Deal reviews usually go one of two ways. The seller shares so many details that the leader can’t see where help is needed, or the leader goes letter by letter like a quiz. Neither changes the deal.
Color coding fixes both. Grade each letter red, yellow or green against a shared definition, and you can see in seconds where the risk is.
What’s on the cheat sheet
One page, eight columns, one for each MEDDPICC element: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Implicated Pain, Champion and Competition. Each column spells out what red, yellow and green look like for that letter. A few examples:
- Metrics. Red: metrics that matter not identified. Yellow: surface metrics exist, but unique outcomes aren’t agreed. Green: an outcome-driven business case and change justification agreed by all needed stakeholders.
- Paper Process. Red: not started. Yellow: in procurement or legal review without a defined timeline. Green: fully understood, redlines are doable, and a defined timeline is being tracked.
- Champion. Red: no identified champion; you’re still at the contact or coach level. Yellow: a coach showing early champion behaviors, not yet tested at every level. Green: champion fully validated, enabled with collateral, and actively selling for you internally.
How to use it
- Sellers: before and after every call, and before every internal deal conversation, color your depth on each letter. Then pick the action that moves the most important yellow or red, and put it on your calendar.
- Leaders: look at the same sheet the seller is looking at. Pressure-test green: what did we see, hear and validate? For red and yellow, don’t criticize. Ask, “What’s your plan to close the gap?”
Writing a number in the Metrics field doesn’t mean you know Metrics. Grade the depth of what you know, not whether a field is filled in.
Want to track it deal by deal? Use the MEDDPICC Scorecard. To run the meeting, see How to Run a MEDDPICC Deal Review.