# Every dimension has a depth. Naming it is the first rung. MEDDPICC names eight things to qualify. Naming them is the easy part — a criterion you have named is not one you have proven, and a champion who likes you is not one who has been tested. Each page below is what the dimension requires before it counts, and the questions that get you there. Updated 10 Oct 2026 ## What does MEDDPICC stand for? MEDDPICC stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, Champion and Competition. It is a checklist for qualifying a B2B deal: eight things a deal needs on record before you can call it qualified. Some teams read the I as Implicate Pain; [MEDDIC vs MEDDPICC](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/meddic-vs-meddpicc) has both. ## Where is budget in MEDDPICC? There is no B. Budget is split across three letters. [Metrics](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics) is the number that justifies the spend. The [Economic Buyer](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer) is the person who can approve it without asking anyone else. [Paper Process](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process) is the route the money takes to a signature. “Do you have budget?” becomes three questions, and a yes to the one-question version answers none of them. The questions, and what a good answer to each sounds like: [how to ask about budget on a discovery call](https://www.saleswolf.com/guides/ask-about-budget). ## The eight letters 1. M ### [Metrics](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics) A metric is the number the customer will use to justify this purchase after it is made. A number the rep produced is not a metric; a qualified metric is one the customer’s own finance function owns and will repeat without the rep in the room. The difference decides whether the business case survives contact with a budget review. Done when · You can cite a Finance-owned number, not an estimate, in front of the buyer. 2. E ### [Economic Buyer](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer) The economic buyer is the person who can approve the spend without asking anyone else. That is a narrower group than the people who can stop the deal, and usually a different person from the one running the evaluation. A deal is forecast on a name; it closes on a relationship with that name. Done when · You have spoken with the person who signs, and know what they need this to do. 3. D ### [Decision Criteria](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-criteria) Decision criteria are the standards the customer will actually score you against, which are rarely the ones in the RFP. A criterion you have heard named is not one you have positioned against, and a positioned one is not yet proven. A deal lost on a criterion the rep knew about and never tested is the most avoidable loss there is. Done when · You can name the criteria the customer will decide on and where you stand on each one. 4. D ### [Decision Process](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-process) The decision process is the chain of internal approvals between the customer wanting this and the customer approving it. Every step carries a person who runs it and a duration you can estimate, and a step you do not know about is what stalls the deal in the last week. Mapping it is not project management — it is how you find out who else has to be sold. Done when · You can walk the deal from here to signature — every step, who runs it, and when. 5. P ### [Paper Process](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process) The paper process is everything between yes and signature: legal review, security review, procurement, vendor onboarding. It is the least glamorous dimension and the one asked about last, which is how a verbal yes becomes next quarter: it runs on a duration nobody thought to ask about until the final week. A verbal yes with an unmapped paper process is not a forecast. Done when · You can name who on the customer side owns legal, security, and procurement. 6. I ### [Identify Pain](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/identify-pain) The I is Identify Pain: the problem pulling the deal forward, in the buyer’s own words rather than a vendor’s paraphrase. Some teams call it Implicate the Pain, and meddicc.com uses both names. A pain that has only been stated is a topic; a pain that has been quantified is a business case. The gap between the two is why deals with enthusiastic champions still lose to no-decision. Done when · You can say, in their words, what is actually pulling this deal forward. 7. C ### [Champion](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion) A champion is someone who sells for you when you are not in the room, and that is a test rather than a temperament. Being liked is not being championed. A champion has a personal win in the outcome, the standing to move other people, and a history of having actually done it for you at least once. Done when · You can name a champion with a personal win in the deal, evidence they move others, and a test they've passed. 8. C ### [Competition](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/competition) Competition includes every alternative the customer is weighing, and the one that wins most often is doing nothing. A competitor you have merely named is not one you have positioned against, and positioning is not the same as having set a trap — a question the customer will now ask your rival, in your absence, that you know the answer to and they do not. Done when · You can name every alternative they're weighing, including the status quo, and where you stand on each. Every question on one page, filed by rung: [MEDDPICC questions](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/questions). What the extra letters in MEDDPICC add: [MEDDIC vs MEDDPICC](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/meddic-vs-meddpicc). Where BANT’s letters went, and what it has no letter for: [BANT vs MEDDPICC](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/bant-vs-meddpicc). Where Strategic Selling’s buying roles sit in MEDDPICC: [Miller Heiman vs MEDDPICC](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/miller-heiman-vs-meddpicc). One deal’s scorecard, all eight letters, gaps left as gaps: [MEDDPICC example](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/example). ## And two the acronym does not have These are not MEDDPICC letters and this page will not pretend otherwise. SalesWolf works them because a well-qualified deal can still slip on a deadline nobody priced, or on a demo built on a guess. 1. Why Now ### [Compelling Event](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/compelling-event) A compelling event is the dated thing that makes doing nothing more expensive than deciding. MEDDPICC has no letter for it; SalesWolf tracks it anyway, because a well-qualified deal with no dated reason to decide is the one that slips a quarter. An event that has been stated is a topic; an event with a date and a stated consequence is a deadline. Done when · You can name the dated event the customer is working back from, and what missing it costs them. 2. What It Must Do ### [Required Capabilities](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/required-capabilities) Required capabilities are the things the solution has to actually do, stated as jobs rather than as features. This is not a MEDDPICC letter; SalesWolf tracks it because without the list the demo is a guess and every differentiator the rep leads with is a coin flip. A capability that is merely named tells you what to show, not why it matters or whether you have proved it. Done when · You can name what they need the product to do, what each one is worth to them, and our edge on it. This page in plain text, with nothing to sign in to. Open it on a phone on the way into the call. [www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc.md](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc.md) ## Qualification Nothing yet: Metrics No metrics yet Nothing yet: Economic Buyer No buyer yet Confirmed: Decision Criteria 1 criterion · 1 verified Partly captured: Decision Process Nothing yet: Paper Process Confirmed: Identify Pain 3 pains · 3 verified Confirmed: Competition 1 competitor · 1 verified Partly captured: Champions Partly captured: Compelling Event The current contract auto-renews at the end of January unless somebody writes in. Marta thinks the notice is ninety days; not confirmed. · verified Confirmed: Required Capabilities 1 capability · 1 verified Gaps aren't failures. They're the next things worth learning. A sample deal after three calls and an email thread: where each dimension stands. ## How do you fill a MEDDPICC gap before the next call? Open the blank dimension and say what you already know. SalesWolf reads what is already on the deal and asks about the rest. What you tell it comes back as proposed facts you accept or turn down, and it suggests questions to take to the buyer before the call. Nothing lands until you accept it, so a dimension nobody has answered yet stays blank. [The session turn by turn, on the sample deal](https://www.saleswolf.com/sample-deal#at-tue-9-jun-22-40) Economic Buyer E — Economic Buyer No confirmed economic buyer — this is what gates the forecast. You're done when You have spoken with the person who signs, and know what they need this to do. ## Also captured These came up while you worked this — add any that belong on the deal. Note Dismissed. Note Dismissed. Note Dismissed. ## Captured this session - note = Marta mentioned during the check-in that getting Dervla to care is a key hurdle,… dismissed - note = Marta's email noted that service credits are the metric leadership asks about, b… dismissed - note = Marta indicated that nobody is going to push the initiative forward without Derv… dismissed ## Questions to chase - What specific steps and approvals are required for the ops board to review and approve a replacement solution? Decision Process Tracked to your open questions. - Beyond Dervla's backing, what is Halden Freight's formal legal and procurement paper process to execute a $240,000 contract? Paper Process Tracked to your open questions. - What is the total annual financial cost of the service credit penalties that leadership is currently tracking? Metrics Tracked to your open questions. - What specific assistance or materials does Marta need to facilitate an introduction to Dervla to discuss the service credit exposure? Champion Tracked to your open questions. - How will Owen Blake evaluate and validate the feed reconciliation capability against Halden's transport management system? Decision Criteria Tracked to your open questions. The Economic Buyer blank on the sample deal, worked in SalesWolf after three calls and an email thread: what it proposed, what the rep decided, and the questions left for the buyer. ## Which of these can you say? For each dimension, pick the highest rung you could back with something the buyer said. The question for the next rung opens underneath. There is no score at the end, and no total. A deal deep on metrics and blank on the economic buyer isn’t two-thirds qualified; it’s missing the person who signs, and a number would hide that. Nothing you pick leaves this page. 1. ### Metrics None of these yet Not on the ladder “When this is working a year from now, what number does your team report differently?” Gets the measure in their words and their reporting cadence, not yours. [Metrics questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics#ask-head) named: Somebody has said which measure matters — cost per order, hours of reconciliation, days to close the month. You know the units, and nothing else yet. Next rung · quantified “What is that number today, roughly, what does it need to be, and where do those figures come from?” Gets a baseline, a target and their source in one answer. An estimate is fine here, as long as you know whose it is. [Metrics questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics#ask-head) quantified: There is a figure today and the figure they want, and you know who produced each. An estimate from the champion counts here; it does not count above here. Next rung · tied to value “If you took that figure to your CFO tomorrow, what is the first thing they would push back on?” Surfaces the weakness in the business case while there is still time to fix it. [Metrics questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics#ask-head) tied to value: The figure is connected to what the customer is buying, in a chain someone in finance would accept. This is the rung a CFO’s question lands on. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Metrics takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/metrics) 2. ### Economic Buyer None of these yet Not on the ladder “When something this size gets approved here, whose signature is the last one on it?” Asks for the approver by the approval rather than by title, so you do not name the evaluator by mistake. [Economic Buyer questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer#ask-head) named: You have a name and a title. A name is enough to put a deal in the forecast, and on its own it tells you nothing about whether it will close. Next rung · motivated “What is [name] on the hook for this year — the number they get asked about?” Gets the buyer’s personal measure, which is rarely the champion’s. [Economic Buyer questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer#ask-head) motivated: You can state the outcome this buyer is personally measured on — theirs, not your champion’s. Next rung · engaged “Would it help if I put the numbers in front of them directly, or would you rather take it?” Tests access without asking for it — and a refusal is itself information about your champion. [Economic Buyer questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer#ask-head) engaged: They have spent time on this deal directly: a meeting, a document they asked for, a question they sent back. Engagement is evidence, not a feeling. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Economic Buyer takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/economic-buyer) 3. ### Decision Criteria None of these yet Not on the ladder “When you compare options, what goes on the scorecard, and who wrote it?” Gets the criteria and their author together — and the author is usually who you position with. [Decision Criteria questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-criteria#ask-head) named: You know the criterion is on the list. You know it exists; you do not know how you score. Next rung · positioned “How would you rank us against the alternatives on that one today — honestly?” Turns a named criterion into a positioned one, and an unflattering answer is the useful one. [Decision Criteria questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-criteria#ask-head) positioned: You know how the customer rates you on it, and against whom. SalesWolf can place you here from your own company knowledge, but only their answer to an unflattering question makes it theirs. Next rung · proven “What would you need to see to be confident on it, and who has to see it with you?” Names the proof and the audience for it, which are usually two different problems. [Decision Criteria questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-criteria#ask-head) proven: They have seen evidence — a reference, a security review passed, a test they ran themselves. Proof is something they did, not something you sent. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Decision Criteria takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-criteria) 4. ### Decision Process None of these yet Not on the ladder “Walk me through what happens after you decide you want this — who sees it, and in what order?” Gets the sequence in their words, including the steps that never appear in an RFP. [Decision Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-process#ask-head) listed: You know the steps exist and roughly what order they run in. Usually this came from one person’s memory of the last purchase. Next rung · owned “Who carries each of those steps — a name, not a team?” A step with no named owner is a step nobody is doing. [Decision Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-process#ask-head) owned: An owner on the customer’s side is recorded against every step. Get a person’s name, not a team’s: a step a team owns is a step nobody is doing. Next rung · dated “Working back from when you want this live, when does each of those steps need to start?” Turns the sequence into dates the customer set, which is what a close date can stand on. [Decision Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-process#ask-head) dated: You know roughly when each step happens. Dates are what turn a process map into a forecast you can defend. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Decision Process takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/decision-process) 5. ### Paper Process None of these yet Not on the ladder “Which reviews does a purchase like this go through here — legal, security, procurement, anything else?” Gets the full list in one question, before any of it is urgent. [Paper Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process#ask-head) listed: You know which reviews this purchase has to pass — legal, security, procurement, whatever else this company runs. Next rung · owned “Who runs security review here, and what do they need from us to start?” Turns the review most likely to stall the deal into a task with an owner and a start date. [Paper Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process#ask-head) owned: Each review has an owner on the customer’s side recorded against it. Get a person, not a team: procurement is a team with a queue, and a team’s name tells you nothing about where you stand in it. Next rung · dated “Once the decision is made — how long did the paperwork take the last time you bought something this size?” Gets a real duration from a real precedent, rather than an optimistic guess about this one. [Paper Process questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process#ask-head) dated: You know roughly how long each takes. This is the rung that produces a last-safe-day-to-start, which is the only date that actually protects a close. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Paper Process takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/paper-process) 6. ### Identify Pain None of these yet Not on the ladder “What made you take this call now, rather than six months ago?” Gets the problem in their words, with a hint of what changed. [Identify Pain questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/identify-pain#ask-head) stated: Somebody has said the problem out loud. This is where a discovery call usually ends, and it is one rung of three. Next rung · contextualized “Who feels that day to day, and what do they do instead right now?” Moves a stated problem into context by finding the workaround, which is where the cost lives. [Identify Pain questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/identify-pain#ask-head) contextualized: You know who it affects, how often, and what they currently do instead. The workaround is usually where the real cost hides. Next rung · quantified “How many hours a week does the workaround take, and whose hours are they?” Builds the number from the workaround you already found, in units they can check. [Identify Pain questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/identify-pain#ask-head) quantified: There is a number on it — hours, headcount, revenue, error rate. Quantified pain is what a business case is built out of. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Identify Pain takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/identify-pain) 7. ### Champion None of these yet Not on the ladder “Who on your side is closest to this problem, and would want a hand in fixing it?” Finds the candidate by the problem, not by who was friendliest on the call. [Champion questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion#ask-head) candidate: Someone who could become a champion: engaged, accessible, on the right side of the problem. A candidate has not yet done anything for you. Next rung · motivated “What does a win here look like for you personally?” Finds the motivation, or finds that there isn’t one — both are worth knowing in month two. [Champion questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion#ask-head) motivated: They have a personal win here — something they get from this that they are measured on. Motivation is what survives an inconvenient week. Next rung · influential “If you were putting this in front of your leadership without me, what is the version that lands — and what is the bit they push back on?” Tests whether they have rehearsed the internal case, which is the first evidence of a real champion. [Champion questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion#ask-head) influential: You have watched them move somebody else. Not their title; an occasion. Next rung · tested “Who else needs to be comfortable with this, and would you be willing to bring them in?” A small, safe test of whether they will actually spend standing on this deal. [Champion questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion#ask-head) tested: They carried something for you and delivered — a meeting they arranged, a document they defended. Only this rung predicts what happens when you are not there. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Champion takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/champion) 8. ### Competition None of these yet Not on the ladder “What happens if you do nothing for another two quarters?” Puts the real competitor — the status quo — on the table where it can be argued with. [Competition questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/competition#ask-head) named: You know who or what else is being considered, including the option of changing nothing. Next rung · positioned “What do you like about the way they do it?” Gets an honest read on the rival’s strength, which a defensive question never will. [Competition questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/competition#ask-head) positioned: You know where you win and lose against each alternative on the criteria the customer actually scores. SalesWolf can place you here from your own company knowledge; until the customer has said it, it is your read, not theirs. Next rung · trap set “When you look at them next, would you ask how they handle [the step you do best]?” Sets a trap: a question that keeps working in a meeting you are not in. [Competition questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/competition#ask-head) trap set: The customer is carrying a question into their evaluation of the alternative that favours you and that you did not have to be present to ask. This is the rung that works when you are not in the room. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Competition takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/competition) 9. ### Compelling Event None of these yet Not on the ladder “What is driving the timing on this — why this quarter rather than next?” Finds whether a real event exists, or whether the date is your forecast wearing a disguise. [Compelling Event questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/compelling-event#ask-head) stated: Someone has named a reason this has to happen in a particular window — a renewal, a migration, an audit, a launch. Next rung · dated “Is there a date on that — and whose date is it?” A date the customer holds survives; a date you proposed moves. [Compelling Event questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/compelling-event#ask-head) dated: There is a specific date on it, and it is one the customer holds rather than one you proposed. Next rung · consequenced “What happens on your side if that date passes?” Tests whether the event has a consequence, which is what separates a deadline from a wish. [Compelling Event questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/compelling-event#ask-head) consequenced: You know what it costs them if the date passes, and so do they. Without this rung the date is a preference, and preferences move. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Compelling Event takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/compelling-event) 10. ### Required Capabilities None of these yet Not on the ladder “What does it have to do for this to count as fixed — in jobs, not features?” Gets the list in the customer’s language, which is the language they will score you in. [Required Capabilities questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/required-capabilities#ask-head) named: You know what the solution has to do. A list of features, at this point, and nothing more. Next rung · tied to value “Of everything on that list, which one, if we got it wrong, would make the whole thing not worth doing?” Sorts a flat feature list into the one capability the decision actually turns on. [Required Capabilities questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/required-capabilities#ask-head) tied to value: You know why each one matters — the job it does and what breaks without it. This is what turns a demo into an argument. Next rung · evidenced “What would you want to try yourself before you believed it?” Names the evidence they would accept, so the proof step is designed rather than guessed. [Required Capabilities questions for every rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/required-capabilities#ask-head) evidenced: They have seen it work on their own terms: their data, their workflow, their edge case. Not a recorded demo. Top rung That’s the top rung. Check it against what the buyer actually said. [What Required Capabilities takes, rung by rung](https://www.saleswolf.com/meddpicc/required-capabilities) ## This is the definition. On a deal it has a position, and the position is the argument. [Work a deal](https://app.saleswolf.com/login) [See it on a sample deal](https://www.saleswolf.com/sample-deal) 14 days free, no card, no call.