Sales is nothing without strategy.
MEDDPICC is a powerful sales methodology that helps teams qualify leads, streamline the sales cycle, and forecast more accurately. It shows sales representatives what questions to ask and actions to take when talking with prospects. And when used effectively, MEDDPICC helps teams find good-fit leads that are likely to become long-term clients — and close those deals faster.
Here’s how the MEDDPICC sales methodology works and how to implement it into your processes.
What Is MEDDPICC?
MEDDPICC is a methodology designed for complex B2B sales processes. It uses specific criteria to guide sales reps through qualification and deal closing, helping sales teams find leads that are most likely to become happy long-term customers.
MEDDPICC is an evolution of the MEDDIC sales process, which first emerged in the 1990s. When comparing MEDDIC and MEDDPICC, the latter adds more criteria for understanding the prospect’s administrative processes and your brand’s competition.
What Does MEDDPICC Stand For?
Here’s a breakdown of each letter in the MEDDPICC acronym:
Metrics
Metrics are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure your product’s performance. For example, a social media marketing tool might help you improve your digital engagement levels, follower count, and click-through rates.
When qualifying prospects, sales teams should ask about the KPIs that those prospects are tracking as part of their business models — especially the metrics they want to improve. When your product can directly boost the client’s KPIs and help them achieve their target outcomes, that’s a sign the deal is a good fit.
Economic Buyer
The economic buyer is the person within your prospect’s organization that has the authority to buy the product. This person is usually at the executive level and has direct control over the budget.
Salespeople have to understand who the economic buyer is because that’s who they’re selling to.Keep in mind that the economic buyer will likely be different from your initial contact. You might initially reach out to a marketing manager, but the COO could be the person who makes the final decision. That’s who you want to reach.
Decision Criteria
These are the criteria that prospective buyers use to evaluate your product. Common examples include your product’s historical performance, its cost, and the onboarding process.
Salespeople need to identify the prospect’s decision criteria early on in the sales process. This way, they can tailor strategy based on customer needs and wants.
Decision Process
These are the steps your prospects will follow as part of the final decision-making process. Many organizations have standardized processes that involve sales calls with key stakeholders, a product demo, and a final quote or proposal document. You need to know what the steps are so you can take them properly (and plan accordingly).
Paper Process
This step was added to the original MEDDIC sales methodology to account for the client’s administrative processes. For example, the prospect’s risk assessment team may want to conduct a compliance review before they move forward. You also might need to submit a personalized quote in writing to the finance team. Understanding the client’s paper process early in the conversation avoids missing any essential paperwork later on.
Implication of Pain
Sales reps should ask questions to uncover the potential client’s unique pain points and challenges they face in their day-to-day work. You need to determine if your product can solve these pain points, and if so, tailor your pitch to address them.
Let’s say your prospect is struggling with procurement and can’t keep up with demand. Logistics software with demand forecasting could help solve the client’s procurement challenges. In your sales pitch, highlight how the product solves these challenges and the ripple effect that would have on their organization, like cost or time savings.
Champion
This step involves finding a champion within the prospective client organization that will advocate for your product. This advocate prioritizes your deal so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of busy workdays.
Your champion might be someone in the company who would work directly with your product every day, or even someone who has used the product in the past. This person is a key touchpoint and connects you to final decision-makers.
Competition
This is another step that was added to the original MEDDIC sales methodology. Some brands use a hybrid version called MEDDICC, which includes this step but combines the Decision Process and Paper Process steps.
MEDDPICC requires salespeople to have a deep understanding of their competition. Chances are, your prospects are considering multiple options, and it’s up to you to proactively address potential objections.
Let’s say a competitor offers a similar product at a cheaper rate. That means you need to emphasize the added value that only your company can bring. Don’t directly criticize the competition — keep the focus on your product’s benefits.
How To Implement MEDDPICC Effectively
MEDDPICC is a complex, multifaceted methodology, but it has the potential to speed up your sales pipeline exponentially. Here are some ways to implement it into your sales process.
Integrate Into Discovery Calls
One of the biggest challenges for any new sales rep is structuring discovery calls. You need to ask the right questions to decide if the product is a good fit for a potential client.
Use MEDDPICC to create a list of questions to ask prospects. For example, you can ask about the company’s current challenges, corresponding metrics, decision process, and key stakeholders. The key is to really listen to the prospect and let the conversation flow naturally, rather than making the call feel like a rigid interview.
Lead Prioritization Using MEDDPICC
Next, use MEDDPICC to evaluate your leads and decide which ones to focus on. Use tools like a CRM to track the information you’re learning in discovery calls. Then, conduct an in-depth qualification process to see which prospects would benefit most from your products. These are also the prospects that could have the highest ROI over time.
Forecast Accurately
MEDDPICC can also help you plan ahead. Information from the Decision Process and Paper Process steps indicate how long each deal is likely to take, which lets you estimate future revenue levels, budget accordingly, and even speed up the sales cycle.
Use Rox to Automate Workflows
One of the challenges of using MEDDPICC is the manual preparation and follow-up that comes from multiple sales meetings. Use Rox to save time.
Rox is an AI-powered revenue operations platform that automates tasks like client research and meeting notes for you. Spend more time building relationships and developing a sophisticated sales strategy.
Key Benefits and Limitations of MEDDPICC
MEDDPICC has both benefits and limitations, so tailor it to fit your sales teams’ needs. Here’s what to consider before adopting this strategy:
Benefits
Improved forecasting accuracy: MEDDPICC offers key insights into the prospect’s decision-making and purchase approval processes. Understanding these timelines leads to more accurate sales forecasts.
Higher win rates: MEDDPICC makes for more accurate lead qualification. When you filter leads accordingly, your team can focus their efforts on prospects that are most likely to purchase.
Faster ramp and execution: MEDDPICC is a proven, repeatable sales process. Once your team has mastered the key concepts, they can use them in every discovery call to qualify leads and close deals faster.
Limitations
Complexity for new reps: MEDDPICC is a detailed sales methodology with many steps and concepts to learn. It takes time for new sales professionals to implement it successfully.
Requires consistent adoption: For MEDDPICC to generate real results, you need to implement it across the entire sales strategy. But getting reps to switch their approach can be difficult, especially if they already have other strategies they like.
Risk of over-analyzing deals: Sometimes, over-analyzing can disqualify a lead who would have eventually made a purchase, even if they weren’t a good fit on paper. Use discretion with any sales methodology rather than following it to the letter.
Slow deals if over-applied: When you apply MEDDPICC strategically, it speeds sales cycles up. But if you’re letting MEDDPICC complicate your discovery calls, it could actually slow your pipeline down.
Boost Your MEDDPICC Execution With Rox
The MEDDPICC sales methodology is a helpful foundation for accurate lead qualification and deal closing. But you need the right tools to make it happen.
Rox allows you to do more with MEDDPICC by automating repetitive sales tasks and providing helpful real-time insights from your CRM and other data sources. Close deals faster with less manual tracking. Start exploring today.
FAQ
How Do I Use MEDDPICC in Complex B2B Sales?
MEDDPICC is an effective tool for software sales and other B2B environments. Use MEDDPICC components to guide your discovery calls and ask the right questions.
Can MEDDPICC Improve Sales Forecasting?
Yes, MEDDPICC helps with sales forecasting because it encourages sales reps to learn more about each lead’s internal decision-making processes and how long they take to complete.
Which Is Better, MEDDPICC or MEDDIC Sales Methodology?
Some organizations combine the Decisions Process and Paper Process components of MEDDPICC into one step, taking away the “P” in the acronym. Both approaches work well — it just depends on your target clients and what their decision-making processes look like.
