NOVA-6: A Sales Methodology Built from 287 Proven Frameworks

There's no shortage of sales methodologies. MEDDIC, Challenger, SPIN, Sandler, Miller Heiman, Gap Selling—the list goes on. Each has merit. Each has gaps. What if you could take the best elements of all of them?

That's exactly what NOVA-6 does. It's not another methodology to learn—it's a synthesis of 287 proven sales frameworks into six actionable dimensions that work together as a complete system.

Why Another Methodology?

Here's the problem with existing frameworks: they're usually optimized for a specific selling environment. MEDDIC works great for enterprise tech sales. Challenger excels in commoditized markets. SPIN is perfect for consultative selling. But most salespeople sell across different contexts, deal sizes, and buyer types.

NOVA-6 doesn't replace these methodologies—it provides a universal framework that tells you which techniques to apply and when.

The Six Dimensions of NOVA-6

N - Needs Discovery

Sources: SPIN Selling, Gap Selling, Sandler Pain Funnel, Solution Selling

Needs Discovery measures how deeply you understand your customer's current state, desired state, and the gap between them. It's not just about asking questions—it's about uncovering pain that the customer themselves might not have fully articulated.

Key behaviors:

• Documented current state with specific metrics
• Quantified impact of the problem
• Connected to personal stakes (not just business impact)
• Uncovered the "problem behind the problem"

O - Organization Power

Sources: Miller Heiman Strategic Selling, Power Base Selling, MEDDIC

Organization Power measures your access to and understanding of the decision-making structure. Too many deals are lost because reps sold to the wrong person—or the right person without enough internal support.

Key behaviors:

• Mapped the org chart and influence lines
• Identified economic buyer vs. user buyer vs. technical buyer
• Established executive sponsor relationship
• Understand the informal power structure

V - Value Influence

Sources: Value Selling, Challenger Sale, Command of the Message, ROI Selling

Value Influence measures your ability to create urgency and quantify the value of change. It's not enough to have a good product—you need to make inaction feel more painful than the effort of change.

Key behaviors:

• Calculated and communicated cost of inaction
• Identified or created a compelling event
• Quantified ROI in customer's language
• Built business case that survives internal scrutiny

A - Alignment Strategy

Sources: The Challenger Customer, Consensus Selling, Complex Sales Navigation

Alignment Strategy measures how well you're building consensus across the buying committee. In B2B sales, deals are rarely won or lost by a single person—they require alignment across multiple stakeholders with different priorities.

Key behaviors:

• Multi-threaded across 3+ stakeholders
• Tailored value proposition for each persona
• Anticipated and addressed political obstacles
• Created coalition of support before asking for decision

6 - Sixth Sense

Sources: Emotional Intelligence in Sales, Trust-Based Selling, The Trusted Advisor

Sixth Sense measures the intangible elements of sales: trust, credibility, rapport, and intuition. These are the factors that make a customer choose you even when the competitor has similar features and pricing.

Key behaviors:

• Established genuine rapport beyond business topics
• Demonstrated deep industry/domain expertise
• Read between the lines of what's said (and unsaid)
• Built relationship that survives contact turnover

+ Nova Intelligence

Sources: Predictable Revenue, Sales Analytics, Pattern Recognition

Nova Intelligence measures how well you're leveraging data, patterns, and AI-powered insights to optimize your approach. Modern sales isn't about working harder—it's about working smarter with the tools available.

Key behaviors:

• Using data to prioritize high-probability deals
• Recognizing patterns from similar won/lost deals
• Applying playbooks proven to work in similar situations
• Continuously learning and adapting approach

How NOVA-6 Scoring Works

Unlike traditional methodologies that give you a checklist to follow, NOVA-6 gives you a score (0-100%) for each dimension based on your deal activities and information gathered.

Low scores in any dimension highlight exactly where to focus. A deal with high Organization Power but low Needs Discovery? You're talking to the right people but haven't uncovered compelling pain. High Needs Discovery but low Alignment Strategy? You've done great discovery with one person but haven't multi-threaded.

NOVA-6 vs. Other Methodologies

Methodology	Strength	Gap NOVA-6 Fills
MEDDIC	Qualification rigor	Adds relationship/trust dimension
Challenger	Teaching differentiation	Adds organizational navigation
SPIN	Question framework	Adds stakeholder alignment
Sandler	Pain uncovering	Adds data-driven optimization

Implementing NOVA-6

The easiest way to implement NOVA-6 is through Opsight's AI coaching platform. For every deal in your pipeline, Opsight automatically calculates your NOVA-6 scores and provides specific coaching on how to improve each dimension.

But even without software, you can start applying NOVA-6 today:

1. For each active deal, rate yourself 1-5 on each dimension
2. Identify your two lowest-scoring dimensions
3. Plan specific actions to improve those areas this week
4. Repeat weekly