MASTERS OF MEDDICC

In this episode of Masters of MEDDICC, we have the first ever returning guest as friend of MEDDICC and CRO of Team Cymru, Richard Dufty, joins Andy in the studio. 

In the modern landscape of our industry, one of MEDDICC’s guiding principles has never been more true: prudent, not parsimonious. When running a business, being smart and using common sense when it comes to business spend is how you ensure longevity.

Richard believes that right now, GTM isn’t working as it should, and people need to acknowledge the problems that can create. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to beware the danger of siloes and focus on playing for the team, not the individual. When the whole team has a common language and pulls in the same direction, that’s where success comes from.

Check out this episode to hear about how MEDDPICC helps teams work together and keep the focus on value. 

More about Richard:

Richard moved with Symantec from Sydney Australia to Silicon Valley in 2007 after closing the biggest deal of the year globally. Rising through the ranks Richard helped grow various business units including Managed Security Services to $200M+.

Richard then joined AppDirect as their first VP and helped lead them from $1m to $100m in 4 years to unicorn status. He then became CRO of Australian founded, now San Francisco HQ cybersecurity company Arkose Labs and helped them grow 3X in 2 years.

He recently joined Team Cymru as CRO, and is excited about the opportunity ahead.

When not in SF or traveling around the globe, Richard spends his weekends at home in Southern California with his wife Aya, and kids Chloé, Riley and Noah.

In the latest episode of Masters of MEDDICC, MEDDICC CEO Andy Whyte is joined by Luke Rodgers, VP of EMEA at ComplyAdvantage. Together they cover a wide range of topics on the intersection of MEDDPICC and leadership, including what it takes to be a truly successful leader, and the top mistakes people make when they THINK they’re using MEDDPICC.

One thing that stands out: We need to re-analyze the way we think about success. Andy and Luke talk about the bad habits that can arise when leaders focus too much on revenue and not on the ‘how’ of winning. Is it about quantity, or is it about quality?

The vast majority of the time, if you ask your customer why they went with your solution, they will say it’s because of your team. Luckily, this episode is bursting with actionable tips to take you (and your team) to the next level. 

Luke is VP of EMEA at ComplyAdvantage. Having originally started his career working for Jeremy Duggan (a McMahon prodigy) as the 1st UK AE at AppDynamics in 2013, he claims the Playbook changed his life. While at AppDynamics, he has held numerous international senior leadership positions in AMER and EMEA, pre and post-the $3.7B Cisco acquisition. In 2020 he joined and founded worldwide sales at Instabase, growing ARR by 10x in 3 years. Now he is using the Playbook to help beat financial crime, a $3.5T per year problem for which ~$280B per year is spent fighting it. Unfortunately <1% of criminal proceeds are ever seized, the system is broken and they intend to fix it. Luke is a father of 2 girls and is passionate about using the ICCEE criteria together with a culture of coaching to solve the diversity crisis in SaaS sales. Luke supports multiple children's charities and is an avid mountain biker and lover of all things tech.

In this episode of Masters of MEDDIC, MEDDICC CEO Andy Whyte sits down with Marina Ayton, VP of Strategic Accounts for the UK&I at ZScaler.

From an early age, Marina has been inspired to work hard. She tells Andy about what she believes is essential, in any role, to get where you want to be. Succeeding in sales isn’t easy – she and Andy share some best practices for building rapport with customers, especially in this new, predominantly remote environment.

Leadership is a large focus of this episode; Andy and Marina dive into the things people don’t know about sales leadership, discussing certain paths people can take to become truly great sales leaders. 

Full of useful insights and stories you can learn from, this episode is a must-listen!

Marina Ayton is the Vice President of Strategic Accounts for the UK at ZScaler. She is also the founder / co-founder of a number of companies including London Velvet, Enchanted Trees, and more recently founded Pink Diesel. She has an active interest in investing in early stage companies (SEIS and EIS) and was also the Education Chair for Young Presidents Organisation. She is currently a member of the Board @The Prince's Trust RISE program.

SHOWNOTES

Get ready for the latest episode of Masters of MEDDICC! Host Andy Whyte chats with experienced revenue leader, Jeff Miller, current CRO of StarTree. Listen and have a chuckle as the two talk about their shared history of selling door-to-door - and what they learned from it.

The way you communicate with your customer can make or break a deal or engagement. There are a lot of opinions out there about the best way to do it - product-led or open-source? Either way, Andy and Jeff look at how MEDDIC can underpin it all, and help you explain the value of your solution to your customers.

Andy and Jeff discuss how their ADHD acts as a superpower in sales. Jeff, as always, ties it back to the customer, comparing how he explained how his ADHD makes his brain work differently to understanding that every customer will think differently to you. 

ABOUT JEFF:

Jeff Miller is the Chief Revenue Officer at StarTree, leading the company’s go-to-market strategy across its Sales, Revenue Operations, Solutions Engineering, Customer Success and Product-Led Growth teams. 

Jeff brings more than two decades of experience leading, managing and growing successful sales teams and exponentially increasing revenue for high-growth tech companies. Prior to joining StarTree, Jeff served as the CRO of Cockroach Labs, where he helped lead the company to its Series F stage and a $5billion valuation with over 250 customers. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Hortonworks, leading the organization to become the fastest-growing software company ever to get $100million in ARR and a successful IPO. 

In this episode of Masters of MEDDIC, MEDDICC CEO Andy Whyte is joined by Adam Quartermaine to dive into numerous ways MEDDPICC acts as a compass to success, both in your career and in your deals. 

Being too wary of the word ‘no’ can be a salesperson’s downfall. Adam talks to Andy about how getting an early ‘no’ can be the key to a final ‘yes’. Development is crucial for sales people, and part of that development comes with failure. As Adam says, “You’ll learn a lot more when it’s hard than you’ll learn when it’s easy.”

Adaptability is an essential quality of a salesperson. More and more often, the Economic Buyer is the CFO, so you need to earn their time. Together, Andy and Adam discuss the importance of explaining not what you do and how, but why the Economic Buyer should care. Tune into this episode to hear Adam’s quick tips for selling to the C-suite (and what not to wear). 

Adam is GVP Europe at Sprinklr. Prior to Sprinklr, Adam held leadership and AE roles at BMC, BladeLogic, Salesforce and EMC. Adam is passionate about scaling, sales excellence, the recruitment and development of top talent, continuous improvement, diversity & inclusion. Adam is a father of 4, loves sport and is an avid supporter of the Childrens Hospice, Shooting Star.

Seeing people using Decision Criteria incorrectly is heartbreaking, because this element of MEDDPICC can truly unlock success in your deals. In this episode, the MedMen dive into everything that people get wrong with Decision Criteria.

Andy and Pim explore common errors people make when approaching the Decision Criteria, such as assuming that customers will always possess them and that once identified, these criteria remain set in stone. Remember, you are a professional seller, but your customer is not a professional buyer! It is your responsibility to guide them to the best solution for their needs.

If you have any questions about influencing Decision Criteria, or any suggestions of what you’d like to see the Med Men cover next, make sure to comment below!

Until next time - cheers! 

ABOUT MED MEN:

Med Men is a MEDDICC MEDIA production, where CEO Andy Whyte and CRO Pim Roelofsen dive into aspects of the MEDDIC framework, and look good doing it.

In this episode, Pim chats with Harriet MacEacharn from Darktrace about a groundbreaking deal that highlights the significance of multi-threading. Taking about 18 months from beginning to end, with 4 million TCV, it was one of the biggest deals in EMEA at the time.

As is the true sign of an elite dealer, when Harriet looks back at this deal, despite her not using MEDDPICC at the time, she recognizes its pivotal elements as driving forces behind the deal's success. Talk about a killer framework!

Throughout the episode, Harriet shouts out different members of her team who engaged with various stakeholders. Their hard work provided invaluable insights that shaped the deal’s trajectory. Tune in to uncover the true power of an amazing and reliable team.

ABOUT HARRIET:

Harriet has been in sales for 8 years, becoming a key part of Darktrace’s successful growth story when she joined the company five years ago.

Regularly in the top 5 UK performers throughout her tenure, Harriet has continued to improve and develop and as of 2023 now holds the title of Worldwide Sales Rep of the Year, beating over 600 of her colleagues in sales to the title, with total new business bookings for FY22/23 over $12,000,000.  

As a Senior Account Director in the Enterprise Team, Harriet heads up a team of high performers and is responsible for their upskilling and development whilst also retaining her own targets.

ABOUT ELITE DEALERS:

Elite Dealers is a MEDDICC MEDIA production brought to you by our very own CRO, Pim Roelofsen, where he talks with leading sales professionals across the industry where they share their best deals and what made their deals so special.

Attention to detail is needed when dealing with the Economic Buyer. You don’t want to under-qualify them, but over-qualifying them can do equal damage! In this episode, the Med Men take a close look at what people typically get wrong with the Economic Buyer.

Andy and Pim talk about the need to accept change - that as circumstances and deals change, so will the Economic Buyer. But, if you keep your wits about you, you can still find success with the Economic Buyer. 

If you have any questions about identifying or engaging with the Economic Buyer, or any suggestions of what you’d like to see the Med Men cover next, make sure to comment below!

Until next time - cheers! 

Med Men is a MEDDICC MEDIA production, where CEO Andy Whyte and CRO Pim Roelofsen dive into aspects of the MEDDIC framework, and look good doing it. 

*Who are Pim Roelofsen and Andy Whyte?*

*Pim Roelofsen* Born and raised in the Netherlands, Pim lived in the Dutch Caribbean and London, before making the move back home. Having been involved in tech sales for 10 years, Pim is passionate about MEDDICC and is a big believer that more organizations should adopt the qualification framework for sales and beyond. Pim empowers sales organizations across the globe to implement the tried and tested framework as MEDDICC CRO. 

*Andy Whyte* The founder of MEDDICC™ and the author of the five-star rated “MEDDICC’ book, it’s no surprise that Andy has an impressive sales career spanning over 18 years. Andy first started out as a door-to-door, double-glazing salesman where he quickly built up an appetite for sales, hungry for more, he started his B2B career as an SDR, progressing through the ranks to eventually lead the EMEA at Branch before moving on to set up MEDDICC™. Andy used MEDDIC in multiple companies as an individual contributor and sales leader and even implemented MEDDPICC into two SaaS organizations. Known for his mantra “Nobody ever regrets qualifying out” and his passion for the science and art of sales. Away from the day-to-day, Andy practices many skills as a chef, sports coach, taxi, and cleaner in his most important role to date - DAD.

In this Masters of MEDDIC episode, MEDDICC CEO Andy Whyte sat down with David Weiss to uncover how MEDDPICC utterly transformed the way he sells and why he teaches it to as many people as possible (including people knocking on his door to sell pest control services!).

David Weiss has 20 years of experience as a sales leader, and is currently CRO at Sales Collective, a company dedicated to sales transformation. There, he pursues his passion for finding challenges people face and working with them to solve it. 

Andy Whyte The founder of MEDDICC™ and the author of the five-star rated “MEDDICC’ book, it’s no surprise that Andy has an impressive sales career spanning over 18 years. Andy first started out as a door-to-door, double-glazing salesman where he quickly built up an appetite for sales, hungry for more, he started his B2B career as an SDR, progressing through the ranks to eventually lead the EMEA at Branch before moving on to set up MEDDICC™.  Andy used MEDDIC in multiple companies as an individual contributor and sales leader and even implemented MEDDPICC into two SaaS organizations. Known for his mantra “Nobody ever regrets qualifying out” and his passion for the science and art of sales. 

Away from the day-to-day, Andy practices many skills as a chef, sports coach, taxi, and cleaner in his most important role to date - DAD.

In this episode, Pim chats with Misha Jessel-Kenyon about one of the toughest and most enjoyable deals of his career so far. With $1.1m in ARR and nearly 100 stakeholders involved from both sides, this one was HUGE.

“You’ll lose a deal many times before you win a deal.”

The two dive into how essential the persistent use of MEDDPICC is to a deal of this size, and how carefully wielding all the steps at different levels can secure executive engagement and a mega deal. They talk about how finding and seriously implicating pain can transform an account with a small buy-in to one of record-size. 

ABOUT MISHA:

Misha was one of the first reps on the ground at Salesloft in the UK and quickly became their #1 rep in EMEA. Ranked by Wiser as the top SaaS sales rep in the UK in 2021, Misha had closed nearly 20% of Salesloft EMEA revenue before exiting.

Misha is now a Major Accounts Director at Zscaler, managing some of their biggest accounts in UK&I. He now also runs an angel investment syndicate for go-to-market professionals who want to invest in European SaaS businesses.

ABOUT ELITE DEALERS:

Elite Dealers is a MEDDICC MEDIA production brought to you by our very own CRO, Pim Roelofsen, where he talks with leading sales professionals across the industry where they share their best deals and what made their deals so special.