Everyone was excited about the opportunity that was in front of us. The company was a Fortune 500 company and a leader in their industry. They were very engaged with us and gave us access to all stakeholders in the business, from the front line to the Senior Vice President, who was making the final decision. We spent over three weeks conducting in-depth discovery, crafted a personalized message, and customized a demonstration highlighting how we are uniquely positioned to solve their specific challenges. The demonstration was now set to be delivered in 2 weeks.
As the days ticked closer to the demonstration, we heard they had hired a new Chief Operation Officer. Their Senior Vice President had now invited them to the demonstration. The internal sales team met, researched this new person added to the demo, and met with our Coach in the account. The Account Executive asked our Coach what the COO would want to see, and our Coach said that the agenda we had put together was still what we needed to deliver.
Demo day comes, and the team is pumped. We have one of our best Account Executives and Presales Consultant who has spent significant time preparing. The custom demonstration was a fantastic work of art that touched on every critical point. Roll call, introductions, and up comes the agenda. Before we got to the second bullet in the agenda, the COO chimed in, "this is not at all what I want to see." Mr. COO then listed five things he wanted the team to demonstrate over the next two hours. Needless to say, everything went downhill from there. The Account Executive froze, leaving the Presales Consultant to desperately flail around like someone thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim.
The call ended with the COO saying he was disappointed we could not show what he wanted to see and would not get a chance to re-deliver the demo. One of the largest deals forecasted for the quarter was now taking a long walk of a short plank. This story underlines that MEDDIC is not a one-time event but a framework, a measuring stick that should always be applied until the deal is done. If we are to continue to follow MEDDIC, here is what could have been done.
Give to Get/Get to Give: When the new COO was inserted, the sales team should have insisted on meeting with the COO, confirmed the agenda, and pushed the demo day out to consider the COO's needs.
Sales Protection: Sales should have stepped in and put a stop to the meeting.
At any point in your opportunity, your Economic Buyer can change, and that can change the entire dynamics of your deal. It is critical to get to know the internal workings of the organization so that you can anticipate any changes. Remember, it doesn't matter how many people you involve in your discovery, your agenda points, and how fantastic your demo is; if it doesn't speak to your Economic Buyer, you are dead in the water. The Economic Buyer is the voice that counts!
No decent attorney walks into a court room without already knowing the answers to the question he/she will be asking. The same should apply to any technical demo. Always have a clear understanding of what the customer is expecting to see. If you don't know, then give to get. Show something with the clear agreed commitment to hear from the customer what they DO need to see.