What is the MEDDPICC Sales Method?

The Full Breakdown and Step by Step

Good Morning and Happy National Poetry at Work Day. It’s a great day to send your non-responsive prospects a haiku. And to shortcut the writing process for you, we’ve got the perfect ChatGPT prompt for you. “Hey ChatGPT, write me a haiku about why the VP of finance should jump on a quick call with me”. 60% of the time, it works every time. 🤖 

In today’s Follow Up:

  • MEDDPICC sales method❓️ 

  • Sales objection handling 🗣️ 

  • Sales around the internet 🤌 

  • Sales jobs, LinkedIn & a sales meme 😂 

The MEDDPICC Sales Method

Winter break is over, and school is back in session.

Today we’re pulling out the chalk board and breaking down one of the most widely used sales methods in B2B enterprise sales: MEDDPICC.

MEDDIC (without the extra ‘C” or ‘P’) was originally created in 1996 by Dick Dunkel, when he worked on the sales team at PTC.

Dick reviewed PTC’s deals and noticed they all had 6 things in common, so he combined those 6 words into the acronym “MEDDIC”.

As the software buying process changed over the years, an additional C for competition and P for paper process were added to the acronym.

Metrics
Economic buyer
Decision criteria
Decision process
Paper process
Identify the pain
Champion
Competition

Now, we get it… those all sound like a bunch of fancy buzzwords.

But each step is crucial to making this method work.

So let’s dive into what each of them mean, and how you can use them in your own sales process. 👇️ 

Metrics 📈 

Your metrics = your numbers.

These are the real measurements of your product or service, such as ROI or time saved.

They’re typically based on the outcomes you’ve gotten for your current customers, and are used by the prospect to build an internal businesses case.

Selling a dream or ideal situation is great, but to land big deals, you’ll need to bring real numbers to the table.

  • What business outcomes are you trying to achieve?

Economic Buyer 💳️ 

The economic buyer is the ultimate decision maker.

They hold the keys to the budget and will make the final decision to purchase your product.

Your goal is to bring this person into the conversation early in the process.

  • Who is the ultimate decision maker, and how can we bring them into the conversation?

Decision Criteria 🤔 

These are the requirements your prospect has for a solution, and breaks into 3 categories:

  • Technical: Can your product actually do what they need it to?

  • Economic: What is required from them (money, time, and resources)?

  • Relationship: Are you and your company a good partner for them?

Criteria will be different for every customer, so it’s important to understand what matters most to your prospect.

  • What are the most important factors when evaluating a solution?

Decision Process 🔄 

Once you understand the criteria they’ll base their decision on, it’s time to understand how they’ll actually make the decision.

This involves things like timeline, who is involved, and how approvals work.

  • What does your decision process look like? Who is involved? What is the timeline?

Paper Process 📜 

The ‘paper process’ was added to the original MEDDIC acronym because of how complicated the actual “paper” or contract process has become.

Understanding the decision process is no longer enough. You need to understand how your prospect will go from decision to signature.

  • What needs to happen to get the contract reviewed and signed?

Identify The Pain 🤕 

Behind every big sale is a pain point being solved.

Your job is to identify what the pain point is, and what that means for their business. Once you’ve identified exactly what the pain point is, tailor your pitch and metrics to solving the pain point.

  • What pain points do they have, and what happens if they don’t solve them?

Champion 🏆️ 

Finding your champion is the key to unlocking a deal.

A champion is your internal contact that is most affected by the pain point you’re solving, and will help you sell it internally.

To be considered a champion your contact should:

  • Have something to gain from your solution being purchased.

  • Have power and influence at their company.

  • Sell your solution internally.

Build a relationship with the champion as early in the process as possible.

Competition 💪 

Your competition isn’t just your rival product or service.

It’s anything that’s fighting for the same attention, resources, or budget that you are. This could be a similar tool or another initiative that requires your prospect’s attention or budget.

Your goal is to identify the competition early and often.

  • Are there any competing priorities or initiatives at the moment? How do we stack up to the competition?

Do you use MEDDIC or MEDDPICC in your sales process?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

 

Sales Tip of The Day 💡 

When a prospect says they are happy with their current solution, use the opportunity to find out why.

🗣️ Thank you for letting me know. Out of curiosity, what are your favorite things about that solution? Is there anything you’d change about it?

Even if they aren’t ready to buy now, use the opportunity to open up the conversation, pitch the difference in your solution, or ask for a better time to reconnect.

Sales in the News 🗞️ 

Cool Jobs at Cool Companies  

Checking in on LinkedIn 👀 

I think it’s safe to say…. Cynthia didn’t get the job? 🤦 

Sales Meme of the Day

Want to advertise in The Follow Up? Click Here