MEDDICC: The ultimate guide to staying one step ahead in the complex sale

by Whyte Mr Andy

One-Sided: Seller: “Would you say that this issue is making your team less productive?” Customer: “Yes.” Two-Sided: Seller: “Are you able to tell me how much less productive you think this issue is making your team?” Customer: “Hmm, perhaps 20-30%.” At first glance, the main difference between the two questions may seem that one is a closed question, and the other is an open-ended question. This is true, but it is what happens next that defines whether it is one or two-sided. In the example below, we assume both scenarios have come from the two-sided answer to the previous question: One-Sided: Seller: “20-30%, that is a lot! If I could help you reduce that, would you be interested in looking more closely at it?” Customer: “Yes.” Two-Sided: Seller: “20-30%? That is high, can you explain to me why this is the case?” Customer: “Well… Not only does it take us longer, but when the process runs, we have to monitor it, so my team can’t take on any other tasks.” Seller: “Wow... So, of the 20-30% productivity you are losing, how much of it is because your team is having to keep an eye on the process while it runs?” Customer: “Maybe over half... 15%?” Seller: “If you were able to free up 30% of your team’s time, what else would they be able to get done?” Customer: “We looked into this and figured out that we could probably save 3-5 days each month.” Seller: “And how much extra revenue a month would that deliver?”