ALWAYS BE QUALIFYING: MEDDIC & MEDDPICC Sales

Darius Lahoutifard

Oct 2023 · 01consulting

About this ebook

In the past few years, companies large and small have called on me to get help with their non-performing sales team. The described symptoms are different from one company to another. Some need more revenue. Others complain about unreliable forecasts, with deals slipping constantly from one quarter to another before being lost or even abandoned a few quarters later. Some CEOs notice unproductive sales teams with an unusually high number of non-quota-carrying people needed in the sales force, hitting the bottom line hard. All these symptoms are related to the same illness: inability to qualify.

Since most sales teams put in place organizations including SDR (Sales Development Representatives) or BDR (Business Development Representatives) who qualify leads for Account Managers, there is a wrong unstated assumption, widely spread, that once a lead is qualified, the inside sales or field sales will have to work on them until they are won or lost. Ongoing qualification is often the issue. Qualification is not a binary step of the sales process. Qualification is a mindset and a habit to apply throughout the sales process, from the first call to closing. This book covers both the Why and the How of sales qualification.

I was an early sales leader at PTC where the MEDDIC methodology took shape. I am also the founder of MEDDIC Academy, the first platform to bring the qualification methodology online. This book describes the M.E.D.D.I.C. and the MEDDPICC® sales methodology in depth. This is not a book of theories, research, or academic concepts but pure execution techniques with practical recipes. At a high level, MEDDIC is a checklist that helps sales professionals reveal the gaps in an opportunity and execute correctly to fill those gaps and close the deal or drop it early. This book is an excellent complement to the training and workshops we deliver online and in-person globally.

Ratings and reviews

good book

About the author

Darius Lahoutifard, the driving force behind MEDDIC Academy, stands as a best-selling author, Serial Entrepreneur, and former Executive at industry titans such as PTC and Oracle, among others. His last venture, Business Hangouts, a Google G Suite live broadcasting app, was acquired within three years, boasting millions of users.

Darius started as a robotics engineer before making a transition to sales, where he consistently excelled, leading to his rapid rise into management roles. At 28, he became the CEO of a Schlumberger subsidiary, managing a $10M business.

Despite his corporate success, Darius’s true passion lay in tech startups. At PTC, he led his unit from $4M to $27M in three years, with a team of 150, all within the fiercely competitive French market dominated by Dassault Systèmes. PTC outperformed its rival in its home territory. During this time, Darius and other Sales Leaders at PTC built the foundation of what is now known as MEDDIC and MEDDPICC sales methodologies.

Post-PTC, Darius founded four startups (Enterprise Software and Internet companies), achieving two successful exits. He also contributed to the success of established companies like Agile/Oracle and Think3.

Darius’s zeal for SALES extended beyond MEDDIC; he often played the role of the first salesperson, wooing both customers and top talents and securing approximately $20M across five rounds of funding from investors.

Darius holds a Master of Science in Robotics Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris, ranked first in the entrance exams. He also earned a Certificate in Organizational Analysis from Stanford University, is a patent holder, and a published author. He has guest lectured at the University of Washington in Seattle and the National Defense University in Washington D.C. Familiar with six languages. Darius has worked globally and has resided in California since 2009.