MEDDICC (Book Synopsis)

MEDDICC (2020) is a practical explanation of the sales qualification methodology called "MEDDICC" (and sometimes "MEDDPICC"). MEDDICC makes sales predictable. It focuses on relentless qualification. The qualification process happens throughout a deal’s lifecycle--not only at the beginning. MEDDICC stands for metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, decision process (and paper process), implication (of the pain), champion, and competition.

Context

The book is authored by Andy Whyte, a practitioner of MEDDICC, who experienced success with the methodology as an individual contributor and as a sales leader. The foreword is written by Dick Dunkel, the creator of MEDDICC, and by Jack Napoli, the godfather of MEDDICC, who worked together decades ago to craft and evangelize MEDDICC. Andy and Dick subsequently worked together later on; and Andy took up the torch to document and evangelize MEDDICC for a newer generation of sales folk.

Goal

The goal of the book, MEDDICC, is to teach the methodology to salespeople and sales leaders alike. The goal of the methodology, MEDDICC, is to make sales predictable and forecasts accurate.

Concepts

Before going into a deep dive of the acronym MEDDICC, the book goes over vital concepts to the methodology: qualification, eliteness, discovery, trap-setting, price conditioning, and the go-live plan.

Qualification

Time is a seller’s most precious asset. Beware the fallacy of sunken costs. Here are signals that a seller should abort from (or “qualify out of”) a deal:

* Not enough pain

* Lack of willingness to change the pain

* Solution isn’t a good fit

* Contacts have no influence

Qualification should be done at all three stages of a deal (early, mid, and late). Don’t be afraid to qualify.

Eliteness

What makes a seller elite? Forecast accuracy. Elite sellers are efficient with their time; and they do this by being relentless qualifiers.

Discovery

Discovery is a mindset—not a stage; it must be done throughout the sales process. Quantify the value against any information that is uncovered. Discovery is not a race; first earn credibility by doing your research on the organization, the industry, the people, and the incumbent solution. In the early stage, uncover what is essential to the prospect. In the mid stage, find consensus among the stakeholders about the pain uncovered and the solution proposed. In the late stage, uncover all that is necessary to pass through the decision process and paper process of the organization.

Trap-Setting

Don’t say negative things about the competition. It’s unprofessional, criticizes the prospect, makes you look weak, and focuses on the negative; and the competition may have a response ready to overcome the criticism, which will make them look even better.

Instead of criticizing the competition, you can set traps for them. Ask the prospect about things in which your solution is strong and differentiated and try to get this into the decision criteria. Then the prospect will ask the competition about this point; this sheds light on the competition’s shortfall without direct criticism.

Price Conditioning

You must take initiative to set expectations on price; otherwise someone else will. Elite sellers set the expectation of a high cost. A price is conditioned by referencing previous deals, asking if a certain price requires additional approvals, or sharing a pricing model. If the prospect balks at the number, it’s fine; it’s just an example number for now, and the final price has yet to be determined.

Go-Live Plan:

The Go-Live Plan is a tool that elite sellers use to navigate the decision process and paper process with the prospect. The document is customer-focused (not seller-focused); its ultimate goal is the go-live date, not the contract date. The Go-Live Plan inspires urgency because that’s what the customer cares about--when does the solution go live. The Go-Live Plan is collaborative with the customer and is a great place to store all the detailed information that is being shared over email and in meetings. The Go-Live Plan can also have a Q&A section that the customer can refer to and add to during the sales process. The Go-Live Plan is helpful to keep a deal on track.

MEDDICC Explained

After the fundamental concepts of MEDDICC have been laid out, the book dives deep into each letter of the acronym: MEDDICC. It also touches on the alternative versions: MEDDPICC and MEDDPICCR.

Metrics

Metrics quantify the value that your solution can provide. There are two kinds of metrics: proof points and return on investment. Metric proof points reference existing customers--how they went from a negative status to a positive status with your solution. While proof points are hypothetical to your prospect, a calculation of return on investment is customized to your prospect and the deal. Metrics work backwards from the prospect’s goal and establish the quantifiable improvements that your solution can provide for them.

Economic Buyer

The economic buyer is the person who has the authority to both approve and veto the deal. Beware of identifying the economic buyer as too low or too high in the organization; too low and the buyer won’t have the ability to modify the budget or access discretionary funds; too high and the buyer won’t have the time or interest to be involved in the deal (as it was likely delegated already to the actual economic buyer). In the early stage of a deal, identify who the economic buyer is. In the mid stage, engage the economic buyer directly. In the late stage, get the economic buyer’s commitment.

Decision Criteria

Decision criteria are a list of requirements from the prospect that your solution should satisfy; the requirements are not just technical but also business-based and holistic criteria. The criteria may or may not be formalized, which is something for you to uncover; regardless, you must influence the criteria with your own perspectives and thought leadership. If you don’t influence the decision criteria, your competition will. Elite sellers link the decision criteria with metrics in order to quantify the value of your solution and shed light on a competitor’s shortfalls.

Decision Process

The decision process is how the decision will be made by the prospect. You must uncover the decision process as early as possible and validate with the prospect every time a step in the process is completed. The decision process is composed of a technical validation and a business approval, which can happen independently of each other, with the technical validation always occurring first. Before every activity you undertake on the deal, ask yourself how it helps progress against the prospect’s decision process.

Paper Process

Some organizations prefer to separate the paper process from the overall decision process in order to put extra focus on the paper process. In this case, an organization implements MEDDPICC.

The paper process is set of steps required to get a contract signed after being selected in the decision process. But elite sellers don’t wait to be selected. The sooner a seller uncovers and engages in the paper process the better. In the early stage, get a brief snapshot of the paper process; in the mid stage, you might be able to get approvals done that are independent of the stage of the deal (such as security approvals); in the late stage, you want to have a full understanding of the paper process in order to get through it as quickly as possible. Being on top of the paper process throughout the sales process leads to fewer surprises and better forecast accuracy.

Implicate the Pain

Pain is a problem serious enough for a prospect that there is a need for a solution; pain is something that cannot be ignored. First, identify the pain. There are three types of pain in a business: financial revenue or costs (measured in dollars), efficiency of processes (measured in time), and people (measured in the output of individuals or departments). Trace the pain to the owner of that pain and all the stakeholders affected. Second, indicate the cost of the pain to the prospect. Finally, implicate the pain on the prospect; make them feel the current negative state by giving them a glimpse of the positive future state that your solution will provide.

Champion

The champion is a person within the prospect organization that has the power, influence, and credibility to assist the seller through the sales process. A champion acts as an internal seller and has a vested interest in the success of the deal; but it is imperative that the champion has power and influence or else they are just a coach. Power and influence don’t necessarily mean seniority; it could be someone with domain expertise in the problem being solved. A champion also defends attacks from competitors.

So, build your champion. Build credibility with your champion through value selling (implicate the pain and underpin it with metrics) and networking. Educate your champion on MEDDICC. Make your champion pitch perfect in order to effectively sell internally and to ward off attacks from competitors.

It’s vital to test your champion. Beware of faux champions. One way to test is to ask what concerns or objections have people raised as the champion has been selling internally. If the champion responds with little to no feedback, then you don’t have a champion. If a champion is selling internally, they are likely to come to the seller with questions and requests to help them. A seller should also continue to test a champion’s power, influence, and vested interest in the success of the deal. A champion will work with a seller to overcome obstacles for mutual success.

Competition

The competition is any person, vendor, or initiative competing for the same funds or resources you are. The types of competition include: rival solutions, other projects or initiatives that require similar resources, an internal custom built solution, and inertia (doing nothing). In the early stage of the sales process, identify any rival solutions that are engaged, find out what kind of appetite there is for building a solution internally, and uncover whether there are any projects or initiatives that threaten your deal’s priority. By the mid stage, you must have a full picture of your competition and how your solution stacks up; work with your champion to overcome weaknesses. By the late stage, you should have a clear indication that your solution is winning; otherwise, your solution is losing or you don’t have a real champion who can inform of the actual status of the deal.

Risks

Some organizations prefer to separate the handling of risk from the overall sales process in order to put extra focus on risks. In this case, an organization implements MEDDPICCR.

Risks in the context of the sales process are those that need to be monitored or overcome. For example, the customer may have a deadline for when they need a solution. There are political risks (such as a champion going on maternity leave), technical risks, and commercial risks (such as a competitor lowering prices or a new legal requirement that is tough to accept). The best tool to get rid of risks is the champion. Risks can pop up at any time. It’s important to uncover and mitigate risks as soon as possible.

Summary

MEDDICC (2020) lays out a straightforward methodology for salespeople and sales leaders to make their sales process more predictable and their forecasts more accurate through relentless qualification across all stages of a deal.

Let Me Help

Are you looking for a sales engineer or account executive to help take your AI/ML or SaaS company to the next level? Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. Thank you!