Concept card

MEDDIC Sales Framework

As of 2026-07-24T14:00:00Z

Edited by Cédric-Olivier Mâry, sole editor and publication director — 27 years in the SAP ecosystem. How these pages are produced, and where automation is used.

What is MEDDIC Sales Framework?

MEDDIC's six-letter qualification discipline is the measured difference between a Y8 consultant's 30-50% close rate and a Y3 consultant's 5-10%.

What it is

MEDDIC is a qualification framework for complex, multi-stakeholder B2B sales — a discipline for testing whether a pipeline opportunity is real, what it will take to close it, and when it makes sense to walk away rather than keep chasing a deal that will never sign. It was developed at PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation) in the 1990s and has since become the default qualification language across enterprise software and consulting sales organizations. For an SAP analytics consultant running an independent pipeline — proposals, RFPs, staff-augmentation offers, delivery extensions — MEDDIC replaces gut-feel forecasting ("this one feels good") with a repeatable scorecard that separates opportunities worth investing more selling time in from ones that are politely going nowhere.

The name is an acronym for six qualification dimensions, each answered with evidence rather than assumption.

Metrics asks what quantified business outcome the buyer will use to judge success — a specific number, not a vague aspiration. "Cut BW migration cost by two million euros" or "raise SAC adoption from thirty to seventy percent" is a metric; "improve reporting" is not. Without an explicit, numeric target, a deal cannot be priced, and the buyer has no internal case to justify the spend.

Why it matters

Without a named Economic Buyer, the deal cannot close — knowing the technical lead or procurement contact isn't enough.
Pain without a deadline isn't pain, it's a wish list — and wish lists don't fund consulting engagements.
A Champion who fights for your slot in committee meetings is what prevents deals from stalling — a friendly contact who won't make calls isn't one.

Key points

Six dimensions: Metrics · Economic Buyer · Decision Criteria · Decision Process · Identify Pain · Champion.
Score each 0-2; total 0-12. < 6 = qualify · 6-9 = close gaps · 10-12 = close-ready.
Champion ≠ friend: Champion fights in meetings you're not in.
Pain needs deadline + cost; 'should modernise' is a wish list.
Senior consultants disqualify 30-50% of opportunities within 6 weeks.
Y8 close rate with MEDDIC: 30-50% vs Y3 no-MEDDIC 5-10%.
Customer-side MEDDIC reflection in discovery: 1.5-2× conversion uplift.
Weekly scorecard cadence; < 6/12 + 4 weeks no progress = drop.
MEDDIC Sales Framework is mastered only when it changes a named buyer decision.
Start with the semantic contract and control model before demonstrating the tool.

Terms used on this page

MEDDIC: B2B qualification framework: Metrics · Economic Buyer · Decision Criteria · Decision Process · Identify Pain · Champion.
Metrics: Quantified outcome the buyer uses to measure success. Without it, deal can't be priced.
Economic Buyer: Person with budget authority; signs the contract. Tech lead's yes alone doesn't close.
Decision Criteria: Objective tests the consultant must pass. Procurement-formalised hurdles, not stated needs.
Decision Process: Stages + timeline + gating committees + legal review from interest to signed.
Identify Pain: Specific business pain with cost AND deadline driving urgency. Without both, wish list.
Champion: Internal advocate who fights for your selection in meetings you're not in. Not a friend.
Disqualification discipline: Senior pattern of dropping 30-50% of pursued opportunities within 6 weeks. Hours saved redeploy to higher-quality targets.

Sources

Full card available to members. What the full card adds: the full decision framework · the SAP vs Snowflake / Databricks / Fabric comparison · the common pitfalls and their fix · the cheat sheet · the architecture schemas · the code blocks · the facts worth quoting.

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