MEDDIC Sales Methodology: Start Qualifying Prospects Faster
Raise your hand if this sounds familiar.
You've worked hard to become the best sales rep you can be. You're the first one in the office and the last one out. You've read every sales book there is and spent good money on high-end courses. But, for some reason, your sales numbers aren't where you want them to be.
Here's the good news: You're not a terrible salesperson. In all likelihood, you're just selling to the wrong people. The MEDDIC sales methodology can help with that.
In this guide, we'll explain what the MEDDIC sales methodology is, why it's beneficial to reps like you, and how to implement this sales strategy.
What Is the MEDDIC Sales Methodology?
MEDDIC isn't a full-on end-to-end sales methodology, but it's your go-to tool for sizing up leads and figuring out who's worth your time.
So, what's in the name? MEDDIC stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion. Each letter represents a different aspect to consider during the qualification process, helping salespeople gather crucial information to determine whether a lead is a good fit.
MEDDIC was developed in the 1990s by Jack Napoli and the team at Parametric Technology Corporation, better known as PTC. By implementing this sales qualification process, the company experienced impressive growth, with its annual revenue increasing from $300 million to over $1 billion in just four years.
Fast forward to today, and sales managers everywhere are using this sales methodology to qualify prospects, adjust messaging, and move leads through the sales funnel.
Let me introduce the MEDDIC sales method:
MEDDIC, MEDDICC, or MEDDPICC?
Yes, you’re reading that right. MEDDIC, MEDDICC, and MEDPICC are all variations of the same methodology. They come with an extra ingredient or two, but the core principles stay the same.
MEDDIC is made up of six components to lead your sales journey:
- Metrics
- Economic Buyer
- Decision Criteria
- Decision Process
- Identify Pain
- Champion
It's your go-to for unearthing customer pain points, decoding the decision-making process, connecting with key stakeholders, and ultimately, sealing the deal.
MEDDICC adds the element of “Competition” to the mix:
- Metrics
- Economic Buyer
- Decision Criteria
- Decision Process
- Identify Pain
- Champion
- Competition
This addition highlights your need to know (1) the competitive landscape and (2) how to make your solution stand out. With MEDDICC, sales reps must keep an eye on the competition when engaging with prospects in order to better position their offering. Ask questions like “Do you have any other vendors in mind?” or “What solution is vendor X suggesting?”
MEDDPICC builds upon MEDDICC, adding "Paper Process" into the equation:
- Metrics
- Economic Buyer
- Decision Criteria
- Decision Process
- Paper Process
- Identify Pain
- Champion
- Competition
This allows you to understand a prospect's inner workings—think procurement or legal requirements. Ask questions like “How does the procurement process work?” or “Will we need to be added to an approved vendor list?”
6 Stages of the MEDDIC Methodology
There are six stages in the MEDDIC sales process—one for each letter in the acronym.
To use this sales qualification methodology, you'll need to guide your prospects through each stage of the sales funnel. But you can't do that until you understand what each stage entails.
Don't worry, it's actually pretty simple.
MEDDIC Stage 1: Metrics
What goal(s) does your potential customer want to achieve? And how will they measure success? Put another way, what metrics will they use to evaluate your solution?
When you know the answers to these questions, you can determine if your product is a good fit for your prospect. If it is, you can frame the benefits of your product in a way that they will appreciate.
You can say, "I see you want to do ABC. Our product is specifically designed to help users do that. In fact, it's been proven to boost results in this area by XYZ percent!"
MEDDIC Stage 2: Economic Buyer
Who has the power to make purchases? Is it the person you're currently talking to? Their boss? Their boss's boss? Maybe it's an entire team of people.
Do your best to talk to the actual decision-maker, when possible. If the actual decision-maker is unavailable to you, consult your contact. Ask them about the decision-maker so that you can learn about his or her general mindset, expectations, and priorities.
When you understand these things, you'll be able to pitch your company's products in a way that appeals to the Economic Buyer's sensibilities. Make sure to outline the economic benefits of your solution at this stage.
MEDDIC Stage 3: Decision Criteria
How does your prospect evaluate potential purchases? In all likelihood, they're comparing your solution to those offered by competing brands. How will they decide which one to buy?
When you know what your prospect's unique decision criteria are, you can adjust your sales pitch to highlight the things that affect purchase decisions the most.
Typical decision criteria include ease of use, price, and potential return on investment. Your prospect may have other criteria, though, so be sure to ask.
MEDDIC Stage 4: Decision-Making Process
What internal approval processes does your prospect use to make company purchases? Which team members are involved? What steps do said team members need to go through? And how long will all of this take?
The simplest way to discover this is to ask the prospect: "What will it take for you to become a customer?" This is one of the most powerful questions you can ask a prospect at this stage in the sales process.
When you know what your prospect's decision process looks like, you can follow along. That way, if the sale stalls, you'll know exactly where it stalled and can work to un-stall it.
MEDDIC Stage 5: Identify Pain
Every legitimate prospect has pain points. If they didn't, they wouldn't be a prospect. This stage in the MEDDIC sales framework will help you identify the specific pain your prospect is dealing with. What problem are they hoping to solve with your product?
When you understand your prospect's pain, you can customize your sales pitch to describe all of the ways your product relieves these pains.
Encourage prospects to open up and be specific about the pain they're dealing with.
If they struggle to maintain sales productivity, ask how much time they lose daily. If their website traffic is down, ask how much revenue the lost traffic costs them. Specificity will make it easier for you to tailor your pitch to your prospect's needs.
MEDDIC Stage 6: Champion
Your champion is an influential person who works for the company you're trying to sell to. In many cases, they'll be the person that will benefit most from your offerings. Because of this, they'll probably be one of your strongest advocates.
B2B sales is MUCH easier with a champion. Why? Because B2B sales cycles are often lengthy. Your champion will help keep your solution at the forefront of decision-makers' minds, preventing sales from stagnating. This is incredibly valuable!
Just make sure you choose the right champion. This person should be respected within the company and be able to influence the decision-making process.
MEDDIC Sales Process Advantages and Disadvantages
Now that you understand what the MEDDIC sales methodology is and how it works, let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages. Sales leaders in particular will want to understand the pros and cons of MEDDIC before implementing it.
Advantages
We're an optimistic bunch, so we'll start with advantages. (Note: There are more advantages than what we've outlined here—but these are the most important ones.):
- Simplifies the sales process: Perfect for entry-level sales reps, MEDDIC provides a clear step-by-step framework for understanding and addressing customer pain points.
- Collects quality data: MEDDIC helps you gather essential prospect info, which can be stored in your CRM and used to refine your sales strategy and forecast future results.
- Saves time and boosts revenue: It allows reps to qualify prospects more effectively and focus on the best opportunities—thus, increasing productivity and revenue.
Disadvantages
You won’t want to use MEDDIC for all sales scenarios. For example, you might want to stay away from this approach if you sell low-ticket items because it requires a significant amount of sales resources—resources you likely don't want or need to spend. Here are a couple more cons:
- Demands a lot of work: MEDDIC requires extra effort to ask qualifying questions, but the payoff? You won't waste time on bad-fit prospects.
- Requires clear organization: Accurate documentation and sales notes for each lead make the process more labor-intensive. However, CRMs like Close make it much easier to log prospect information, store it securely, and access it when needed.
Still here? Great. Now that we’ve reviewed the pros and cons, let’s consider the questions.
24 MEDDIC Sales Model Questions
We've discussed a few qualifying questions throughout this article. But, what we haven’t done is provided a full list of questions you can ask at each step of the MEDDIC framework.
Let's do that. Here are 24 questions to ask your prospects.
The "Metrics" Step
What does your prospect want to achieve with your product or service? Maybe they want to drive more traffic to their website, get more done in less time, streamline the follow-up, or boost their conversion rates.
Whatever it is, you can find out by asking questions like:
1. What goals do you want this product/service to help you achieve?
2. How will you track your progress toward those goals?
3. How will you measure the overall success of your investment in this product/service?
The "Economic Buyer" Step
Who has the power to make buying decisions at the company you're selling to? This is the person you need to reach.
Learn this important detail by asking questions like:
4. Who has the ability to make final purchasing decisions?
5. How do we get this person involved in the sales process?
6. Does the Economic Buyer need to see the product before she/he approves it?
7. What does success with this product/service look like to the Economic Buyer?
The "Decision Criteria" Step
Every company has an internal checklist it works through before investing in a new product or service. This is known as their "decision criteria" and includes things like price point and potential ROI.
To figure out the decision criteria of your prospects, ask them questions like:
8. What's most important to you when making purchasing decisions?
9. How can I convince you that our products/services are the best fit for you?
10. How do you plan to calculate ROI if you invest in our products/services?
11. Do you have a specific budget in mind for this kind of product/service?
The "Decision Process" Step
Once you know your prospect's decision criteria, you can learn their decision process—the steps said prospect needs to take to make a purchase.
Ask questions like:
12. What steps do you need to take to make a final decision?
13. Are there other people who need to be involved in this process?
14. What kind of paperwork do we need to complete?
15. When do you expect to make a final decision? (AKA—What's your timeline?)
16. What can I do to make this process as smooth as possible for you?
The "Identify Pain" Step
Your prospect has a problem. Your job is to figure out what that problem is and how your products and/or services can solve it.
The only way to do that is to ask questions like:
17. Do you know what the root cause of your problem is?
18. How does this problem affect your company's bottom line?
19. What would happen if you didn't solve this problem for your company?
20. How valuable would it be to you if our product/service solved this problem?
The "Champion" Step
The "Champion" stage is all about finding a partner within the company you're attempting to sell to—someone that will benefit from your solutions and advocate for them.
To find this person, you need to ask yourself questions like:
21. Who in this company will get the most benefit out of our product/services?
22. Can this person accurately explain the benefits of our offerings to others?
23. Is this person respected and able to influence buying decisions for their company?
24. How will I know if this person acts like a real champion for our brand?
How to Master the MEDDIC Sales Process at Your Company
Vince Lombardi said it best: "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."
To master the MEDDIC process, you have to practice. Guide your next prospect through each of the six stages we talked about. Ask them pointed questions that help uncover their goals, processes, and pain points. Then, do it again with the next prospect.
While you practice, keep the following four things in mind. This way, you can practice perfectly.
Understand Your Buyer Personas
Qualifying leads with MEDDIC means knowing your ideal customers inside and out.
Make sure your sales team has buyer personas defining who they are, their goals, daily struggles, and how your products or services help them overcome challenges. Before diving into MEDDIC, study these personas to focus only on those worth your time.
(Note: If you don’t have buyer personas, create them pronto!)
Review Common Objections to Sales
The MEDDIC sales approach is proactive. As such, reps that use this methodology are often hit with a barrage of sales objections. So, be ready.
Prospects might say your prices are too high, adopting your solution will be a hassle, or the ROI is unrealistic. Be prepared! Scan your CRM for common deal-breakers and create talk tracks to counter these objections.
Price complaints? Show them how much more money your product can help them make. Worried about switching? Offer your company's complete onboarding service at a slightly discounted rate.
Every sales rep faces objections. Plan ahead to overcome yours.
Evaluate Your MEDDIC Sales Process
Take a look at the data.
Is the MEDDIC sales approach working? If not, dig into why. Maybe it's a lack of commitment or misguided questions. Pinpoint the issues and fix them.
On the other hand, if the MEDDIC strategy is working, seek ways to make it even better. Room for improvement always exists. Optimize your sales processes for even greater results.
Get MEDDIC Sales Training for Your Team
Finally, invest in your team.
Investing in MEDDIC sales training for your sales reps can make a huge difference in closing more deals and hitting those sales targets. When you're on the hunt for MEDDIC training, check out these two resources:
- MEDDICC: With founder Andy Whyte at the helm, author of the book "MEDDICC: The ultimate guide to staying one step ahead in the complex sale", the MEDDICC.com team is a leading force in teaching the MEDDIC sales methodology. With a combined 35 years of industry experience, they offer membership-based training for learning MEDDIC, MEDDICC, or MEDDPICC.
- Force Management: This sales effectiveness consulting firm, led by President John Kaplan, provides hands-on training to sales teams interested in implementing MEDDIC. They take a more consultative approach by providing workshops, on-site training, and collaborating with the executive team.
Investing in MEDDIC sales training will arm your reps with the tools they need to excel in their roles, keep the sales pipeline full, and drive more revenue. More sales success? Yes, please.
Close More Deals with the MEDDIC Sales Methodology
The MEDDIC sales methodology has the potential to supercharge your sales process, resulting in higher close rates.
With MEDDIC, you'll be able to thoroughly qualify leads, which, in turn, will help you zero in on the right prospects and close deals at a more consistent clip.
Just remember: To succeed with MEDDIC, you need a strong work ethic and organizational skills. We can't make you work harder—that's on you. But we can help you stay organized with our powerful, agile CRM, which can be easily tailored to your own sales process—whether that involves MEDDIC, or something else.
Close is the all-in-one CRM for growing sales teams. With it, you'll be able to easily catalog information and move prospects from one MEDDIC sales stage to the next.
