[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":50},["ShallowReactive",2],{"glossary-proof-of-concept":3},{"slug":4,"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"term":8,"wordCount":9,"hasExample":10,"inboundLinks":11,"isPublished":10,"html":12,"data":13,"related":28,"lessons":47},"proof-of-concept","/glossary/proof-of-concept","What Is a Proof of Concept (POC) in Sales? Definition","A proof of concept is a small, time-boxed trial of your product inside a prospect's real environment to prove it solves their specific problem before they buy.","Proof of Concept",190,true,8,"\u003Cp>A proof of concept, or POC, is a small, time-boxed trial of your product inside a prospect's real environment to prove it solves their specific \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/pain-point/\">pain point\u003C/a>. Unlike a standard \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/demo/\">demo\u003C/a>, which is a guided tour, a POC lets the prospect and their \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/buying-committee/\">buying committee\u003C/a> touch the product with their own data and judge it against their \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/evaluation-criteria/\">evaluation criteria\u003C/a>. It is a de-risking step used heavily in technical and \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/enterprise-sales/\">enterprise sales\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"in-plain-english\">In plain English\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>A POC is "try it for real, on a short leash." The prospect sets a clear success test, your team sets it up, and at the end everyone looks at whether the problem actually got solved. If it does, the deal is usually won; if it does not, you saved everyone months.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"why-it-matters-to-you\">Why it matters to you\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>POCs are where deals get won or quietly die. Treat every POC as a \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/procurement/\">procurement\u003C/a> event with a named \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/champion/\">champion\u003C/a>, a written success metric and a decision date. Reps who scope POCs tightly — small, short, measurable — close faster than reps who run open-ended trials. Always agree on "what winning looks like" before the trial starts.\u003C/p>\n",{"title":6,"description":7,"primaryQuery":14,"term":8,"publishedAt":15,"author":16,"reviewedAt":17,"example":18,"relatedTerms":19,"lessons":26},"what is a proof of concept in sales","2026-08-19","closers","2026-09-24","\"We ran a two-week proof of concept on their actual ticket queue, and the reduction in triage time became the anchor for the whole proposal.\"",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"pilot-program","buying-committee","evaluation-criteria","champion","decision-making-unit","procurement",[27],"/academy/sdr/how-to-build-a-prospect-list",[29,32,35,38,41,44],{"slug":20,"path":30,"title":31},"/glossary/pilot-program","What Is a Pilot Program in Sales? Definition and How It Works",{"slug":21,"path":33,"title":34},"/glossary/buying-committee","What Is a Buying Committee in Sales? Definition",{"slug":22,"path":36,"title":37},"/glossary/evaluation-criteria","What Are Evaluation Criteria in Sales? Definition",{"slug":23,"path":39,"title":40},"/glossary/champion","What Is a Champion in Sales? Definition and How to Find One",{"slug":24,"path":42,"title":43},"/glossary/decision-making-unit","What Is a Decision-Making Unit (DMU) in Sales? Definition",{"slug":25,"path":45,"title":46},"/glossary/procurement","What Is Procurement in Sales? Definition and How to Sell Into It",[48],{"path":27,"title":49},"How to Build a Prospect List From Scratch (Template + Columns)",1792888524230]