In case you didn’t already know, we at MEDDICC were ecstatic to welcome the founder of the MEDDIC framework, our new Chief Strategy Officer, Dick Dunkel to the team! To inaugurate him in his new role, he and MEDDICC CEO Andy Whyte held the first-ever LIVE Masters of MEDDIC - and here are the key takeaways.
You might be wondering, how did we convince Dick to come back to the world of MEDDIC? Well, for him it was a question of not if, but when. He shared with our audience that the work he will be doing at MEDDICC is a return to what he enjoys most. We’re seeing high growth and high change in our industry right now, but the fundamental principles of what customers care about haven’t changed. Bringing those principles to customers to empower them to deliver value to their customers is incredibly rewarding for Dick and is a big part of why he joined the MEDDICC team.
What is the future of sales, and how does MEDDPICC play a role?
While none of us have a crystal ball (yet), Dick discussed how there are and will always be timeless principles in sales that drive success, but the methods in which you secure them may change. We are seeing an emergence of powerful tools that, when used well, can elevate your existing sales execution. AI-based solutions, for example, will help organizations identify where their customer’s challenges exist. Going forward, organizations can integrate these new tools to build a ‘Sales Stack’, and MEDDPICC can permeate this sales stack to help organizations run better.
Importance of Human Intelligence
As artificial intelligence begins to proliferate our industry, it is important to remember the vital impact of human intelligence. Automation through AI can introduce some risk, so the human factor and how you tailor that automation will be what differentiates you from your competitors. In modern selling, you need to adapt to customer expectations; now more than ever we are seeing a shift in them. Customers don’t necessarily want to go to lunch, they want to navigate through a very efficient process and be able to make well informed decisions. When you combine that with the human element of experience and professional guidance, you will deliver a better customer experience, leading to stronger relationships and greater success.
Selling Best Practices
When operating in an innovative space, like so many in SaaS businesses are, sellers need to take the time to understand the challenges and priorities of their target audience; what do they care about? What are the challenges and risks they're faced with and how can your solution help address those? If you aren’t tailoring your approach to your customer’s strategic priorities, you will lose them. Establishing this strategic alignment is a powerful way to ensure that you are spending your time and your resources wisely.
With more people than ever before involved in decision-making, sellers must be thorough in their effort to identify the stakeholders. Having solid strategic alignment as described above, will allow you to build a value narrative that can be shared across the stakeholder’s value chain.
An audience member asked if, when equipped with MEDDPICC as a sales qualification framework, you need a sales methodology as well. The short answer: yes! You can and should apply MEDDPICC to define success across your sales stages. In fact, those sales stages should describe the steps that lead to the complete fulfillment of MEDDPICC. Of course, there are additional resources out there that can help with detailed tactics and execution for specific sales activities such as gaining access to executives or running effective meetings.
How do you stand out in deals when you could be going against other salespeople using MEDDPICC?
The real key here lies in execution. Your competition may be using MEDDPICC as well, but your differentiation is how you apply MEDDPICC to deliver a unique and valuable customer experience. Consider how well you are leveraging metrics or how you develop your Champions or how and when you secure executive sponsorship. Elite sales organizations leverage their experience and creativity to deliver a differentiated engagement. And keep in mind that MEDDICC is equally relevant for the post-sale customer enablement and success teams and across the customer lifecycle. But since it focuses on value, it can service your whole GTM team, which will propel you past the competition. You can read more about MEDDPICC as the full customer lifecycle tool here.
MEDDIC has already morphed into MEDDICC and MEDDPICC; does Dick foresee it evolving further?
Short answer: no. If you or your team do the exercise, ‘Why do we win, why do we lose, and why do deals slip?’ and when you do that exercise and then you look at the answers, you're going to come up with something that looks a whole lot like MEDDIC or MEDDPICC. That being said, it doesn’t matter how you spell it, as long as you decide as an organization, “This is what we’re going to commit to.” If you focus and execute on it, that is what matters.
One final thing to keep in mind: a team mindset will be what takes your organization from a group of great individual contributors to a team of exceptional salespeople. That team culture will contribute to the growth and success of your business, and ultimately your whole team.