MEDDIC Deal Qualification Checklist

Run this before you log any opportunity as Commit or Best Case. If you can't check at least 80% of a section, that section is your next call's agenda, not a gap to paper over in the CRM.

M: Metrics

What quantified business impact will this deal deliver, and can the customer say the number back to you?

• I know the specific metric(s) this solution will move, named, not vague
• I have a customer-provided number, not just my own estimate
• The economic buyer, not just the champion, has acknowledged this metric matters
• I can calculate or estimate ROI/payback period from this metric
• The customer has stated a "before" baseline I can measure the "after" against

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4. Red = below 3: you're selling on assumption, not evidence.

E, Economic Buyer

The person with final authority to release budget, not the person who will use the product.

• I have identified the specific person (name + title) who can approve this spend without further sign-off
• I have spoken to them directly: not just heard about them from my champion
• I understand what THEY personally care about
• I know their approval process: alone, or a committee/board step above them
• I have a scheduled or completed meeting with them in the current sales cycle

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4 (EB identified but not engaged, highest-leverage gap). Red = below 3, you do not have a real deal yet.

D, Decision Criteria

The formal and informal standards they'll judge every vendor against.

• I know the technical/functional criteria (features, integrations, security, performance)
• I know the business criteria (price, contract terms, vendor stability, implementation timeline)
• I know how these criteria are weighted
• I have had input into the criteria, not just reacted to a pre-written RFP
• I know how our solution stacks up against each criterion, honestly, including weaknesses

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4. Red = below 3, you're being evaluated against a scorecard you've never seen.

D: Decision Process

The steps, people, and paper that turn a verbal "yes" into a signed contract.

• I know every step between now and signature (technical review, security review, legal, procurement, board approval)
• I know who is involved at each step and whether any are new stakeholders
• I have a mutual close plan with dates the customer has agreed to: not just my own forecast date
• I know their procurement/legal specifics (redline turnaround, security docs, PO process)
• I know what could stall this deal internally (budget cycle, competing initiatives, fiscal year-end)

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4. Red = below 3, your close date is a guess.

I: Identify Pain

The real, root-cause business problem, not the surface-level feature request.

• I can state the pain in the customer's own words, not my product's marketing language
• I understand why this pain exists NOW
• I have quantified the cost of doing nothing
• The pain is acknowledged by the economic buyer, not just the end-user/champion
• I have surfaced at least one layer beneath the stated pain

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4. Red = below 3: you're solving a symptom, and so is your competitor.

C, Champion

Someone with influence who actively sells on your behalf when you're not in the room.

• They have power/credibility inside the org
• They have personally benefited (or will benefit) from this deal closing
• They have taken a real action for you without being asked twice
• They have coached you on how to win internally
• They will be around and invested post-sale

Score: Green = all 5. Yellow = 3-4. Red = below 3: you have a "friendly," not a champion. See the companion Champion Identification & Development Checklist.

Overall Deal Health

Rule of thumb: Economic Buyer and Champion kill deals silently. A deal Green on Metrics, Decision Criteria, and Pain can still die if EB access and a real Champion aren't there, check those two first on every deal review.