The HUMAN Framework · proprietary methodology

Sell to the person, not the title.

The HUMAN Framework is SenecaIQ's selling methodology. It distils the best thinking in sales into five principles, built around the two people in the room: you and them.

Most methodologies manage the deal. HUMAN starts with the person.

Pipeline stages, qualification checklists and stakeholder charts all matter. But they describe the deal, not the people making it. Two sellers can follow the same process and get opposite results, because one of them understood the buyer and the other didn't.

HUMAN is not one more methodology. It brings together what the best of them agree on, and puts it in the order a real relationship follows: understand the person, find the real problem, see everyone involved, move forward, and stay in touch.

The five principles H · U · M · A · N

Human first

Understand the person before you understand the opportunity.

People don't buy from companies. They buy from people they like, trust and feel understood by. Before you work out what someone needs professionally, work out who they are: how they think, what they value, how they prefer to communicate. The seller who walks in knowing the human has an advantage before the meeting starts.

In practice
  • Learn what they have chosen to share publicly — interviews, talks, writing — before the professional detail
  • Find genuine common ground and use it as a bridge, never as a lever
  • Adapt your style to theirs, not to a script
  • Show curiosity about their world before you talk about yours
Draws on · Dale Carnegie · Keith Ferrazzi · the science of likability

Uncover the real problem

The problem a buyer states is rarely the problem they have.

Great sellers ask before they pitch. They use questions to surface the gap between where someone is and where they need to be, and only then show how to close it. The strongest go one step further and teach the buyer something about their own business they didn't know. That moves you from vendor to advisor.

In practice
  • Understand their current situation before you assess it
  • Surface the problem they are living with, not the one on the RFP
  • Help them see the cost of doing nothing
  • Bring an insight from outside their industry that reframes the issue
Draws on · SPIN Selling · The Challenger Sale · The Trusted Advisor

Map the full picture

Deals are never won with one person.

Behind every decision maker is a network of influence: the people who sign, evaluate, advise, block and use. The seller who knows every node on that map, and has a plan for each, wins. The seller who only knows their main contact loses to the one who also knows the CFO. Every stakeholder you uncover is a risk removed.

In practice
  • Map everyone who shapes the decision before the first meeting
  • Know who holds power, who influences, who blocks and who champions
  • Build a relationship with each critical stakeholder, not just your contact
  • Treat the person you haven't met as the biggest risk in the deal
Draws on · Strategic Selling (Miller Heiman) · MEDDIC

Advance with courage

The biggest threat to a deal is not the competition. It is indecision.

Pipelines rarely die from rejection; they die from hesitation, on both sides of the table. Great sellers make steady progress and don't wait for the perfect moment. They move every relationship forward by one clear step, and they help the buyer overcome the fear of getting it wrong. A no is information. A maybe that never ends is not.

In practice
  • End every conversation with a clear, agreed next step
  • Reduce the buyer's perceived risk: references, pilots, phased starts
  • Agree decision criteria and a date early, so scrutiny doesn't become delay
  • Favour consistent small actions over waiting for the perfect one
Draws on · Fanatical Prospecting · The JOLT Effect · Go for No

Nurture always

A relationship maintained compounds. A relationship neglected is lost.

The most connected people didn't build their networks by asking. They built them by giving: consistently, generously and without keeping score. Every relationship you keep warm is a door that may open years from now. Give before you ask, and never let a relationship go cold.

In practice
  • Give value before you ask for anything: an insight, an introduction, recognition
  • Notice the moments that matter to them, like a new role or a milestone they've shared, and acknowledge them
  • Keep a light, regular touch with the people you're not actively working with
  • Introduce people who should know each other
Draws on · Never Eat Alone · The Go-Giver · How to Win Friends and Influence People

Five principles that work together.

H gives you the connection. U gives you the insight. M gives you the coverage. A gives you the momentum. N gives you the longevity. Every SenecaIQ brief is built on them.

HConnection

In the brief: Get to know them, and How to communicate.

UInsight

In the brief: Their world, Their priorities, and Fear of messing up.

MCoverage

In the brief: People in their world, the influence map.

AMomentum

In the brief: The synthesis: the opening question and what to verify.

NLongevity

Nurture tools that keep relationships warm after the meeting.

Coming

See the framework at work in your next meeting.

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