What is MEDDICC & How Can Chatbots Leverage This?

Stefan van der VlagBest Practice, Guides & Resources, Qualifying Leads

9 MIN READ

Nope. This post is not about medicine. But it can cure your business! See, ever thought about implementing the MEDDICC lead qualification framework in your business? Whether you did or not, it’s important to ponder about it (once more?). For example, did you know that leads responded to within 5 minutes are 100x more likely to be qualified? And waiting 10 minutes drops the likelihood of that lead becoming qualified by 4 times. That’s huge! And that’s already what the first letter, the letter “M” in MEDDICC, is about; Metrics. 

So, are you losing potential leads to do old fashioned response times and methods? Is your sales department able to respond to every lead you meet from your website within 5 minutes? Do they follow up at all? Don’t lose out on potential leads. Use the tools available to grow your list of leads, qualify your prospects, and fill your sales schedule with warm prospects today. 

But how can you do this? Sounds too good to be true? Don’t worry, we’re going to show you exactly how you can use a tried and true sales method, MEDDIC… AND today’s newest tech to do just this. Keep reading to find out how the MEDDICC sales lead qualification framework can grow your business! It’ll help improve your sales, conversions, and it’ll increase your bottom line! Plus, it ensures your sales team is only talking with the people who need your product or service. Whether they have the means to buy and have the purchasing power to make the final decision! 

What is MEDDICC: How to Use it in Lead Qualification

When you’re selling t-shirts on a social media app, you don’t need to worry about qualifying your leads. But when you’re selling large-scale tech equipment or software to a Fortune 500 company… you need to know a few things before you pitch your product or service. 

Whether you’re trying to convince people they need your software, your consulting experience, or even a monthly SaaS… you need to do your homework. Cold calling will only get you so far. And with it comes insane rejection and countless dead ends! This means your job is to work smarter, not harder.

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK EXPLAINED

THE ANUM LEAD QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK EXPLAINED

What Is MEDDICC exactly?

This is where having a strategic sales method like MEDDICC comes in. MEDDICC stands for:

  • M – Metrics
  • E – Economic Buyer
  • D – Decision Criteria
  • D – Decision Process
  • I – Identify the pain
  • C – Competition
  • C – Champion

This seven-step process can look intense. Don’t worry. I’ll break it down and show you how you can use specific tools to automate the process. This will help your sales team to schedule more appointments with warm prospects who tick all the boxes! Prospects who have the means, purchasing power, and can make an informed decision about your product or service.

Is the MEDDICC Lead Qualification Framework for me? 

If you’re selling a high-ticket item that will need many touch-points with your buyer… using the MEDDICC system can help you turn “no’s” into “yeses.” Or it can also become a no into “let’s talk in Q3 when our company is focusing on this”. Or “I will set you up with a meeting with the COO who is in charge of the project and has the purchasing power over it.” 

Cool, right? Let’s dive in a bit deeper into MEDDICC:

M – Metrics

Data is imperative in making business decisions. And when it comes to sales, you’re no different. Come to your sales appointment with the data to back up why and how your product or service can help them. Think about how can it make them more money, or save them money, or stop them from losing money? So, when it comes to selling your product or service, you need to know what the measurable benefit of your solution is after they’ve implemented it.

E – Economic Buyer

Is your buyer an Economic Buyer (EB)? Meaning, does he/she have the power to make this type of buying decision? The Economic Buyer is much like the “A” standing for “Authority” in frameworks like BANT and FAINT. You need to discover who the decision-maker in the company is, and if you’re actually talking to them. And frankly, it makes sense, right? Because you want to find out if they are an EB before you spend an hour with pitching! Do yourself a favor, save time… And find out if they have the authority to make a buying decision. If not, cut the meeting short. Then, try to get in contact with a decision-maker.

Look, it doesn’t matter how much the person you’re talking to loves your product; if they have/need to speak to someone after you pitched… you’ve wasted your precious time. Be sure to ask who handles creating the budget or manages funds for purchasing. In a later step in the MEDDICC sales process, you see how meeting with your connection is still relevant as they can be your champion inside the company. But working with the decision-maker will improve your sales conversions dramatically.

D – Decision Criteria

When you’re calling to set up your sales call, you must be 100% sure talking with the person who is a decision-maker, the shot caller. But, you need to find out what criteria a person/business uses in making purchase decisions. Look, you’re not the first person that’s trying to sell something to them. And, savvy as you are… you know this! So yes, a lot of other companies went before you and tried to sell to your prospect. So, if you understand how they made the decision, you got an interesting data point you can work with. Decision criteria usually vary a lot. But, there are some regulars you should definitely consider adding in. I.E., if you’re selling an application/software, think of easy use or the ability to integrate with other software. Plus, there’s always budget constraints or potential ROI they can expect that helps to make a decision. 

D – Decision Process

Every business will have a process through which they decide what to buy and when. Regardless of whether you’re selling to an entrepreneur or a Fortune 500 company… there will be a decision process. Take the time to find out their validation and timeline process so you can plan ahead for your sales pitch. Don’t waste your time pitching your product if they don’t have any intention of solving this pain point until Q3 if it’s currently Q1.

I – Identify the Pain

Before you can sell your product or service to your potential client, you need to know what their pain point is. More importantly, you will need to show them how you can help them solve it with your product. What are the business outcomes that will result due to purchasing your service? What will be their potential loss if they don’t make changes or switch to your product? Know this information, and you will see your sales conversions increase.

C – Competition

You’ve done a SWOT analysis on your own company to see where you can make improvements. But have you completed one for your competition? If you’re establishing yourself as the authority in your industry, you will need to know where the gaps in the market are and how you can fill them. Do a complete analysis of your competition and be able to articulate exactly how your product is better or fills a different need.

C – Champion

Every boxer can tell you that its easier to win the fight when you have someone in your corner supporting you. And the same is true in sales. As you’re learning about the company, you’re about to pitch your product or service to/find a champion within who can help support you. Preferably, someone with power and authority who can sway the person with final decision purchasing power.

The Right Tools to Automate the MEDDICC Framework; a Chatbot

You’ve seen them 100s times… but have you ever stopped to wonder how your company can use chatbots on your website or social media profile? With Clepher, you greet your site visitors like a receptionist greets people visiting your company. And your sales team can take your chatbots further than greeting your customers. It’s done by using the chatbot to qualify people as potential warm prospects.

Most people think of chatbots as a one-way customer service tool. But your customers don’t need to be the only one asking the questions. You can set your chatbot to ask questions as well. Gather data on your website visitors so your sales department can know who is visiting to get more information and who is ready to buy now. Get customer insight and recognize trends using your new chatbot. You can also integrate the answers from the chatbot into Google Sheets, so you can see the information gathered.

You can start with a simple survey-type question asking if they are a solopreneur, small business, medium, or large corporation. Next, you can drill further and program your chatbot to ask what their biggest problem is in their business. Or go even further and see where the bottleneck is in their production or productivity. Depending on your product or service, you will want to tailor this next question to find out if you can help solve their problem.

Increase Your Profit Margins With These Two Tools

The MEDDICC sales process can be automated to cut churn with your customers and improve our conversion rates. Don’t let hot leads turn into cold calls by making your potential customers wait for a sales team call. Use the full power of technology to automate the beginning of your sales funnel. These two tools, when used together, can improve your sales and increase your profit margins.

The MEDDICC lead qualification framework will allow your sales team to schedule more appointments with warm prospects… instead of cold calling and dead-ends. Working with warm prospects fitting these specific criteria will increase your sales. It will also improve your bottom line and encourage your sales team with more wins… resulting in way fewer rejections!

You can build your chatbot from the ground up if you know code and have the time. You can use our intuitive drag ‘n drop builder to get your chatbot for your company created in mere minutes. Additionally, if you want to build your chatbot from scratch, but with the ease of our platform, you can do that as well.

Time to Use MEDDICC and Chatbots to Grow Your Businesses

Look, at this point, you know you need to improve your sales. IF not, at the very least, you want to improve them. And with a lead qualification framework like MEDDICC, you do just that. See, you’re no longer asking, “What is MEDDICC?” you should now be asking, “how can a chatbot system help me implement MEDDICC?” And here at CM, that is precisely one of the things we do best… Creating Done For You Systems that make your business thrive.

Please note that the MEDDICC flow contains questions for each letter, just like was done with the other Flows. However, some of the questions can be answered by thorough research on the lead. This means you don’t have to ask some questions at all. IF the latter is the case, simply delete the question you don’t need.

Here’s what you can expect: 

We’ve created a Lead Qualification MEDDICC Flow for you. Respectively Lead Qualification MEDDICC Flow #1.

Lead Qualification MEDDICC Flow: 

The MEDDICC Lead Qualification Flow in Clepher

The MEDDICC Lead Qualification Flow in Clepher

>> Demo the MEDDICC Lead Qualification Flow here! <<

Here’s how to install this Flow on your Chatbot:

  • Get access to Clepher (if you didn’t already)
  • Log in to Clepher.
  • Navigate to your desired page
  • Hover over the Automation Tab, and click “Flows”.
  • Then, click on “Create New”. Give your Flow a name. Then, select the Type Promotional.
    • You’re redirected to the Composer
  • A Window Pops-up asking if you would like to Import a Flow, Click “Import a Flow”.
    • If you want to Import a Flow in an existing Flow, click the 3 dots in the right upper corner.
  • A new Pop-up appears
    • The drop-down contains all your Flows you’ve cross pages but also contains Premium Flows
  • Search for “Lead Qualification MEDDICC”, or “MEDDICC”, and it shows the Flow!
  • Click on Premium – Lead Qualification MEDDICC Flow #1 to import the Flow!

Some Pro Tips to Keep in Mind: 

Pro Tip #1: Add your third-party tool card at the end to siphon the data to your CRM. You can also use Zapier or Webhook Cards. Or us the Google Sheets integration to add data to a spreadsheet. This way, you get an excellent overview of your leads.

Pro Tip #2: Be creative with your questions; the questions inside the Flow are there for demonstration purposes only. There are other questions you can ask to get to the answer you want. Also, make sure you customize the Flow, so it speaks on behalf of your brand. Mucho Importante!

Pro Tip #3: When it comes to chatbots on Messenger, if you can skip specific questions, to create a path of lesser resistance… it’s definitely recommended to do so. If you’re using a targeting system as comprehensive as Facebook Ads targeting system, you can get away by not asking specific questions. I.E., with the incredibly accurate audience demographics, the Facebook Ad service allows you to tap into, do you really need to ask the Budget question! Because you can ensure your ads are only seen by certain business owners with certain sized businesses!

In some cases, you can also target decision-makers… Which helps you get rid of another question. In that case, simply remove the questions from the Flow, and you’re good to go.

In Conclusion

You can sign up for a Clepher account here. See how we can help you create a simple follow-up system to narrow your field of cold leads. And then use your messages to turn these cold leads into warm prospects ready to buy your product or service. The future is yours!


Click Here to Discover how to use MEDDICC with Facebook Messenger Chatbots

 

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