Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alvahq.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Alva supports three sales methodologies out of the box. Every deal tracks against one methodology, and Alva uses your progress to calculate deal health, surface gaps, and suggest evidence from email conversations.
Choosing a methodology
You can set your account’s default methodology in Settings → Sales Methodologies. This default is applied to new deals automatically, but you can override it on any individual deal.
MEDDPICC
The most comprehensive methodology, designed for complex enterprise sales.
| Criterion | What it means |
|---|
| Metrics | Quantifiable measures of business impact the prospect cares about |
| Economic Buyer | The person with budget authority to approve the purchase |
| Decision Criteria | The formal criteria the prospect will use to evaluate solutions |
| Decision Process | The steps, timeline, and approvals required to close |
| Paper Process | The legal, procurement, and contract process |
| Identified Pain | The specific business problem driving the opportunity |
| Champion | An internal advocate at the prospect who supports your solution |
| Competition | Who else the prospect is evaluating |
BANT
A straightforward qualification framework focused on four key criteria.
| Criterion | What it means |
|---|
| Budget | Does the prospect have money allocated for this? |
| Authority | Is your contact the decision-maker, or do they need approval? |
| Need | Is there a genuine business need for your solution? |
| Timeline | When does the prospect need to make a decision? |
SPICED
A modern methodology focused on the prospect’s situation and the impact of your solution.
| Criterion | What it means |
|---|
| Situation | The prospect’s current state — what they’re doing today |
| Pain | The specific problems or challenges they face |
| Impact | What happens if the pain isn’t addressed? |
| Critical Event | A deadline or trigger driving urgency |
| Decision | Who decides, how they decide, and when |
The methodology tracker
On every deal detail page, you’ll see a methodology tracker showing each criterion as a field you can fill in. The tracker shows:
- Completion percentage — how many fields have been filled
- Colour-coded progress — green for high completion, amber for partial, red for low
- Individual field status — which criteria are complete and which are missing
Filling in methodology fields
Click any criterion to expand it and enter your notes. Be specific — the more detail you provide, the better Alva can assess deal health.
AI suggestions from email
When Alva detects methodology-relevant evidence in your email conversations, a suggestion badge appears next to the relevant criterion. For example:
- A prospect mentions their budget → suggestion appears next to “Budget” (BANT) or “Metrics” (MEDDPICC)
- A prospect describes their decision process → suggestion for “Decision Process”
- A prospect mentions a competitor → suggestion for “Competition”
Click the suggestion to review the evidence and apply it with one click. The text from the email is added to the methodology field automatically.
How methodology affects deal health
Methodology completion is a significant factor in deal health scoring. Deals with low completion percentage score lower — because incomplete qualification means higher risk.
The specific impact depends on the deal’s stage:
- Early-stage deals (Discovery, Qualification) — some missing fields are expected
- Late-stage deals (Proposal, Negotiation) — missing fields are a red flag
Alva adjusts its expectations accordingly.
