What Is the MEDDIC Sales Process and Why You Should Adopt It

It can be frustrating.

You practice day after day, honing your technique and brushing up on "tips and tricks" to land prospects, but you still have trouble hitting those targets.

You were spot on; you did everything right, but you still missed the mark.

What went wrong?

Maybe your sales skills aren't the problem – maybe the customer was never right in the first place. Research does show that at least 50% of sales prospects aren't a good fit for the product.

Now, this is where the MEDDIC sales methodology comes in.

The MEDDIC sales process emphasizes better customer qualification, so you're pitching your solution to an audience that both wants and needs to hear it.

But what does that entail? And what the heck does "MEDDIC" stand for?

Let's answer these questions.

What Does MEDDIC Stand for in Sales?

Alright, let's get to the burning question and start breaking down this MEDDIC acronym.

Knowing the meaning behind each letter leads to a better understanding of the methodology itself. Plus, it's what you came here for, right?;)

Here's a quick summary for all you skimmers:

Now let's go in-depth.

Metrics

This part of the process is all about finding out what the customer hopes to gain from your service. For best results, these benefits should be quantifiable.

What does that mean? It's the difference between saying "more sales" versus "a 20% increase in sales".

Establishing firm metrics enables you to:

1. See how you can solve their pain point: Once you know a customer's goals, you know how your solution can achieve them
2. Personalize the value you're selling: A prospect is much more likely to consider your solution when it can be matched exactly to their needs

Metrics allow you to describe the benefits you're selling instead of just rattling off the same "it'll save you cash" jargon – and, by justifying their purchase and outlining their ROI, you can streamline the entire sales process.

Economic Buyer

Find out who the economic buyer is for your target customer. The economic buyer is the individual who has financial control over solutions like yours. Often, the person we correspond with is not the decision maker.

Knowing the economic buyer's mindset (like through your point of contact or social networking) gives you an understanding of how they work, what's important to them, and what they need to hear.

Top-performing salespeople spend an average of 6 hours per week researching their prospects.

And if you can manage to set it up through your point of contact, talk to the economic buyer directly for the best info.

Try talking to them about:

• Their expectations
• Their personal metrics
• Their decision-making process

Your sales call is only 5 to 6% of the total buying journey, so getting to better know your economic buyer is key.

Decision Criteria

Understanding how your prospect makes decisions and purchases is fundamental when it comes to selling your solution.

Your potential clients are very likely considering several other vendors simultaneously and have some key considerations they're factoring in when comparing products/services.

These considerations are their decision criteria. These could include:

• ROI
• Ease of use
• Onboarding and implementation
• Price

These criteria are the foundation upon which your prospect weighs their decision.

Researching these decision criteria and tailoring your pitch to suit their highest priorities makes you clearly stand out from the crowd.

Some companies won't have their exact criteria defined yet, so don't be afraid to be the one who urges them to consider it.

This move allows you to actively prove you meet all their critical criteria, making it easier for them to decide on a solution (and for you to close a deal).

Decision Process

The last point covered what goes into a decision – this point tells you how that decision is made and acted on (i.e., the company's personal internal steps taken to finalize purchase).

This includes discovering key decision makers, the timeline they operate on, and all formal approval processes, including paperwork.

How does this help you?

B2B sales can be complex. A single business may have six to ten decision makers, all with their own information, methods, and opinions. Knowing their exact sales process means you know where your sale sits within that complicated web.

For instance, if the buyer has okayed the sale, you know that XYZ paperwork is the next step in the process. So send a follow-up message asking about said paperwork.

This due diligence can keep a sale from going cold.

It's a much more professional, streamlined process to say, "Has Ms. Tyler had a chance to go over the contract?" than "How are you doing with finalizing the sale?".

Identify Pain

We all know some variation of this step – agitating a need or a pain is what sells your service.

This is a two-step process:

1. Identify a customer's pain
2. Identify how your service solves it

This is similar to the "M" (the "metrics," in case you forgot) – just like you gathered quantifiable goal metrics, now you're going to gather specific pain points.

Ask your prospect what their pain is and dig deep into the heart of the issue.

If their issue is "disorganized sales reps," explore this in-depth to find out how this disorganization is affecting them – is it letting leads slip through the cracks? Is it causing delays in sales calls as reps search for information?

96% of customers say that a sales rep who focuses on the specific value their solution can deliver heavily impacts their purchasing decision.

And why shouldn't it? Any sales rep can tell you "all your problems will be solved," – but a sales rep who can tell you "X problem will be solved via Y solution and you'll achieve Z goal" is exactly what the prospect wants to hear.

Champion/Competition

Okay, so this is where the acronym differs.

The MEDDIC sales approach (one "C") is just "Champion," while the MEDDICC meaning includes both "Champion and Competition."

Let's take a look at both.

Champion

Your Champion is someone within the prospect's company that wants, needs, and advocates for your solution.

Generally, this person is your main point of contact or whichever person is most affected by the pain point (sometimes, these are the same person).

This person keeps your solution at the front of everyone's mind and stokes interest in the employees who finalize sales.

So your Champion is a key player in closing the deal.

Competition

Your competition is any vendor or solution that is competing for the same funds as you.

Identifying the competition is essential in selling your product. You have to know what you're up against to sell your solution's value and worth properly.

This part of the sales process is about proving why you're the best option out there – but that doesn't mean you should start bad-mouthing the competition.

Don't trash-talk your competitors.

What Is the MEDDIC Sales Methodology?

MEDDIC is a sales qualification methodology that emphasizes better lead qualification by pitching to customers who are a more suitable fit for your product.

It's generally a framework of questions designed to qualify prospects accurately. What's the prospect's pain point? How can you solve it? What are the company's main criteria for making this type of decision?

Knowing your audience helps you sell to the right people in the right way.

The MEDDIC sales methodology was first named and used at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) in the 1990s.

Dick Dunkel was the first person to coin the term, and he proceeded to spread its good message across the company with the help of John McMahon and Jack Napoli.

Teaching the MEDDIC sales process to their sales reps allowed PTC to grow their sales from $300 million to $1 billion in four years – so we'd say it's pretty effective.

Understand MEDDIC Sales Process

Alright, so why does the MEDDIC sales method work so well?

Let's start by looking at the results of a study by Richardson Sales Performance identifying the top challenges faced by salespeople. Here's a handful of them:

1. Gaining access to the right stakeholder
2. Creating a targeted strategy
3. Managing gatekeepers
4. Prospect qualification
5. Delivering a concise value statement

The MEDDIC sales methodology tackles each one of these challenges by taking all the crucial, core elements in a successful sale and building them into a repeatable framework.

This is why the MEDDIC sales framework makes selling easier. It's a logical sales approach – no "tips and tricks," just a clean and clear methodology, which means that even beginners can learn it.

Since it isn't as reliant on negotiation and persuasion, you can just provide a framework of questions that help gather key information, including metrics, decision criteria, and pain points.

Then you compare this information to your target buyer's persona and qualify them. It's a quick, efficient way to qualify a prospect, and it leads to higher close rates.

Because it's a lot easier to persuade someone that they need something when they truly do need it.

That's why prioritizing your sales qualification process and producing high-quality leads is one of our top tips to close more sales – check out our blog for six more strategies to hit your sales quotas like a pro.

Step-by-Step Application of the MEDDIC Sales Process

To effectively apply the MEDDIC sales methodology, salespeople can integrate it into their sales cycle from prospecting to closing. The MEDDIC sales processes provide a structure for qualifying leads and moving them through the funnel efficiently.

The MEDDIC sales framework works step by step throughout the sales cycle:

• Prospecting: Reps identify Metrics (M) and connect with Economic Buyers (E) early, ensuring time is spent on qualified opportunities.
• Discovery: They uncover Decision Criteria (D) and Decision Processes (D) by asking targeted MEDDIC sales questions, while also Identifying Customer Pain Points (I).
• Closing: With strong Champions (C) inside the account, reps validate fit, align their solution to the criteria, and present a clear value proposition based on hard metrics rather than persuasion alone.

• Throughout the Sales Cycle: As the deal progresses, reps continuously update these key pieces of information.

For instance, in a CRM like Ringy, a sales rep can create custom fields for each element of the MEDDIC sales model. This allows them to systematically track the Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, and so on. A well-defined MEDDIC sales qualification process ensures that reps don't waste time on unqualified leads and can focus on deals with a high probability of closing.

Benefits of MEDDIC Sales Approach

Now, we've made our point on what we think about the MEDDIC sales model – but we won't just leave it at that.

Let's discuss the benefits you'll see from adopting the MEDDIC sales approach.

Here's the short version of the benefits:

And here's the long version.

1. Improved Deal Qualification and Forecasting Accuracy

By systematically gathering information on Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, and the Decision Process, the MEDDIC sales framework allows salespeople to accurately qualify a lead's potential.

This rigorous MEDDIC sales qualification process helps teams identify and prioritize deals that are genuinely likely to close. The result is a more reliable sales pipeline and more accurate sales forecasting, as you're not wasting time on deals that were never going to happen.

2. Shorter Sales Cycles Through Better Alignment

When a sales rep understands the customer's Identified Pain and has a clear view of their Decision Process, they can tailor their sales activities to fit the buyer's timeline and needs. The MEDDIC sales method helps reps align their actions with the prospect's journey, avoiding unnecessary back-and-forth.

This efficiency streamlines the entire process, leading to shorter sales cycles and quicker revenue realization. The extended version, MEDDICc, adds "Competition" to ensure reps are also prepared for competitive challenges, further refining their strategy.

3. Stronger Win Rates Due to Deeper Customer Insight

The core of the MEDDIC sales model is about gaining a deep understanding of the customer's world. By identifying the Champion, a key internal advocate, the salesperson gains an ally who can help navigate internal politics and build consensus.

This deep insight, combined with a clear understanding of the customer's pain and decision-making process, allows the rep to present a solution that is perfectly tailored and compelling. This approach leads to a higher win rate, as the solution is positioned as a necessity, not just a nice-to-have. The MEDDIC sales methodology ensures that every step is taken to build a solid case for the solution.

4. Higher ROI From Focusing on High-Probability Deals

The benefits of using the MEDDIC sales process culminate in a significant return on investment (ROI). By focusing resources, like time, effort, and budget, on deals that have been thoroughly qualified, companies can maximize their sales team's productivity.

The MEDDIC sales framework reduces wasted effort on low-probability deals, allowing reps to dedicate their energy to opportunities with the highest chance of success. This targeted approach ensures that every sales activity is purposeful and contributes to the bottom line. The what is MEDDICc question is often answered by pointing to these clear benefits.

10 Essential MEDDIC Sales Questions to Ask Prospects

Each letter in the MEDDIC acronym stands for a crucial part of the MEDDIC sales process. And each letter also has a series of questions that helps you accomplish that goal.

Example: Decision Criteria questions help you uncover the prospect's main criteria.

Let's take a look at these questions so you can build your own framework and learn how to close a sale with the MEDDIC methodology.

1. What Business Outcomes Are You Hoping to Achieve? (Metrics)

This question uncovers measurable success indicators, allowing reps to link their solution directly to ROI — a cornerstone of the MEDDIC sales methodology.

2. Who Ultimately Approves Budget for This Project? (Economic Buyer)

Identifying the economic buyer early ensures reps engage the person who controls funding, eliminating wasted effort on unqualified leads.

3. What Factors Matter Most in Selecting a Solution? (Decision Criteria)

This reveals the buyer's priorities — whether it's cost, functionality, or scalability — so reps can tailor their pitch accordingly.

4. What Steps Are Involved in Your Evaluation Process? (Decision Process)

Understanding the buying journey prevents surprises later in the cycle and helps shorten sales timelines.

5. What Challenges Are Slowing Down Growth or Efficiency? (Identify Pain)

Pinpointing pain is critical. MEDDICC sales methodology emphasizes selling to real problems rather than pushing features.

6. Who Else on Your Team Feels This Pain the Most?

This broadens visibility into influencers and potential champions, ensuring no key stakeholder is overlooked.

7. How Are You Addressing These Issues Today?

This shows whether the prospect has existing workarounds, gaps, or failed attempts — giving reps a way to position their solution as superior.

8. What Happens if Nothing Changes?

Highlighting the cost of inaction builds urgency and strengthens the case for moving forward.

9. Who in Your Organization Will Champion This Solution? (Champion)

Every MEDDIC sales process relies on an internal advocate. Champions help drive consensus and accelerate approval.

10. How Do You View Other Vendors in the Market? (Competition)

This helps reps understand competitive positioning and differentiate their offer effectively.

Asking these MEDDIC sales questions consistently transforms discovery into a repeatable, insight-driven process. That's why sales teams trained on MEDDIC or MEDDICC frameworks achieve stronger qualification, faster deal progression, and more predictable revenue outcomes.

Better Qualification Through the MEDDIC Sales Approach

The MEDDIC sales methodology has been boosting sales and creating loyal customers for thirty years now, and we don't think it's going to stop any time soon.

When the benefits of the MEDDIC sales model include laser-focused lead qualification, a shorter sales cycle, and a veritable checklist to success, it's easy to see why it's so valuable.

If you're interested in more ways to qualify, manage, and categorize your leads, read our blog on how a lead information system can benefit the sales management process.