Best Questions To Ask When Using MEDDPICC® Sales Methodology

MEDDPICC® provides salespeople with a clear, proven way to qualify and progress enterprise deals. It forces sales teams to deeply understand the customer’s pain, and internal process, so they can position real value, not just push product. As we’ll discuss, the methodology allows you to forecast confidently and focus on deals that are actually winnable.

The trick is getting past the acronym and into how the framework actually works day-to-day. That’s where the right questions matter. The best salespeople don’t just “know” MEDDPICC®, they work it. They use it to spot gaps, challenge assumptions, and push deals forward with more intent. 

In this article, we break down how to implement it properly and give you a bank of questions that make each pillar more actionable and usable in your deals.

What Is MEDDPICC® and Why Should I Use It?

MEDDIC has become the most renowned sales qualification methodology, applicable to any  complex enterprise sales process. The definition of MEDDIC was historically composed of six elements, it used to be an acronym representing the MEDDIC checklist as described below:

In a nutshell, MEDDIC tells you that if you execute the above in any complex B2B sales campaign, you win the sale. When you don’t win, it’s because you missed at least one of the above. Now the big question everyone needs to learn is how to execute these elements.

MEDDPICC® emphasizes the “Paper process” in addition to 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 seller must understand the “paper process” and anticipate the issues. For instance, they may share the company’s standard contract or TOS, or terms of services, earlier in the process.

Now we know what it is, let’s move on to the actual value of MEDDPICC®. There are so many different methodologies out there, so why this one? Well, if you’re running a sales team, the real value of MEDDPICC® is that it gives everyone a consistent way to define a good deal without restricting how they sell.

Your team will still run their own style and have their own conversations. MEDDPICC® gives them a simple, proven structure to check: are we solving real pain? Are we speaking to the person who can sign? Do we know what happens after they say “yes”?

For you, it means cleaner pipeline reviews. When everyone’s working off the same signals, coaching gets sharper, forecasts get tighter, and wasted effort drops. For salespeople, it means wasting less time on deals that won’t close. 

It’s not just a nice idea, Research showing that organizations fully using this framework see their win rates increase by an amazing 311%. Teams that properly apply MEDDPICC® are 437% more likely to complete critical qualification criteria, which directly helps them close deals more effectively.

How Do I Get My Team To Use MEDDPICC®?

High Quality MEDDPICC® Training

Sales teams don’t reject methodology. What they reject (often unconsciously) is anything that adds friction without offering practical help in return. That’s the bar any training has to clear: is this making selling easier or faster? If not, it won’t stick.

That’s why the quality of MEDDPICC® training is crucial. This isn’t a terminology exercise. It’s a change in how sales teams qualify, advance, and forecast deals. And if they’re only half clear on what each component really means, or how to use it in a live sales conversation, the framework stays theoretical. You’ll hear the language “we’ve got a Champion,” “they’ve defined the Decision Criteria” but the underlying work is patchy. The logic is thin and the risk signals are still there, just harder to spot when everyone is checking the MEDDPICC® list to please their manager. 

Good training closes that gap. It gives salespeople a real understanding of how each part of the framework maps to what they’re already doing and how to tighten it. It makes the process feel relevant, not imposed. And that’s what changes behaviour. When a salesperson knows what a good Champion actually looks like, and how to test that relationship, they’re far more likely to stop mislabelling internal fans as real influence. That clarity only comes from training that moves beyond explanation into application.

This is why SalesMethods partners with MEDDIC Academy. They’re the most established provider of MEDDPICC® training, created and led by Darius Lahoutifard (one of the original minds behind the methodology). 

For companies that want to roll out MEDDPICC® properly, we recommend starting there. 

Embed The Process In Your CRM

The single biggest reason MEDDPICC® fades after training is distance. The framework ends up living in a Google Drive or fields in Salesforce that your team HATE updating. The intention is there, but it never becomes part of the day-to-day rhythm. So the process reverts, and your investment is wasted. Salespeople go back to qualifying on gut feelings. Managers inspect deals without shared criteria and the disconnect between declared process and actual practice grows.

The fix isn’t more enforcement, it’s structure. If you want MEDDPICC® to stick, it has to live where deals are worked, inside the systems that shape how sales teams think, act, and move opportunities forward.

That’s exactly what Plan2Close MEDDPICC® is built to do.

Plan2Close is a native Salesforce app that embeds the MEDDPICC® framework directly into the deal workflow. It doesn’t sit alongside the process, it becomes the process. Each pillar is broken down into clear, customisable yes/no questions that map to how your team actually sells. You can configure the logic, require evidence, and tailor it to different motions or segments. The result is a shared standard that’s applied consistently.

And because it lives inside Salesforce, adoption doesn’t require habit change. Your Salesforce environment now supports salespeople to use the methodology they’ve been trained on. Managers get visibility they can trust. Forecasts reflect deal reality, not optimism. 

MEDDPICC® stops being a concept, and starts being how your team sells.

Questions To Ask In MEDDPICC® Sales Process

We’ve covered the what and the why of MEDDPICC®, we’ve also looked at how you can ensure adoption of the methodology. 

We’ve taken the first three questions from each pillar from our tool Plan2Close, developed in partnership with MEDDIC Academy to bring the methodology into your Salesforce org so salespeople are applying it to every deal. 

Metrics

1. Have they been presented technical proof that they consider as convincing?
   
2. Has the proof been leveraged based on their quantified pain points?
   
3. Have you measured (or simulated) the targeted KPIs during the proof?
   

Economic Buyer

1. Have you identified the EB?
   
2. Have you exchanged at least a couple emails with the EB?
   
3. Have you met the EB before the “proof”?
   

Decision Criteria

1. Have you established the different options for the prospect to remedy the above pain points, with them?
   
2. Do you have a formal written Decision Criteria?
   
3. Do you have the goal numbers for the KPIs identified as pain points?
   

Decision Process

1. Is there a compelling event?
   
2. Has your champion explained to the EB why they should sign with you now?
   
3. Do you have a written confirmation of their exact technical validation process?
   

Paper Process

1. Have you met with the procurement manager and sent them the formal proposal?
   
2. Have you met with the legal team and shared your terms of services?
   
3. Have both procurement and legal approved your terms of services?
   

Identify Pain

1. Have you identified your prospect’s key pain points?
   
2. Have you helped the prospect focus on those pain points where your solution stands out?
   
3. Have you identified relevant KPIs to measure/quantify the pain points?
   
   

Champion

1. Do you have a solid champion?
   
2. Have you tested your champion and did he/she make it?
   
3. Do you have regular/frequent 1-on-1s with your champion?
   

Competition

1. Do you know exactly who you are competing with whether another vendor, no-decision or internal?
   
2. Do you know who is (are) your competitor(s)’s champion(s)?
   
3. Has your champion explained to you, in a convincing way, why you are a better fit than the competition?
   

Summary

MEDDPICC® only works if it shows up in the way your team thinks, questions, and moves deals forward. The framework isn’t magic, you need to do your part to make it successful. The questions we’ve shared aren’t exhaustive, there are many more inside Plan2Close MEDDPICC®. 

If you’re serious about embedding this proven methodology properly so it sticks, scales, and actually helps people sell, start with good training and build the process where your team already works.

If you want to see. how Plan2Close MEDDPICC®  makes this feel natural inside Salesforce, we’ve built a quick click through tour!

MEDDPICC® is a registered Trademark of Darius Lahoutifard, founder of MEDDIC Academy, where MEDDPICC® courses can be taken.