Trying to pitch a sale to someone who doesn’t need your product isn’t a great use of your time, but qualifying leads takes time and resources. Without a proper framework, it can be a slow process.
MEDDIC sales is a methodology built to identify and target your most qualified leads. It’s a framework of concepts and questions that sorts through prospects, personalizes outreach, and provides vital data for closing deals.
In this article, we’ll define what MEDDIC sales is, look at its many benefits, and guide you through MEDDIC sales adoption for your business.
What is MEDDIC sales?
MEDDIC is a sales qualification methodology that helps sales reps qualify leads. Each letter in the acronym is another step in the lead qualification process, helping to align your products with the buyer’s needs and determine if you’re a good fit.
MEDDIC stands for:
- Metrics
- Economic buyer
- Decision criteria
- Decision process
- Identify pain
- Champion
We’ll discuss each of these components in more detail later in this article.
MEDDIC helps to weed out low-quality leads that are unlikely to convert. If you and your lead aren’t a good fit, MEDDIC will reveal those incompatibilities, allowing you to part ways with less time wasted for both parties.
MEDDIC is also one of the most customer-centric sales enablement tools.
It puts the potential client at the heart of interactions as you pitch your product around their business goals, pain points, and requirements. It also encourages sales reps to get to know their prospects on a deeper level, fostering stronger, more lasting relationships.
The benefits of MEDDIC sales
MEDDIC is a popular sales strategy for a reason – it has numerous benefits and can work well in a variety of businesses and scenarios.
Implementing MEDDIC sales process can do the following:
- Help you qualify leads more efficiently, meaning you waste less time on unqualified leads.
- Improve closing rates since you’re only interacting with the most qualified leads.
- Help you find new sales opportunities by asking questions and listening for vital insights into your buyer’s thought processes.
- Provide a deeper understanding of your potential clients.
- Improve relationships with clients, increasing customer lifetime value.
How MEDDIC streamlines the sales qualification process
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for – what does each letter of the MEDDIC acronym actually mean? How can each step in the MEDDIC sales process help you qualify leads and make sales?
In this section, we’ll explain MEDDIC in detail and what questions fall under each section of the MEDDIC sales strategy.
Metrics
Metrics speak to your client’s heart. They measure their business success in metrics, and if you can prove your product will help them hit specific targets, you can increase the likelihood of conversion.
Understanding your lead’s metrics will help you craft a personalized sales pitch. It can also help you determine if your product can help them – if not, this buyer might not be the right fit.
Questions
- What are your business goals for the quarter/year?
- What help do you need to reach those goals?
- What KPIs are you using to measure your goals?
Economic buyer
The economic buyer is the individual or group who makes purchasing decisions in the company. Locating these key decision-makers is vital to making a sale, but they can be an elusive bunch.
Asking questions at this stage is about identifying and interacting with them.
Questions
- Who can make a decision regarding this purchase?
- Do you have a way I can contact them directly?
- Is there any way to set up a meeting or video call with them?
Decision criteria
6sense’s 2023 B2B Buyer Experience report found that most potential clients come to the table with their requirements already set.
82% of buyers reached out to a seller first, and very few changed their requirements throughout the buying process.
Image sourced from 6sense.com
Sellers don’t always have much power to change a buyer’s mind, and so discovering and pitching to this criteria positions you as a helping hand, not a pushy salesperson.
Requirements might include economic benefits, support, software integrations, or onboarding times.
Finding out more allows you to emphasize how your product meets their requirements.
Questions
- What’s your budget?
- What features do you need to get things up and running quickly?
- Can you lay out your requirements in a document or email for us?
- Have you reached out to any other providers?
Decision process
After the decision criteria is the process key decision-makers use to implement solutions.
A 2024 report by TrustRadius and Pavilion found some disconnect between the B2B buying decision and vendor assumptions. Sellers weren’t always meeting buyers in their process, and the results left buyers wanting more.
Image sourced from go.trustradius.com
Buyers listed trialing demos/free trials, consulting user reviews, and seeking out conversations with trusted peers and colleagues as the most important steps in their buying process.
Understanding your buyer’s decision process is important to ensure alignment with your selling process and to avoid the pitfalls of reaching out at the wrong time or appearing too pushy.
Questions
- What information can we offer you at this point in your decision-making process?
- How long does your decision-making process usually last?
Identify pain
All buyers have something that impedes them from reaching their goals or that adds roadblocks to their day.
Identifying these pain points lets you personalize your B2B sales pitch and sell your solution as an answer to the buyer’s problems.
Questions
- What roadblocks stop you from reaching your goals?
- How much is this problem costing you?
- What do you need to fix this problem?
Champion
Having an ally within the company you’re reaching out to can go a long way to swaying decision-makers.
For example, if you’re selling a virtual call center solution, a customer support manager will see the value in your product whereas a CEO might not. Having that person as an internal champion can help convince decision-makers why your product is necessary to streamlining customer support.
Questions
- Who in your company needs our solution?
- Can we arrange a meeting with them?
- Are they well-regarded in your company?
How to implement MEDDIC in your sales strategy
Free to use image from Unsplash
If you like what you’re reading and want to try MEDDIC sales for yourself, here are some tips to get you started.
Train your sales team
Some of your sales reps might already know what MEDDIC sales consists of. Some might not, or those who do might need a refresher.
Because MEDDIC sales is a hyper-personalized selling method, it can take some time and training to master. Reps need to empathize, ask questions, understand the buyer’s needs and processes, and pitch to solve problems, not just make a sale.
You can educate sales reps in MEDDIC strategies by providing in-house training or finding courses. The MEDDIC Academy, for example, offers an extensive range of in-person and online courses and workshops.
Encourage sales reps to be more customer-centric
A big part of the MEDDIC sales methodology is how it focuses sales conversations on the customer, not the product.
Your job is to understand everything about your potential customer and offer solutions based on their unique circumstances.
Researching prospects, asking lots of thought-provoking questions, offering a direct business phone number to answer any queries, and listening more than you talk are good ways to get the information you need while building strong customer relationships.
Create customer profiles
Ideal customer profiles or buyer personas represent your perfect client, and understanding your ideal customers inside and out is key to thriving with MEDDIC.
An ideal customer profile allows your sales professionals to practice selling to their target audience. They can establish the best leads to approach, which MEDDIC questions to ask, and the likelihood of conversion.
Create a template
For sales reps starting out with MEDDIC, or for those struggling, a template is a helpful tool. A little like a script, only less rigid.
Your template might consist of:
- An explanation of each letter in the MEDDIC acronym.
- Questions sales reps should aim to ask during each section.
- How one question might lead into another, or into the next section, and how that keeps buyers moving through the sales funnel.
Gather Data on the Success of your MEDDIC Strategy
Before you start, set the goals you’d like MEDDIC to help you hit. Targets might include shortening B2B sales cycles, wasting less time on unqualified leads, or improving closing rates.
When you begin implementing MEDDIC, gather data that helps you monitor your goals. Then schedule regular check-ins to assess your progress.
If MEDDIC isn’t helping you meet your targets, you might need to rethink your strategy. Either MEDDIC isn’t right for your business and/or certain products, or your team needs extra training to get it right.
MEDDIC isn’t for everyone, so don’t fret if it doesn’t appear to be working. Tweak some things, try again, or look into other sales methodologies.
MEDDIC Sales can Streamline your Sales Qualification Process
Free to use image from Unsplash
MEDDIC is a sales qualification framework that:
- Simplifies lead qualification.
- Helps sales reps get to know their potential clients better.
- Shortens and improves the sales cycle.
- Appealing to the lead’s unique needs, pain points, and goals.
- Helps sales professionals personalize outreach.
MEDDIC isn’t the only sales methodology out there, but it is a powerful sales strategy for creating personalized, customer-centric interactions with high-value clients. It can help you target the right leads with the right pitches and, ultimately, close more deals.
Frequently asked questions
Can MEDDIC be used alongside other sales methodologies like SPIN Selling or Challenger Sale?
Yes, MEDDIC can complement other sales methodologies. For instance, while SPIN Selling focuses on understanding customer needs through situation and problem questions, MEDDIC ensures that the economic and decision-making aspects are also covered, making the overall sales strategy more robust.
Are there any tools or software that can be used to support MEDDIC sales?
Yes, several CRM systems and sales enablement tools offer features that will support and boost your MEDDIC sales methodology. By tracking customer engagement metrics, identifying economic buyers, and documenting decision criteria and pain points these tools supply the data and insights needed to follow the MEDDIC methodology successfully.
Originally published Aug 13, 2024
