Let's begin to define MEDDIC by what it is NOT vs what it is. MEDDIC is NOT a sales process, a sales methodology, or a cure for world hunger. MEDDIC is a Sales Qualification Framework. Let me reword that a bit differently MEDDIC is NOT a process but a framework. The next question you probably will have is what is the difference between a framework and a process?
Framework vs. Process
Framework = A basic structure underlying a system or concept.
Process = A series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.
Taking it to the next step, the underlying system that we are defining in MEDDIC is Sales Qualification. Qualification is a condition that must be fulfilled before a right can be acquired. What right are we talking about in sales qualification? The right to for you to become your prospects solution and the right for your prospect to become your customer.
Everything as a Service
Today, virtually all technology sales are moving to a SaaS-based revenue model. Going one step further, many industries are going to this SaaS-based/Subscription based revenue model, for example:
Car was companies are selling a monthly subscription for a car wash as a service, for one monthly price you can go through the car was an unlimited number of times.
HVAC companies are now selling A/C as a service. For a monthly fee they will install a whole house A/C system and that includes any and all maintenance that the A/C may ever need. No more worrying about how much that A/C repair will cost you. Living in a state like Florida, A/C is a critical need!
Food delivery companies like Uber Eats and Doordash all sell subscription services. For a low monthly fee they will waive delivery charges.
Why do I bring this up? Simple. When selling a subscription or anything as a service, selling to the right prospect is critical because the longer that customer stays as a customer, the higher the revenue that will be produced. Sell to the wrong customer and they will cancel before your organization has any hope to recover all the cost of building that product and acquiring the customer resulting in losing profit.
Back to MEDDIC
We can all agree that attracting, converting, and retaining the right customers is absolutely critical for the success of any company, especially a company that operations with a Subscription business model. With this established, let's define what the MEDDIC acronym stands for.
M = Metric
E = Economic Buyer
D = Decision Criteria
D = Decision Process
I = Identified Pain
C = Champion
There is also another version of MEDDIC that includes a couple more aspects called MEDDPICC which add Paper Process and Competition. We will also include those in our material.
Where did it come from?
MEDDIC has been around for a long time, in fact, the earliest mention of it's use is back in 1996, more than 25 years ago. Jack Napoli and Dick Dunkel created the MEDDIC Sales Qualification Framework while at PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation) and attribute their framework as being a critical part of successfully taking PTC from $300 million to over $1 Billion in a short 4 years.
Since Jack and Dick developed this framework, it has been used by countless organizations at all levels, from large established companies to start-up and everything in between. While the framework is well defined, the execution of it may vary depending on industry and that is something we will cover in future posts.
Who can use this framework?
Great question! This framework can be used by all departments of the organizations. Let me give you a couple of examples. Marketing can use it to understand what their ideal customer profile is and use the components of MEDDIC to specifically target them with the right messages. Product can use MEDDIC to better understand who they are building the product for so that they can ensure product fit. Finance can use MEDDIC to better understand the value that the organizations solution is delivering and adjust pricing models accordingly. Lastly and more obvious is everyone in the sales organization.
What will this framework do for me?
There are many benefits to using the MEDDIC Sales Qualification Framework, here are a few:
Increase your forecast accuracy.
Increase your average deal size.
Increase your win rate.
Increase customer retention.
Increase company profit margins.
Increase sales productivity.
Increase your commission.
Increase team selling participation.
Decrease deal slippage.
Decrease customer churn.
Decrease cost of sale.
We will cover many of the above benefits in subsequent blog posts.
How do I learn more?
MEDDIC Monday's is dedicated to educating everyone on the MEDDIC Qualification framework, one Monday at a time. As sellers ourselves, we understand the competing needs of our profession, such as weekly team meetings, forecast calls, cold calling, prospecting, deal reviews, contract negotiations, sales enablement, product updates, and herding cats. We find the best way the get better at something is to schedule a dedicated time (15 minutes on Monday morning) to explore an aspect of the topic and implement that throughout the week in thought and practice. Sign up below to have MEDDIC Monday's delivered every Monday morning to your inbox.
Do you offer more hands-on services?
For those that want to take a deeper look or more one-on-one guidance, we will offer both courses that give you the opportunity to get feedback and coaching sessions that give you access to a MEDDIC expert that will help you achieve all the success that MEDDIC promises.
🎬 Action The Action for this week is to print the below image and tape it to the side of your monitor.  |
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