Part 3: Solution Mapping or Alignment

Translating Discovery into a Clear Path Forward

Introduction: From Insight to Impact

In Sales Engineering, great discovery doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t lead to meaningful next steps. Discovery sets the stage, but alignment ensures the play gets performed. After uncovering pain points, business needs, and technical gaps, the next challenge is simple in concept but difficult in practice: What do we do with what we’ve learned?

This is where Solution Mapping comes in.

Solution Mapping or Alignment is the structured process of translating discovery insights into a clear, compelling plan. It’s how we connect pain to platform, problems to outcomes, and questions to confidence. When done well, it becomes the moment where the customer sees a light at the end of the tunnel and believes, "These people really understand us—and they have a plan."

What Is Solution Mapping or Alignment?

Solution Mapping is not just about matching features to problems. It’s about building a narrative that ties business value to the capabilities of your solution, in a way that resonates across both technical and executive audiences. It takes the insights from discovery and turns them into a blueprint for how your product will solve the customer’s problems.

This isn’t just a technical process—it’s a leadership move. It’s where SEs stop being perceived as “engineers” and start being trusted as strategic advisors.

Solution Mapping Techniques

1. Start With the Problem
Always begin by restating what you learned in discovery. Use their words. When the customer hears their pain reflected back, trust builds instantly.

2. Map Capabilities to Outcomes, Not Just Features
Don’t demo the product—connect the dots. For each pain point, explain how a specific capability solves it, and what measurable improvement the customer can expect.

3. Co-Build the Plan
Alignment isn’t a monologue. Ask, "Are we solving the right problems?" This collaborative approach builds internal champions who will echo your narrative inside their organization.

The following is an example of how that can be carried out on a practical level.

The Value Hypothesis Deck

This is the first formal artifact created after a strong discovery. Collaboratively built by the SE and AE, the Value Hypothesis deck becomes a cornerstone for alignment. It crystallizes the "why" behind the opportunity and outlines a proposed path forward.

The first component is a clear summary of the customer’s pains and goals, expressed in their own language. This shows you were truly listening and are aligned with their internal narrative. The more their words appear in the summary, the more they’ll see you as a partner who "gets it."

Next is the solution-to-pain mapping. This goes beyond a feature list. For each core challenge uncovered in discovery, you explicitly tie it to a capability or workflow your solution offers—always emphasizing why it matters to their business outcomes. It’s not just what the feature does, it’s what it solves.

The third component is a preliminary articulation of business value and potential ROI. You don’t need perfect numbers here, but you do need directional confidence. Can you show them how your solution saves time, reduces risk, or consolidates spend? Use quantitative examples from similar customers wherever possible.

Finally, the deck outlines proposed success criteria for a Proof of Value (POV) if needed. These are framed in measurable terms and aligned with the pains you’ve just outlined. Success criteria should be mutually defined and realistically provable within the evaluation scope.

This deck isn’t a pitch—it’s a hypothesis. It invites confirmation or correction. If a customer agrees with this deck, you know you’re aligned. If they push back, you’ve found gold—realignment now prevents derailment later.

Aligning Around a Mutual Action Plan (MAP)

Once the Value Hypothesis is validated, it’s time to commit to the evaluation path. A simple, but revolutionary (to me) step forward is using a document called the Mutual Action Plan (MAP) as a living blueprint for what comes next.

The MAP includes:

• The business problem and desired outcomes
• The specific use cases to be tested
• The timeline of milestones (POC kickoff, check-ins, wrap-up)
  • push this timeline past check the POV to the onboarding process
• Named stakeholders and roles
• Clear success criteria for the evaluation
  • As defined and agreed upon in the Value Hypothesis Deck

The MAP serves one key function: it forces clarity.

We only proceed with a POV if the client confirms: "If you prove this value and capability, we will move forward." This alignment ensures we aren’t just performing technical theater—we’re working toward a mutually valuable outcome.

Aligning Success Criteria for POVs

A POV without success criteria is just hope in a lab coat. Alignment demands clarity on:

• What will be tested
• What “success” looks like
• How success will be measured

Your MAP document should include a scorecard that tracks each success criterion. This removes ambiguity and accelerates post-POV decision-making.

Example criteria:

• Detection rules triggered in response to real-world attack simulation
• Reduction in SOC triage time
• Effective team collaboration during a simulated breach

After the POV is completed you are able to point back to your agreed upon MAP and directly prove the success of the POV.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• Rushing to POV: Without validation, a POV can be a waste of time.
• Assuming alignment: If it hasn’t been confirmed, it doesn’t exist.
• Feature overload: Customers want clarity, not a tour of the product.
• Skipping business value: Cool tech doesn’t close deals—outcomes do.

Personal Lessons Learned

Early in my career, I skipped straight from discovery to technical validation, thinking the value was obvious. We hit all our success criteria, but the deal stalled. Why? Because the stakeholders weren’t aligned on the business value of moving forward.

Now, I never start a POV without confirming the Value Hypothesis and securing agreement on the MAP. When done right, the POV isn’t a test—it’s a confirmation.

Conclusion: A Clear Path Forward Earns Confidence

Solution Mapping is where you move from understanding the problem to owning the path to resolution. When you get alignment:

• The customer feels heard.
• The value becomes visible.
• The deal gains velocity.

Your job as an SE isn’t to showcase features—it’s to guide the customer toward success. Alignment is how you build that guidance into a shared, actionable plan.

Coming up next in the Fundamentals series: Prove: How to win 75% of your POVs