What do you do when you’re halfway through a sales cycle, and your prospect decides they can just build something instead?
"We'll just build it ourselves" is showing up in more pipelines than it used to. And unlike a named competitor, it doesn't have a website you can pull apart or a battle card you can lean on.
Why More Buyers Are Choosing Internal Development
AI-assisted development means building software looks a lot easier than it used to.
Retool's 2026 Build vs Buy report found that 35% of enterprises have already replaced SaaS tools with custom-built software, and 78% expect to build more internal tools this year. When buyers believe they can spin something up in days, the internal build option starts to feel realistic, even when it isn't.
Budget scrutiny adds fuel to it. CIOs are already spending roughly 9% of their IT budgets just to cover price increases on existing software. When every new purchase needs to justify itself, "build it internally" can sound like the financially responsible call.
The Hidden Costs of Building Software In-House
The self-build case usually falls apart under pressure, but only if someone applies that pressure. Buyers tend to underestimate the ongoing maintenance burden, the opportunity cost of pulling engineers off core work, and the risk of building something that solves today's problem but can't scale. The initial build cost is rarely the real cost.
The problem is that by the time this gets raised on a call, the idea has often already circulated internally. The CTO has weighed in, and someone has done a rough estimate. It’s hard to stop the ball from rolling at that point.
How MEDDPICC Helps You Win Build vs Buy Conversations
Build vs Buy is a competitive threat like any other. The difference is that it tends to emerge from inside the account rather than outside it, which means your early-stage MEDDPICC work is what prevents it from taking hold.
A few areas that matter most:
- Decision Criteria. Shape these early and self-build struggles to meet the bar. A buyer who's already agreed that time-to-value and proven methodology matter is harder to convince that an internal build is the answer.
- Implication of Pain. If you've quantified what the problem is costing the business, "we'll build it" becomes a much harder internal sell, because delay has a price tag attached.
- Champion. Self-build often gains traction in meetings you're not in. Your Champion needs to be equipped to handle that conversation without you.
Want to know how to spot the self-build signals early? Andy Whyte is breaking down the Build vs Buy conversation in much greater depth at MEDDICC Live on July 21st; how to spot it early, quantify the real cost, and get ahead of it before it derails your deal.