Method · Sales

MEDDIC: how to run it

A checklist for qualifying a large sale: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain and Champion — so you know whether a deal is real and what is missing.

35 minutes6 stepsSales
Other methods

When it helps

Use it in deal reviews and forecasting for complex sales with several decision-makers, to replace “I have a good feeling” with what you actually know.

When to use something else

Skip it for small transactional sales; the checklist takes longer than the deal.

How to run it, step by step

  1. Metrics5 min
    • What measurable result does the customer want, in their numbers?
  2. Economic buyer5 min
    • Who controls the money, and have we spoken to them?
  3. Decision criteria and process10 min
    • How will they choose, and what steps does approval go through?
  4. Pain5 min
    • What problem hurts enough to act on now?
  5. Champion5 min
    • Who inside wants this to happen and will sell it for us?
  6. Gaps and next steps5 min
    • Which letters are weak, and what do we do about each?

What comes out — an example

Made up, to show the shape.

Metrics. Cut month-end close from 9 days to 5.

Economic buyer. CFO — not met yet.

Criteria/process. Security review, then a three-week pilot, then the CFO signs.

Pain. Auditors flagged late reconciliations. Champion. The financial controller.

Gap. Meet the CFO — the controller will set it up this month.

Where it comes from

MEDDIC was developed at the software company PTC in the 1990s.

Questions

What does MEDDIC stand for?

Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain and Champion.

What is MEDDPICC?

A longer version that adds Paper process (how contracts get signed) and Competition.

When should you use MEDDIC?

For complex, high-value sales with several decision-makers, in qualification and deal reviews.

Other methods

SPIN questionsA way to run a sales conversation through four kinds of question — Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff — so the buyer explains, in their own words, why a change is worth it.BANTA quick way to qualify a sales lead with four questions — Budget, Authority, Need and Timing — so time goes to buyers who can actually buy.Lean CoffeeA meeting with no agenda until it starts: everybody writes topics, the group votes, and you talk about the most popular ones in short, timed rounds.Fishbowl discussionA few people talk in an inner circle while everyone else listens from around them; listeners can step in by taking an empty chair, so a large group can hold one real conversation.1-2-4-AllEveryone thinks alone, then in pairs, then in fours, then the whole group shares — so every person contributes and the best ideas rise in about twelve minutes.Six Thinking HatsThe group looks at one question from six angles in turn — facts, feelings, risks, benefits, new ideas and process — so everyone thinks the same way at the same time instead of arguing.

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