MEDDIC: six questions that tell you if the deal is real.

MEDDIC was formalized at PTC in the 1990s to answer a question from sales leadership: why do some deals that look well advanced never sign? The answer came down to six recurring gaps, which became six letters.

The grid does two jobs: deciding which deals deserve your time, and knowing what to ask on the next call. A deal with four empty letters isn’t a deal, it’s a conversation.

What does the prospect gain, in numbers, if the problem goes away? Meetings a month, hours saved, extra clients. Without a metric, your price gets compared to another price instead of to a gain.

• “What’s one more client a month worth to you?”
• “How much time does the team put into this today?”

Who has the power to say yes and release the budget? Often not the person in front of you. The trap: assuming your contact decides because they’re enthusiastic. Enthusiasm isn’t signing authority.

• “Who else weighs in on this decision with you?”
• “If you say yes today, what happens next, and with whom?”

What will the prospect compare options on? Price, timeline, integration, references, trust. If you don’t know, you’re defending points that don’t count. If you do, you can shape them before they’re set in stone.

• “What would make you pick one solution over another?”
• “What’s disappointed you about your current vendor?”

What steps, which signatures, how long between the verbal yes and the purchase order? A deal “won” on the call and lost in procurement is a deal whose process was never qualified.

• “Between today and a kickoff, what are the steps on your side?”
• “Does this go through procurement or legal?”

What actually hurts, today, for a specific person? Pain is personal and dated: “I lost a client in September and there’s no pipeline to replace them.” A need is abstract: “we’d like more leads.” People sign to stop a pain.

• “What triggered the search now, rather than six months ago?”
• “What happens if it stays like this?”

Who inside the company wants this deal to happen and will defend it when you’re not in the room? A champion has power or influence, and something personal to gain. Without one, every internal meeting pushes you back.

• “Who’d be most relieved if this problem went away?”
• “If I had to present this to your leadership, how would you help me do it?”

Many teams use MEDDPICC, which adds Paper process (the contract and legal path) and Competition (who else is in the running, including the status quo). Both are usually what’s missing from deals that drag at the end of the cycle.

Six letters is too many for a head that’s mid-conversation. What works: before the call, look at the letters already filled by earlier exchanges and pick the two to fill today. During the call, hold a short discovery plan, nothing more. After, update the grid from the transcript, not from memory.

Otik’s discovery plan works like that grid: each point gets checked off when the prospect answers it, and Otik reminds you what’s missing as the call moves on.