MEDDICC

Sales
Process
Checklist
Your guide to better deal qualification
What is MEDDICC?
MEDDICC is a sales qualification methodology Fast-paced companies like Workiva, MongoDB,
which stands for Metrics, Economic Alfresco, Snowflake and many more have
Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, built a healthy pipeline and forecast based on
Identify Pain, Champion and Competition. the fundamentals of MEDDICC.

There’s no doubt, the MEDDICC sales method- I invite you to read on to get an overview of this
ology has helped many sales teams and sales simple and lightweight qualification process,
reps around the globe achieve extraordinary so that you can better qualify your deals and
results. Statistics show that 30%+ growth rates call them with confidence. Read all the way to
in saturated markets and 250%+ in start-ups the end as we also share more on how you can
are possible. In fact, many sales reps that easily implement MEDDICC on Saleforce.
touch MEDDICC will never work without it
again.

M E D D I C C
Economic Decision Decision Identify
Metrics Champion Competition
Buyer Criteria Process Pain

Quantifiable The person Formal Events and “Why” the Someone A prod-
& compelling who has criteria used timeline prospect who has uct you’re
benfits that the power to compare that go into should act. the power competing
underpin to make vendors - validation & The strength & influence with or your
the busi- decisions & technical re- the people of the pain to drive the prospect’s
ness case authorize the quirements, involved in will deter- deal & sell preference
& justify the spending. vendor info the approval mine the internally on for the status
investment. & financial. process. urgency. your behalf. quo.

Rizan Flenner
Founder & CEO, iSEEit

Being a seasoned sales professional, Rizan is well versed in the field of Enteprise
Sales. Starting out as a Sales Rep and then working his way up to becoming a
Sales Leader, he’s had many opportunities to work for the world’s most innovative
companies who offer state-of-the-art software to clients such as CA Technologies,
Dynatrace, Mercury interactive, BMC, and MongoDB.
While he’s worked extensively with sales methodologies such as MEDDICC, Spin
Selling and Solution Selling, they were not seamlessly integrated into CRM
sytems.
Finally in 2014, Rizan together with 2 other sales leaders set out to build their own
tool for salespeople and founded iSEEit, which would enable Enterprise sales teams
to close their deals faster.

Contents

Contents
MEDDICC
Metrics 3
MEDDICC
Economic Buyer 5
MEDDICC
Decision Criteria 7
MEDDICC
Decision Process 9
MEDDICC
Identify Pain 11
MEDDICC
Champion 13
MEDDICC
Competition 15
Implementing MEDDICC on
Salesforce 17

2
METRICS

3
 Metrics
What are Metrics? What Do Strong Metrics Look
Metrics are quantifiable and measurable results Like?
that your potential customer will use to justify their Here’s an example of what strong metrics could
investment in your solution. It feeds the business look like: At the moment, we have 15 FTE at 95%
case and Return on Investment (ROI) that financial utilization. We are expanding our infrastructure by
decision makers will use to base their decision 15% a year and we expect another acquisition this
upon. It can be divided in 2 major groups: Below year - which will double. We will not get a budget to
the Line or Above the line. increase FTEs.

Below the Line Questions to Ask:

Below the line metrics refers to cost savings • How would we measure the success of our
and efficiency gains. Oftentimes, they are also project?
associated with measurements in reductions on • Which metrics around cost, efficiency or
Full-Time Equivalent (FTEs). business do we need to achieve?
• How is success measured by the busi-
Above the Line ness?

Above the line metrics are more business-centric. NOTE: Collecting these metrics from your exist-
Oftentimes, above the line metrics could refer to ing clients makes wonderful proof points
increases in revenue or profit, quicker time to on your discovery calls with prospects.
market, higher product quality and the level of
customer satisfaction. These metrics are used
to make business decisionw and build Business
Cases or Return on Investment (ROI). Related Article:
More on Metrics
Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
more about collecting the right metrics to build a
compelling ROI.

“Collecting Metrics is like collect-

ing money. You either need them “
to justify the cost on your deal or
win new clients .
4
ECONOMIC
BUYER

5
 Economic Buyer
Who is the Economic Buyer? Questions to Ask:
Economic Buyers (EB) are decision makers who • Do you sponsor the project?
give the ultimate “yes” or “no” to a project. This • What does success look like for you?
person usually has clear sight on the business • What are the next steps if we fulfil the crite-
benefits, decision criteria and the process to close ria for success?
a deal. The EB also usually has the discretion-
ary right to spend. Therefore, depending on the NOTE: If the Economic Buyer confirms the pro-
size of your deal, you need to find the appropriate ject and outlines a possible close date, your deals
person. have a good chance of closing. If you do not meet
the Economic Buyer and get their approval, your
chances of closing a deal in time drops below
Why You Must Meet the EB? 50%.
Meeting the real Economic Buyer, asking them for
their sponsorship, what their decision criteria and
next steps are usually shed a lot of light on the Related Article:
complex decision criteria and processes. Prepar-
ing for the Economic Buyer meeting is key to More on the Economic Buyer
succeeding. However, you need to do your home- Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
work on the value proposition and earn the right to more about how meeting the Econmic Buyer can
ask for this meeting. help you hit an 80% close rate.

Identifying the Real EB

Spending time to qualify and make sure you’ve
spoken to the real Economic Buyer is key. A good
qualifying question could be: “If you and I come
to an agreement, is there anybody else that we
would need to involve or ask for approval formally

“
or informally?”

If you do not meet the Econom-

ic Buyer and get their approval,
your chances of closing a deal in
“
time drops below 50% .

6
DECISION
CRITERIA

7
 Decision Criteria
What is Decision Criteria? Legal Decision Criteria
Every project has a formally or informally defined This criteria is often vague and not formally de-
Decision Criteria in which the solution has to fulfil fined. However, it is of utmost importance when
before your prospect decides to move forward. closing large deals as it is built around the trust
Decision Criteria are often categorized further as and confidence in you and your company to
Technical, Business/Commercial and Legal Deci- help your prospect succeed. The Legal Decision
sion Criteria. Criteria involve the ease of doing business and
acceptance of paperwork. You must discover
these criteria to make sure that all stakeholders
Technical Decision Criteria have the answers that will build trust and faith in
Technical Decision Criteria refers to the feasibility you, your company and offering.
of your product or solution. These often explore
questions such as ‘“Are the use cases covered by Questions to Ask:
the potential solution?” and “Does it comply with
existing infrastructure and if so, how well will it • What are the Technical Decision Criteria
integrate?”. we need to fulfil for the client to make a
decision?
Business/Commercial • How do we calculate the ROI for this project
to justify the investment?
Decision Criteria
The most common Business/Commercial Decision NOTE: Showing thorough understanding and
Criteria is alignment to budget. However, corpo- aligning yourself to your client’s needs to establish
rations are still very much only driven by Return a good fit will display great flexibility. This can
on Investment. Sometimes, the investment needs influence their decision towards your offering.
to already be justified within a span of 12 months.

Furtheremore, there are different types of budg- Related Article:

ets like Capital Expenses (CAPEX) or Operating
Expenses (OPEX). Some clients have huge OPEX
More on Decision Criteria
reduction campaigns or have certain cash flow Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
requirements that drive the Decision Criteria. more about how you can influence your prospect’s
Decision Criteria in your favor.

“If an important criteria that you serve is

missing, challenge the client and show-
case your knowledge based on your
“
successful track record .
8
DECISION
PROCESS

9
 Decision Process
What is Decision Process? Paper Process
While the Decision Criteria are all about what the The paper process is a rigorous, regulatory or busi-
decision is based upon, the Deicision Process is ness compliance need, which often leads to time
about the route to it. intensive negotiations. Although this can take
weeks or even months, having a legal agreement
The Decision Process can be separated into: is absolutely necessary.
• Technical Decision Making: The route to a
technical decision This process is the No. 1 reson why contracts
• Business Decision Making: The route to get postponed, causing deals to slip out of the
money quarter. Make sure you have the executive spon-
• Paper Process: The route to getting all the soship to negotiate with Purchasing and Legal
signatures needed Always be paranoid about the details.

Technical Decision Making Questions to Ask:

• Which personnel are involved and what
Based on the Technical Decision Criteria, compa- steps are needed to reach a decision?
nies will set up formal or informal processes that • How can we put this in a sequential order
lead to a technical deicsion. Hence, it’s important and which timeline is it based on?
to understand what these steps are and who is • What does the approval process look like
involved in it. for a deal worth $100K, $500K or $1 million?
• Paper process: How is the legal construct
As with the Decision Criteria, the Technical Deicion set up? Are there frame agreements in
Process should also be documented and con- place? What are the critical mandatory
firmed by the client. terms and conditions? Which contractual
paperwork is the basis of negotiation?
Business Decision Making
The Business Decision Process refers to who’s Related Article:
involved in the approval process and if there are
any formal boards. More on Decision Process
Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
At this stage, you must investigate if there are more about the 3 types of Decision Process and
formal procedures or paper processes involved in why you need to stay on top of it.
a workflow for a project approval and how long that
would take.

“Be paranoid. Always plan for the

worst and stay in control. Don’t “
simply assume things will go well.
10
IDENTIFY
PAIN

11
 Identify Pain
What is a Strong Pain Point? Example of a Weak Pain Point
Identifying a strong pain point or an initiative of ABC Soft needs to conduct regression testing due
your prospect is one of the major qualifiers during to buggy software. Over here, the pain point is not
the discovery phase and is required in order to apparent as there are vital pieces of information
determine if you can convert your lead into an missing. There is no deadline and the consequenc-
opportunity. es of not acting are not clearly and explicitly out-
lined. Hence, it is likely that looking for a solution is
A strong pain can be a technical or a business not a top priority for ABC Soft at this point.
shortage that the client would like to overcome,
stop or change. Questions to Ask:
The pain must be so strong that it impacts the • What is the pain point? What exactly is
customer’s time, cost, risk or revenue, creating a causing the delays?
compelling event for them to act upon. We refer • What is the implication? How would the
to this as “the consequence of doing nothing when pain impact your company and what does it
the compelling event occurs”. mean for you and the company?
• Is it really compelling? What are the con-
sequences of doing nothing? Will it impact
Example of a Strong Pain Point your business negatively?
ABC Soft needs to deliver a solution by the end of
the year. They have major delays caused by se- NOTE: A weak pain or unclear consequences
rious bugs, which may prevent on-time delivery. will usually cause delays or reduced budgets due
There is a penalty clause of $100K per week if to the lack of priority given by the executive man-
the software is not up and running by January 1st. agement.

In this case, the pain point is the serious bugs

in the software which obstructs timely delivery.
Related Article:
The pain is strong because for every week the More on Identifying Pain
software is down, ABC Soft would need to fork
Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
out $100K, which is a very high cost. This can
more about how you can effectively identify the
also hurt their reputation, causing them to lose
real pain points of your customers.
customers in the long run. As a result, this pain
point is strong and compelling enough for them to
look for a solution immediately which can solve this
problem at soonest.

“The pain must be so strong that it im-

pacts the customer’s time, cost, risk or
revenue, creating a compelling event for
“
them to act upon.

12
CHAMPION

13
 Champion
Who is the Champion? Once you’ve identified the goals of your potential
Champion(s), you will be able to develop the rela-
A Sales Champion is the person within your client’s tionship by enabling them to address the pain,
organization who will sell on your behalf when i.e. linking them to the subject matter experts in
you’re not there. They will guide you through your company, inviting them to the right seminars
the decision making process, introduce you to or linking them up with your references so that they
key players and decision makers, and alert you if can learn from their experiences on how to han-
things go wrong. dles projects like these.

Together with identifying pain, finding your cham- Once you’ve built up a real Champion, he/she
pion within your prospect’s organization is also will recognize your support and understand that
an important part of the discovery phase and is a you will be able to help them solve their pain. It
huge indicator of whether your lead can become will become a joint effort and your Champion
an opportunity. will become a true defender of the cause, sell-
ing on your behalf when you’re not around.
Identifying Your Champion
Someone who will fight for you in your absence Questions to Ask:
needs to have power & influence and a personal
interest to solve the pain. • Why is this person a champion?
• Does this person have influence?
Power & Influence: This could manifest in the form • What is his/her personal interest?
of a hierarchical position or through displaying • Will he/she stand up for you and sell on
expertise in a domain. Even if they don’t carry the your behalf when you’re not there?
official title held by management, they can be spot-
ted as they are usually well received by their peers,
are very influential and typically have a good track Related Article:
record of successful projects under their belt. This
makes them very visible along the chain of More on the Sales Champion
command. Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
more about the Sales Champion and how you can
Personal Interest: While pain is an important identify and nurture them.
driver of urgency, there is always an owner with a
personal interest to get this pain solved. This
personal interest is what drives this person to
collaborate with peers, consultants and vendors to
attack the pain as soon as possible, speeding up

“
the buying process.

It will become a joint effort and your

Champion will become a true defend-
er of the cause, selling on your behalf
“
when you’re not around.
14
COMPETITION

15
 Competition
What is Competition? Doing so will also enable you to better understand
the needs of the organization, so that you can
Competition is one of the most neglected and un- set traps for your competitors and convince your
derestimated risk factors when it comes prospect that your solution is the only solution that
to securing and closing a deal. Even if your pros- they will need.
pect assures you that he or she is not
looking at other solutions, the final stakeholders
greenlighting the project could still ask for com- Questions to Ask:
parisons. Purchasing could also request addi-
• Who are we competing against?
tional quotes for price comparison sake.
• Why are we competing against them?
• Can the prospect do nothing?
Moreover, competition could go beyond a solution
• Are they adoptiong an open source/DIY
that’s offered by another company. It could also
approach?
refer to the client’s “Do It Yourself (DIY)” solution
• Who in the account is championing your
or current way of doing things. Ie. The “if it ain’t
competition?
broken why fix it” mentality where they decide to
• Do we know who else needs to be involved?
do nothing and continue with the status quo.

You really do not want to find out that you were in Related Article:
competition with someone else only after losing
the deal. More on Competition
Click here or scan the QR code below to learn
Why Spotting Your Competition more about Competition and how you can detect
them early to win.
Early is Crucial?
Knowing your competition inside out will help you
strengthen your case to neutralize your enemies
early in your sales process. Identifying and building
multiple champions will allow you to grow deeper
roots within your prospect’s organization and gain

“
more access to information.

Knowing your competition inside out will

enable you to better understand the needs
of the organization, so that you can set
traps for your competitors and convince
your prospect that your solution is the
“
only solution that they will need.

16
Conclusion
So, that’s MEDDICC in a nutshell. Personally, this has been one of the most effective sales
methodologies I’ve ever worked with. I can’t imagine ever qualifying deals without it
again. After raising my close rate to over 90%, MEDDICC proved itself as a winning
methodology. I hope you’ve found this MEDDICC checklist helpful and feel empowered to go out
there to smash more deals.

In case you didn’t have the time to go through the whole checklist, here’s a little TLDR version. You
can also click here to check out of MEDDICC Checklist on Google Web Stories or scan the QR
code below.

M E D D I C C
Economic Decision Decision Identify
Metrics Champion Competition
Buyer Criteria Process Pain

What is the Who has What are What does What are Who will Who are we
economic profit and their techni- their vali- their primary sell on your competing
impact of the loss respon- cal, vendor dation and business behalf within against and
solution? sibility for and financial approval objectives? the compa- why?
this project? criteria? process look ny?
like?

MEDDICC Google
Web Stories
Scan the QR code below and watch our MED-
DICC Checklist on Google Web Stories

Implement MEDDICC on
Are you looking to follow MEDDICC on Salesforce and bring structure to
your sales process? Say goodbye to slipped deals - Let iSEEit enable
you and your sales team to adopt a common language, identify gaps
earlier in your sales process and take preemptive action in order to
call your deals with confidence and build a more predictable forecast.

Get in touch with us today and learn more about how you can imple- CLICK HERE
ment MEDDICC on Salesforce.

17