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Definition of MEDDIC

Darius Lahoutifard
MEDDIC Definition

MEDDIC Definition

Definition of MEDDIC Sales

What is MEDDIC? What does MEDDIC stand for?

MEDDIC is one of the most popular Sales Qualification Methodology, applicable to any Enterprise Sales Process, which is rather complex. The definition of MEDDIC is the acronym it represents, and it is composed of six elements. They represent the MEDDIC checklist as described below:

In a nutshell, MEDDIC tells you that if you execute the above in any complex B-to-B sales campaign, you win the sale. When you don’t win, it’s because you missed one or several of the above.

What is MEDDICC (with a 2nd C)?

MEDDICC, with two Cs in the acronym, is meant to add the Competition. Knowing your competition and strategizing your account plan based on who you are competing with is a must. But is MEDDIC without that second C incomplete? Or does it mean you are ignoring the Competition? Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, “Competition” is inherently present in every action you engage in the account. Some MEDDIC elements, such as Metrics and Decision Criteria, would not make sense if you don’t refer to competition. Adding “competition” to your checklist is a way to emphasize that aspect. You can, for instance, fine-tune and orient your metrics to the right KPIs. It helps assess the decision criteria and know how you should influence them. It helps to consider the competitor’s champion in the account. Etc.

Where do we cover the Competition?

By definition, metrics are a comparative measure of benefits compared to the competition (which could be the incumbent system or the non-decision). Metrics force the seller to consider the competition.

During MEDDIC courses, and MEDDPICC® courses at MEDDIC Academy, one of the key concepts you learn is how to link a set of decision criteria to a vendor, whether one of your competitors or your company. Decision criteria are another element forcing sellers to consider the competition. Are the decision criteria in your favor or favor of one of your competitors? Is the playing field tilted?

Definition of MEDDIC vs. MEDDPICC®

The definition of MEDDIC has evolved to a more advanced version: MEDDPICC® emphasizes the “Paper process” and the “Competition”. Sellers need to understand the process through which a purchase request has to go inside that company for such a deal and execute it accordingly. Anyone with experience in complex enterprise sales knows that interactions with the legal department or purchasing could be a nightmare if they are underestimated. Especially since these interactions are at the end of the sales cycle and the deadline for the PO may be compromised, whether it is the end of the quarter for the vendor or the implementation expectations for the client.

These issues take time to resolve, often leading to a delay in the purchase order. The Account Executive must understand the “paper process” and anticipate the issues. For instance, you can avoid those issues by sharing your company’s standard contract or TOS earlier in the process.

The picture below shows how the definition of MEDDPICC differs from the Definition of MEDDIC.

How and When did all this start?

MEDDIC & MEDDPICC® are the results of the Sales and Qualification techniques developed at PTC (aka Parametric Technology Corp.). PTC is a software company known for building one of the most robust sales cultures in Enterprise Software (now SaaS). The company had over 40 quarters of continuous growth during the 90s. The initial Global Sales Management team at PTC developed different elements of MEDDIC in the field. That initial team of sales managers in the early 90s, composed of a dozen trailblazers, including Darius Lahoutifard, the founder of MEDDIC Academy, are the actual creators of MEDDIC. PTC is a PLM vendor, not a sales training company, and the team had no intention of making it a sales methodology outside PTC or commercializing it.  More on this here.

How did MEDDIC Academy start?

MEDDIC Academy™’s founder, Darius Lahoutifard, was a member of the initial international sales leadership team at PTC who created MEDDIC. He took PTC Southern Europe from $4M to $27M in 3 years, beating the leading competitor, Dassault Systemes, in their fiefdom. As an anecdotal note, Darius’ team beat Dassault in their home market, France. On the global level, Dassault is the only PLM vendor that PTC has never managed to beat. Not even today (in revenue, market share, headcount, or any similar metrics…).

Darius naturally contributed to the creation, articulation, and elaboration of MEDDIC. Most importantly, he successfully executed it in the world’s most competitive and challenging region, as explained above. He also started providing consulting and training services around MEDDIC. He later practiced it in his career, including his sales leadership roles at THINK3 and Agile/Oracle, among other companies. Later in 2013, Darius made the first publications regarding MEDDIC and MEDDPICC®, with first use in commerce, and registered the trademark MEDDPICC® that he now owns.

How did MEDDIC Academy evolve?

In 2017 Darius founded MEDDIC Academy™, the first organization to offer online and blended learning programs on MEDDIC and MEDDPICC® for individuals, managers, trainers, and Enterprise clients. The following year, in 2018, MEDDIC Academy™ became the first organization to deliver test-based certifications and make it possible to become MEDDIC Certified™.

His leadership was highlighted in June 2020 when he published the first book ever written on MEDDIC and MEDDPICC®. The book ranked first in 2 categories on Amazon for weeks, thus obtaining the best seller status. In January 2021, Gartner included MEDDIC Academy™ on its Sales Training Providers Magic Quadrant.

MEDDIC Academy offers online courses on demand, instantly available in self-paced mode. Different curricula are available for individual contributors, managers, and trainers. The company also offers vILT programs (virtual Instructor-Led Training), live virtual workshops, and live in-person training and workshops globally.

Let’s recap the history of MEDDIC and MEDDPICC®?

MEDDPICC is the evolution of MEDDIC. In the early 90s, PTC had a leading product, called Pro-ENGINEER. They had to grow fast while the competitors, including IBM, Dassault Systems, Siemens, and Computervision, were working on their products to catch up.

The collective efforts of the sales organization at PTC, under Steve Walske’s leadership, resulted in one of the most exceptional success stories in the history of technology adoption and growth. Growing from inception to $1B revenue in 10 years was rare in the 90s. Through forty consecutive quarters of unstoppable growth, the initial sales leaders at PTC made it possible through discipline and execution. Some of their best practices were put together as a checklist by the training teams at the headquarters, and they were given an internal name: MEDDIC. While the MEDDIC Checklist is sometimes considered as MEDDPICC’s ancestor, in terms of concept, the MEDDPICC sales training program and course curriculum at MEDDIC Academy is is a lot more than just a concept or even a framework.

MEDDIC was the result of teamwork, not one person’s creation. Some key executives who contributed to MEDDIC are:

MEDDIC was just an internal concept for over a decade since PTC was not a sales training company. To our knowledge, the following notable events helped shape the current status of sales training offers around MEDDIC and MEDDPICC.

This was the Definition of MEDDIC

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