Use MEDDIC to avoid losing credibility

One of the earliest rules I learned in sales was: “don’t knock the competition.” Sellers shouldn’t criticize their competitors in front of customers.

Despite this being one of the oldest rules in sales, I still hear stories of sellers criticizing their competition to customers.

This article is about influencing ‘clean’ selling. You will win more by selling clean, and MEDDIC can help.

Why criticizing the competition backfires

There are several reasons why it is not a good idea to criticize your competition.

1. It is unprofessional

Criticizing competitors can be seen as dishonorable and may lower your standing with your customer.

2. You are also criticizing your customer

In a competitive deal, if you criticize your competition you are indirectly questioning your customer’s judgment. Imagine considering a BMW or a Mercedes. If the BMW salesperson started saying how bad Mercedes was, it would feel like they were undermining your judgment.

3. It makes you look weak

Talking negatively about your competition without being invited to do so can make you appear insecure about your own solution.

4. It focuses on the negative

Your customer isn’t going to feel good about a negative discussion.

5. Your competition gets a chance to respond

If you raise concerns about a competitor, your customer will likely bring them back to that competitor, giving them a chance to address the issue and potentially make you look like you were playing dirty.

Take the high road

I once had a competitor we suspected had paid for negative PR about our company. The article referenced a security flaw that had been fixed immediately, but the competition was still using it two years later.

Instead of responding in kind, I told my sales team we would always take the high road and say:

“The issue you have just raised is something we regularly hear our competition say about us. We are not going to get into a tit-for-tat debate about our competition. We would rather focus on our suitability for your needs.”

When the article came up, we would respond in three parts:

1. Explain what the issue was and how we dealt with it
   

2. Explain why it is irrelevant now
   

3. Reference organizations that chose us despite seeing the article

Referencing high-security organizations such as banks or government customers was particularly effective.

In one meeting, when the article was raised, I even praised the competitor:

“I am not going to get into a tit-for-tat discussion about us and [competitor]. They have quite a good solution. Sometimes organizations pick them, and sometimes they pick us.
What we have become very good at is identifying the companies most likely to choose us and focusing on winning those.”

I then listed the differentiators we had already identified and worked in the Decision Criteria.

As we left the meeting, an executive followed us to the elevator and said:

“I really liked what you said when the competition came up. That was refreshing.”

We won that deal.

Stay professional. Use MEDDIC

The intention behind criticizing competitors is usually to highlight weaknesses. Fortunately, direct criticism rarely resonates with customers.

That does not mean you should ignore the weaknesses of your competition. It means you should take a more professional approach. This is where MEDDIC comes in.

Through thorough discovery, you uncover your unique differentiators. By implicating the pain your solution solves and attaching value to a Metric, you can have that differentiator added to the Decision Criteria.

In other words, you turn differentiators into requirements.

Once your differentiator is embedded in the Metrics, Implicated Pain, and Decision Criteria of MEDDICC, it can naturally work against your competition. One of the best ways to do this is Planting Pain.

Planting Pain

Planting Pain is a technique elite sellers use to surface pain when they are not in the room. It highlights a point of differentiation in your solution which, by proxy, exposes a shortfall in your competition.

The process looks like this:

1. Identify a pain your solution uniquely solves
   
   
2. Ask questions that help the customer recognize that pain
   
   
3. Turn that pain into a requirement in the Decision Criteria
   
   

For example, if a sales leader is evaluating MEDDICC versus BANT, I would not criticize BANT. Instead, I would Plant Pain by asking questions aimed at highlighting my strengths and BANT’s weaknesses:

Me: “What are you doing to ensure you are qualifying deals throughout their lifecycle?”
Sales Leader: “We are not qualifying deals very well right now.”
Me: “If you invest in a qualification framework, will you want it to help you qualify throughout the entire lifecycle?”
Sales Leader: “Yes.”
Me: “Do you mind if we add this as part of your Decision Criteria?”
Sales Leader: “Please do.”

In just a few questions, I have uncovered a pain and turned it into a requirement.

Later, when the BANT seller is asked how their framework helps qualify deals throughout the lifecycle, the limitation becomes visible without me ever criticizing them directly.

That is the power of planted pain.

Planting Pain guidelines

Planting Pain is an advanced skill. Like any skill, it improves with practice.

1. Persevere and practice
   It may not click at first, but practice will make it more natural.
   
   
2. Practice with your peers
   Sales teams can brainstorm common competitor scenarios and develop Planting Pain themes together.
   
   
3. Keep questions open
   Open-ended questions create conversation and allow the customer to explore the pain themselves.
   
   
4. Keep it two-sided
   The question should highlight value for you while prompting the customer to consider the downside of alternatives.
   
   
5. Take action
   If you uncover a strong pain but do not add it to the Decision Criteria, you have planted the seed but never directed your customer toward it.
   

Summary

When done effectively, Planting Pain opens your customer’s mind to value they may not have previously considered.

It can increase urgency around your deal while highlighting gaps in your competition’s solution.

And it does all of this without you needing to criticize your competitor.

Win. Win. Win.