MEDDIC Cheat Sheet
A quick reference guide to MEDDIC (or MEDDICC, MEDDPICC) to help you qualify Enterprise sales opportunities
Hello sales leaders and sales pros,
I’ve fully adopted MEDDPICC (MEDDIC etc.) as my preferred sales qualification framework (don’t call it a methodology or process -it works alongside those).
As such — I’ve put together this “cheat sheet” for my team to use as they move through the sales process to help qualify out (and hopefully in) more thoroughly and thought I’d share here.
Special thanks to those individuals that I blatantly stole (borrowed) ideas/terminology/structure for this (Andy Whyte, Charles Muhlbauer…)
Metrics
Summarize the Metrics that define success of the project / initiative (Future State)
Tip: A quick hack to uncover what these could be is to consider yourself with your customer six months from now in a QBR. What positive outcomes would you expect to see from your solution?
Metrics are quantifiable and measurable results that potential customers perceive as valid for his project or initiative, and can be divided into two major groups M1s: (Business Outcomes we have delivered for existing customers) and M2s (Metrics specific to customer)
Economic Buyer
Identify and Engage with the Economic Buyer.
The Economic Buyer is the person with the overall authority in the buying decision .The Economic Buyer can say “No” when other people say “Yes”, and, “Yes” when other people say “No”.
Meeting the real EB, checking for their sponsorship, criteria, and next steps sheds light on the complex decision criteria and processes. Preparing the EB meeting is key to success, however you need to do your homework on the value proposition and earn the right to ask for this meeting.
Decision Criteria
“Required Capabilities” that will be evaluated for the decision.
You can generally define the Decision Criteria into three different types:
- Technical (Does your solution technically meet the requirements to make it feasible for the requirements outlined?)
- Economic (Matters relating to how viable your solution is from a perspective of finance, risk and efficiency.)
- Relationship (How closely do the values and direction of the two organization’s align?)
Decision Process
The process to evaluate, select and purchase a solution.
It’s the series of steps that form a process of which the buyer will follow to make a decision. The Decision Process breaks into two parts:
- Technical Validation (ie. Product demos, Technical calls, POC)
- Business Approval (What needs to happen for customer to state they are making a decision to proceed with our solution))
Paper Process
The process & timeline for gaining the necessary approvals and signatures (e.g. MSA, Order Form, SOW, Legal & Finance Approvals)
The Paper Process usually breaks down into three key elements.
- The Process
- The People
- The Timing
Identify Pain
Identify, then implicate the Pain we are solving (Current State)
Pain can be a technical and/or business shortage that the client would like to overcome, stop, or change. It must impact the customer in terms of time, cost, risk, or revenue if not solved within a certain time frame. We call it, “The consequence of doing nothing when the compelling event takes place.”
Tip:
“We speak to a number of teams, this is what they tell me, these are the problems they have… curious to what extent that resonates/surprises you?”
“Have you tried to address that on your own?” “What happened” (WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME) Humbling Disclaimers for better impact questions (I may be way off base here, but who does this impact? Why is this important?)
Champion
A Champion is a person who has power, influence, and, subsequently, credibility within the customer’s organization.
Detail your alignment with the Champion. Test your Champion.
Here’s how:
- A Champion has power and influence
- A Champion acts as an internal seller for you
- A Champion(s) has a vested interest in your success
Don’t confuse a Champion with a Coach. Champions can be developed.
Competition
Your understanding of our competitor’s strengths, weaknesses and differentiators, and their relation to our Champion(s).
What’s your plan to win against the competition?
Your competition could be any individual, initiative, or vendor competing for the same funds or resources you are.
