MEDDPICC Questions to Ask: Discovery Questions for Every Letter

MEDDPICC questions are discovery questions that uncover the eight elements of a qualified deal: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition. Good MEDDPICC questions are open-ended, specific to the buyer’s business, and asked across several calls, not in a single checklist.

This guide lists the questions to ask for each letter, what a good answer sounds like, and the red flags to watch for. The same questions work for MEDDIC, which covers six of the eight letters.

MEDDPICC questions at a glance

Metrics questions

Metrics are the measurable business outcomes your solution must deliver. Without them, you can’t build a business case, and the buyer can’t justify the spend.

• What business goals is this project tied to this year?

• How do you measure performance in this area today?

• What number would you need to see change for this to be a success?

• What’s the current baseline, and what would good look like in six months?

• How much is this problem costing you today, in time, revenue, or headcount?

• Who else in the company tracks this metric?

Good answer: a specific number, a baseline, and a deadline. For example, “Cut ramp time from six months to four by Q3.”

Red flag: “We just want to be more efficient.” No number means no business case.

Economic Buyer questions

The Economic Buyer is the person with final authority to approve the budget. That’s often not your main contact.

• Who owns the budget for this initiative?

• Who has the final say on an investment of this size?

• Has this person approved similar purchases before? How did that go?

• What does the Economic Buyer care most about this year?

• What would they need to see to approve this?

• When can we get 30 minutes with them before the final decision?

Good answer: a name, a role, and a path to a meeting.

Red flag: your contact says they decide alone, but can’t explain how budget gets approved.

Decision Criteria questions

Decision Criteria are the formal and informal standards the buyer will use to compare solutions. If you don’t know them, a competitor may be writing them.

• What criteria will you use to compare the options?

• Which of these criteria matter most, and who set them?

• Are there technical requirements we must meet, such as integrations, security, or compliance?

• What made you rule out solutions in the past?

• How will you weigh price against other criteria?

• Is there anything that would disqualify a vendor immediately?

Good answer: a ranked list of criteria, ideally in writing.

Red flag: criteria that match a competitor’s feature list word for word.

Decision Process questions

The Decision Process is the sequence of steps, people, and dates between today and a decision. It tells you whether your close date is real.

• Walk me through what happens between today and a signed decision.

• Who is involved at each step, and who has a veto?

• What’s driving your timeline? What happens if it slips?

• Have you bought something similar recently? What did that process look like?

• Is there a pilot, a proof of concept, or a security review along the way?

• When do you need the solution live, and what has to happen before then?

Good answer: dated steps, named people, and a reason the date matters.

Red flag: “We’ll decide when we’re ready.” No compelling event means no real timeline.

Paper Process questions

The Paper Process covers everything needed to turn a decision into a signed contract: legal review, procurement, security, and signatures. It’s where verbal wins quietly slip a quarter.

• Once you’ve picked a vendor, what happens next?

• Who reviews the contract: legal, procurement, IT security, finance?

• How long did that take for your last software purchase?

• Do you have standard terms or a vendor onboarding process we should start now?

• Is there a security or data protection questionnaire to complete?

• Who physically signs, and are there approval thresholds by amount?

Good answer: named reviewers, a typical duration, and documents you can start early.

Red flag: your contact has never bought software at this company and doesn’t know the steps.

Identify Pain questions

The pain is the business problem driving the project, and the cost of leaving it unsolved. No pain, no urgency.

• What prompted you to look at this now?

• What happens if you don’t solve this in the next 12 months?

• How is this problem affecting your team, your customers, or your numbers?

• What have you already tried, and why didn’t it work?

• Who feels this problem most in the company?

• Where does this rank among your priorities this quarter?

Good answer: a concrete problem with a cost attached and a person who feels it.

Red flag: a “nice to have” that ranks below three other projects.

Champion questions

A Champion is an influential insider who wants your solution to win and actively sells it when you’re not in the room. A friendly contact is not a Champion until they act.

• Why does solving this matter to you personally?

• Who else needs to be convinced, and how would you approach them?

• Can you help us get time with the Economic Buyer?

• What objections do you expect internally, and how would you answer them?

• Would you share how decisions like this usually get made here?

• What would make you look good if this project succeeds?

Good answer: your contact takes an action, such as setting up a meeting or sharing an internal document.

Red flag: your contact is enthusiastic but has no influence, or won’t introduce you to anyone.

Competition questions

Competition includes other vendors, internal builds, and the most common rival of all: doing nothing.

• What other options are you considering?

• Have you looked at building this internally?

• What would happen if you kept things as they are?

• What do you like about the other options so far?

• Have you used a solution like this before? What worked, and what didn’t?

• Is there an incumbent vendor we need to replace?

Good answer: named alternatives and what the buyer likes about each.

Red flag: “You’re the only one we’re talking to,” with no sign the status quo has been ruled out.

How to use these questions

Don’t run them as a checklist. A buyer who gets 48 questions in one call stops answering.

• Spread them across the cycle. Pain and Metrics come first. Economic Buyer and Decision Process follow once there’s interest. Paper Process starts before the verbal win, not after.

• Ask follow-ups, not more questions. “Tell me more” and “What makes you say that?” often reveal more than the next question on your list.

• Confirm in writing. Recap what you heard by email after each call. It catches misunderstandings and gives your Champion something to forward.

• Revisit every letter. Criteria change, Champions leave, and new competitors appear. A MEDDPICC answer from week one may be wrong by week eight.

Log the answers where your team can use them

The answers only help the deal if they reach your CRM. In Salesforce, that means a field or a structured note for each letter, updated after every meaningful conversation. That’s also where most teams struggle: the facts surface on calls and in emails, and too often never make it into the opportunity record.

For the setup side, see our guide on how to implement MEDDPICC and MEDDIC in Salesforce.