the investment.
This is a high-value validation event if the prospect documents your solution’s ROI, budgeting projections, or a strategic rationale. It shows alignment with financial and strategic priorities and is a leading indicator that you’re heading to procurement.
One caveat to remember about this specific item is that the business case must be shared with the sales team. It is not enough for the prospect to say they are creating a business case. Instead, the prospect must share it with the sales team, and it must be evident that the business case is being developed with your product in mind.
Making Validation Events Part of Your Sales Discipline
Most underperforming pipelines suffer not from a lack of activity but from a lack of proof. Sales teams too often accept verbal enthusiasm as commitment. But words aren’t validation—actions are.
Ask yourself:
- What tangible actions has the prospect taken?
- Which of our claims have they tested or validated?
- What are they risking or investing to evaluate us?
Build your sales process around observable, buyer-initiated events. Use validation to prioritize deals, forecast accurately, and effectively coach your team.
Consider incorporating a “Validation Event” stage in your CRM. Require reps to log what the event was, who initiated it, and what the salesperson and the prospect learned. This documentation step will create discipline, improve forecast accuracy, and strengthen sales coaching.
Skipping the validation event often results in deals that appear healthy but collapse late in the cycle, usually due to unverified assumptions, political misalignment, or lack of proper stakeholder engagement. These “ghost deals” clog pipelines and kill forecast credibility.
Final Thought: From Hope to High Confidence
Hope is not a strategy—and it’s certainly not a forecast. If you want to increase the reliability of your pipeline and accelerate deals with real momentum, shift your lens from persuasion to proof. Create moments where the buyer validates that you can solve their problem, not just hears.
Sales professionals who master this discipline don’t just close more deals. They close better deals faster, with fewer surprises.
Four Things You Can Do Today
Understanding validation events is essential, but applying them is where real sales discipline begins. Here are four immediate actions you can take to strengthen your process and build a pipeline grounded in buyer proof, not hope.
1. Audit Your Open Opportunities for Real Validation
Review your current pipeline. For each deal, ask: What has the buyer done to validate our solution?
If the answer is “nothing yet,” then you’re likely forecasting based on enthusiasm rather than evidence. Identify one validation event you can help your Champion initiate this week.
2. Add a Validation Event Field to Your CRM
Forecasts should not be driven by gut feel. Create a custom field in your CRM to track the validation event tied to each opportunity. Require reps to log:
- What type of event occurred (e.g., PoV, reference call)
- Who initiated it
- What was learned
This simple change will add discipline to your sales process and give you clearer visibility in your pipeline reviews.
3. Update Your Sales Playbook With Validation Guidance
If your sales process moves from Discovery to Proposal with no checkpoints in between, you’re missing the moment of truth. Add a “Validation” step in your formal sales stages—ideally after the Economic Buyer meeting and before proposal delivery. Equip your reps with playbook content on how to set up, execute, and debrief each type of validation event.
4. Coach Your Champions More Strategically
Champions are crucial—but only if they act. Identify one active deal where you have a potential Champion, and ask: Have they helped you secure validation? If not, coach them. Help them get internal buy-in, organize a PoV, or facilitate access to executive stakeholders. A well-prepared Champion is your best tool for making validation events happen.
These four steps will improve individual deals and transform how you manage your pipeline, coach your team, and forecast outcomes.
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