MEDDPICC as the Full Customer Lifecycle Framework: Account Executive

When thinking about the role of MEDDPICC in the Customer Lifecycle, people can fall into traps that limit their selling in two ways: 

1. They think MEDDPICC only applies to AEs

2. They think it is only used in the Selling and Closing stages. 

We will unpack both of these traps throughout this series, but the focus of this instalment will look particularly at how the second one can be proven wrong by AEs. Certainly, MEDDPICC is essential during the Selling and Closing stages, but that’s not the only time it can be used. We at MEDDICC know that MEDDPICC is a first-rate sales methodology - so why would we not want to implement it at every aspect of the Customer Lifecycle? 

Like the entire GTM team, the role of an AE is incredibly important within the Customer Lifecycle. They work very closely with the customer, managing, growing, and renewing accounts of existing clients. However, while an AE’s focus is usually on supporting existing client accounts, the best AEs also do pipeline generation. This way, they can apply MEDDPICC right from the beginning of their relationship with clients, and ensure the quality of the deals they are involved in. 

During the Awareness and Prospecting stage, AEs can ask themselves:

• Who is the Champion? Who should we be reaching out to?

• How can we Implicate the Pain? What pain can we solve?

• Looking at our Metrics, what value can we provide?

• Are there any Decision Criteria we should consider? How can we factor them into our approach?

As discussed above, during both the Selling and the Closing stages, you can apply every facet of MEDDPICC to ensure you are delivering value, engaging stakeholders, and are involved in the process. 

• AEs can focus on Value by Implicating the Pain, identifying key quantifiable Metrics, and learning what they can about their customers’ Decision Criteria.

• When dealing with Stakeholders, it’s important for AEs to establish who the Champion and Economic Buyers are, as well as the Competition. Remember that the competition does not just mean your direct competitors, but anyone or anything competing for the same resources as you. 

• The Process can be divided by AEs into Decision Process and Paper Process, to ensure the deal is carried through.

Elite AEs don’t just care about the deal, they care about the customer, and ensure the customer received the value they were promised at the beginning of the customer lifecycle. 

At the Value stage, AEs can consider:

• What are the Metrics I can use to measure the value we are delivering? Are they metrics I can use again in the future?

• When moving towards upsells and cross-sells down the line, what are the Decision Criteria that will factor into the reception of these?

Towards the end of the Customer Lifecycle, AEs who know what they’re doing will stay involved in the process. They can continue to look for further use-cases where the new (or existing!) accounts can be expanded - whether that be into new models or new territories. 

When they’ve reached the Growth and Retention stage, AEs can start thinking about:

• Who was my Champion in this deal? Will they continue to advocate for my company in future deals?

• Who is the Economic Buyer? Who has veto power over the expansion of this account?

• What is the Decision Process in the furthering of this account? How can we ensure the deal goes forward?

• What does the Paper Process look like in the expansion of the account? How can we make sure things go smoothly?

AEs are the perfect way to start this series, as they are involved at every stage of the Customer Lifecycle. Hopefully this article has given you a clear understanding of how they can integrate MEDDPICC throughout it! As we continue, the entire Customer Lifecycle will be fleshed out utilising MEDDPICC alongside the GTM and post-sales teams. 

You can find us back here for the next instalment on SDRs!