Every quarter, sales teams work tirelessly in pursuit of leads that might not ever turn into a sale anyway because they were unwinnable to begin with –the epitome of wasted time. Why not just eliminate unqualified leads and focus on pursuing only the qualified leads? (Sales is likely collectively chuckling at that question right now. If only it were that easy, they might ruefully say.)
But what if it was that easy? What if there was a methodology that significantly boosted the quota-carrying professional’s ability to disqualify opportunities unlikely to close and instead focus their energy on opportunities that would help them exceed their goals? And, what if sales people could be trained on that methodology, develop the requisite skills, and be coached on it through the Mindtickle platform?
Lucky for our global enterprise customers, our new go-to-market partnership with MEDDIC Academy makes this all a reality. With this partnership, MEDDIC Academy makes available its sales qualification methodology (“MEDDIC”) content on the Mindtickle platform in the form of self-paced e-learning, bite-sized microlearning content, virtual and in-person instructor-led training, and blended learning.
Created 20 years ago, MEDDIC itself emphasizes customer qualification specifically. It is often used as a complement to existing sales methodologies such as target account selling, which focus on enabling predictability and turning uncertainty into success across the sales cycle.
Specifically, through our partnership with MEDDIC Academy, customers will be able to:
- Improve seller productivity and effectiveness with MEDDIC, and benchmark their success through assessments and checklists in Mindtickle
- Standardize on a common language and sales methodology for teams to better qualify opportunities. (This will be achieved through the MEDDIC approach as well as by practicing knowledge learned on Mindtickle.)
- Validate high performance provided by the MEDDIC methodology and leverage the Mindtickle Sales Capability Index™ (SCI) to measure seller effectiveness
- Provide a way for recruiters and hiring managers to find high-performing candidates who are MEDDIC-certified, and then use Mindtickle to replicate their success across the entire sales team
MEDDIC has been used by many well-known software and SaaS vendors like SAP, Oracle, Salesforce.com and EMC for years, and is regarded as one of the most effective around. When applied to each stage of the customer engagement process, MEDDIC culls the qualified leads from the unqualified, ensuring only the right leads make it into the sales funnel. It truly shifts the urgency onto the buyer, positioning the product or solution as something the buyer needs to have and it’s now up to them to decide whether or not to move forward. It covers six elements, which can be defined as follows:
M = Metrics: Quantifiable measurements and proof of the business benefits of the solution
E = Economic Buyer: The individual within the customer’s organization who is required for the final approval
D = Decision Criteria: The formal solution requirements against which each participant in the decision process will evaluate
D = Decision Process: The process by which the customer will evaluate, select and purchase a solution
I = Identified Pain: The catalyst for the buyer solving the problem within a set time frame
C = Champion: The person with power and influence inside the customer’s organization who is actively selling on your behalf
The MEDDIC-Mindtickle partnership is a natural fit for any company that wants to help their sales team focus on opportunities they’re more likely to close. And really, what company doesn’t? If you’d like to read more about MEDDIC, take a look at Darius Lahoutifard’s new book, Always Be Qualifying, available now on Amazon.
For more on MindTicke’s partnership with the MEDDIC Academy, listen to the podcast with Darius Lahoutifard here!
By Rahul Mathew
