MEDDIC

What is MEDDIC?

MEDDIC is a sales qualification framework used primarily in enterprise B2B sales to assess deal quality and predict close probability. The acronym stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion.

Developed by PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation) in the 1990s, MEDDIC emerged as a response to the complexities of enterprise software sales, where deals involve multiple stakeholders, long sales cycles, and high contract values. Unlike simpler qualification frameworks like BANT, MEDDIC digs deeper into organizational dynamics and buying psychology. The framework helps sales teams identify which opportunities deserve focused attention and resources, while uncovering potential roadblocks before they derail deals. For B2B SaaS companies selling to enterprise accounts, MEDDIC provides a structured approach to navigate complex buying committees and lengthy evaluation processes, ultimately improving forecast accuracy and win rates.

Key Takeaways

• Enterprise-focused qualification: MEDDIC is specifically designed for complex B2B sales with multiple decision-makers and long cycles, making it ideal for SaaS companies with ACV over $50K

• Champion identification is critical: The framework emphasizes finding and nurturing an internal champion who actively sells on your behalf within their organization

• Process over intuition: MEDDIC replaces subjective deal assessment with structured criteria, enabling consistent pipeline reviews and accurate forecasting

• Quantifiable business impact: The "Metrics" component forces sellers to articulate specific, measurable outcomes that justify the investment

• Decision mapping: Understanding both the decision criteria and decision process helps sales teams align their strategy with how the organization actually buys

How It Works

MEDDIC operates as a qualification checklist that sales representatives complete throughout the sales cycle. Each letter represents a critical element that must be understood and documented:

Metrics involves identifying the quantifiable impact your solution will deliver. Sales teams must uncover specific numbers: "Reduce customer churn by 15%" or "Increase sales productivity by 20 hours per month per rep." These metrics become the business case foundation and must resonate with the economic buyer's priorities.

Economic Buyer refers to the person with budget authority who can sign the contract without additional approval. This differs from the decision-maker or influencer. Identifying the economic buyer early prevents surprises late in the cycle and ensures your solution addresses their specific concerns.

Decision Criteria are the formal and informal standards the organization uses to evaluate solutions. This includes technical requirements, compliance needs, integration capabilities, and vendor evaluation criteria. Understanding these criteria allows sales teams to position their solution accordingly or surface misalignments early.

Decision Process maps the steps the organization follows to make a purchase decision, including timelines, approval gates, legal review, security assessments, and committee meetings. This intelligence helps sales teams forecast accurately and avoid deal slippage.

Identify Pain goes beyond surface-level problems to uncover the business impact of the status quo. The pain must be compelling enough to drive change and budget allocation. Without identified pain tied to the economic buyer's priorities, deals stall in the status quo.

Champion is an internal advocate who sells on your behalf when you're not in the room. Champions have influence, credibility within their organization, and are personally invested in your solution's success. They provide political intelligence, coach you on internal dynamics, and help navigate obstacles.

According to Salesforce research, sales teams using structured qualification frameworks like MEDDIC achieve 28% higher win rates compared to those relying on intuition alone.

Key Features

• Comprehensive deal assessment covering both organizational and individual stakeholder dynamics

• Champion-centric approach that recognizes the importance of internal advocates in complex sales

• Quantifiable success metrics that tie solutions directly to measurable business outcomes

• Process mapping capabilities that reveal potential roadblocks and timeline risks

• Scalable framework adaptable across different industries, deal sizes, and product categories

Use Cases

Enterprise SaaS Sales Qualification

B2B SaaS companies selling to large enterprises use MEDDIC to qualify six-figure Annual Contract Value (ACV) opportunities. Sales teams document each MEDDIC component in their CRM, using incomplete elements to identify gaps that could jeopardize the deal. For example, if a rep has identified strong pain and decision criteria but hasn't secured a champion, management knows to focus coaching on stakeholder engagement and relationship building.

Pipeline Review and Forecast Accuracy

Revenue leaders use MEDDIC scores to evaluate pipeline quality during forecast calls. Opportunities with complete MEDDIC documentation receive higher confidence ratings, while deals missing critical elements like the economic buyer or champion get downgraded. This structured approach reduces forecast variance and helps leadership allocate resources to deals most likely to close.

Sales Process Standardization

Organizations implement MEDDIC as their standard sales qualification methodology, training all reps on the framework and building it into their CRM workflows. This creates consistent deal assessment across the sales team, improves coaching effectiveness, and enables accurate benchmarking. Tools like Gong and Clari analyze sales conversations to automatically extract MEDDIC elements, reducing administrative burden while maintaining qualification rigor.

Implementation Example

Here's how a B2B SaaS company selling a customer success platform might implement MEDDIC scoring in Salesforce:

MEDDIC Qualification Scorecard

Qualification Thresholds:
- 80-100: Highly Qualified - Commit forecast category
- 60-79: Qualified - Best Case forecast category
- 40-59: Developing - Pipeline category
- Below 40: Unqualified - Nurture or disqualify

MEDDIC Deal Progression Flow

Discovery → MEDDIC Assessment → Qualification Decision
    ↓              ↓                    ↓
Identify     Document each       Score ≥60?
Pain         component                ↓
             in CRM          YES → Advance to Demo
                             NO → Develop gaps or disqualify

CRM Integration: Each MEDDIC element becomes a required field group in Salesforce opportunity records. Opportunities cannot progress to "Proposal" stage without completing all six elements. Sales managers receive weekly reports showing MEDDIC completion rates and average scores by rep, identifying coaching opportunities.

Related Terms

• BANT: Traditional qualification framework focusing on Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline

• Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): A lead that meets qualification criteria and is ready for sales engagement

• Buying Committee: The group of stakeholders involved in enterprise purchase decisions

• Deal Velocity: The speed at which opportunities move through the sales pipeline

• Forecast Accuracy: The precision of sales predictions compared to actual results

• Economic Buyer: The stakeholder with budget authority to approve purchases

• Champion: An internal advocate who promotes your solution within their organization

• Account-Based Selling: Strategic approach to selling into named target accounts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is MEDDIC?

Quick Answer: MEDDIC is an enterprise sales qualification framework that stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion, used to assess complex B2B deal quality.

MEDDIC provides a structured approach for sales teams to evaluate opportunities by examining six critical elements. Originally developed by PTC in the 1990s for enterprise software sales, it helps reps understand organizational buying dynamics, identify risks, and forecast accurately. The framework is particularly effective for deals with multiple stakeholders, long sales cycles, and high contract values.

When should you use MEDDIC vs BANT?

Quick Answer: Use MEDDIC for complex enterprise sales with multiple stakeholders and six-figure deals; use BANT for simpler, transactional sales with shorter cycles and lower contract values.

MEDDIC provides depth needed for enterprise complexity, focusing on champions, decision processes, and organizational dynamics. BANT works well for SMB sales where a single decision-maker controls the budget and timeline. Many organizations use BANT for initial lead qualification and MEDDIC for enterprise opportunities that advance to sales-accepted stages.

What makes a good Champion in MEDDIC?

Quick Answer: A good champion has organizational influence, personal stake in your success, active involvement in selling internally, and access to key decision-makers including the economic buyer.

Beyond just liking your solution, effective champions navigate internal politics, provide intelligence on competition and evaluation criteria, coach you on presentation strategies, and lobby for your solution in meetings you don't attend. According to HubSpot's sales research, deals with identified champions are 3x more likely to close than those without. The champion should be willing to introduce you to the economic buyer and other stakeholders, demonstrating their commitment through actions, not just words.

How do you score MEDDIC elements?

Most organizations assign point values to each MEDDIC component based on completeness and quality. A common approach allocates 100 total points across the six elements, with higher weights for critical components like Champion (20 points) and Metrics (20 points). Each element receives a score based on how thoroughly it's documented and validated. For example, "Metrics" might score 20 points if you have quantified, validated business outcomes documented with the economic buyer, 10 points if you have general metrics without validation, or 0 points if metrics are missing. Organizations set minimum thresholds (typically 60-80 points) for opportunities to advance to proposal stages.

Can MEDDIC work for product-led growth companies?

MEDDIC can be adapted for product-led growth (PLG) companies when they pursue enterprise expansion deals, but it's less relevant for self-service conversions. PLG companies selling to SMBs through self-service models typically use simpler qualification frameworks. However, when a PLG company pursues a six-figure enterprise expansion with a multi-stakeholder buying committee, MEDDIC provides valuable structure. Some PLG organizations use product usage signals to inform the "Identify Pain" component, combining product analytics with traditional MEDDIC qualification for a hybrid approach.

Conclusion

MEDDIC has become a cornerstone qualification framework for B2B SaaS companies pursuing enterprise deals, transforming subjective deal assessment into structured, predictable evaluation. For sales teams, the framework provides clear criteria for where to invest time and when to walk away from low-probability opportunities. Marketing teams benefit from understanding MEDDIC criteria when defining ideal customer profiles (ICP) and creating content that addresses decision criteria and pain points. Revenue operations leaders use MEDDIC scores to improve forecast accuracy, benchmark rep performance, and identify coaching opportunities.

As buying committees grow larger and sales cycles become more complex, the systematic approach MEDDIC provides becomes increasingly valuable. The framework's emphasis on champions and economic buyers recognizes that enterprise sales is ultimately about people, relationships, and organizational dynamics, not just product features. Organizations that embed MEDDIC into their sales methodology, CRM systems, and coaching programs create competitive advantages through consistent deal qualification and accurate revenue prediction.

For related qualification frameworks and metrics, explore BANT, MQL-to-SQL Rate, and Sales Qualified Lead.

Last Updated: January 18, 2026