Identify Pain is the I in MEDDPICC: the buyer's business problem, named in their own words, with a cost attached and a reason to fix it now. The original MEDDIC called it Identify Pain. MEDDICC.com now writes Implicate the Pain and describes three stages: identify that a problem exists, indicate its wider impact, and implicate the buyer in its consequences.
From an admitted problem to a costed pain
A buyer admitting something is wrong does not make a deal. Our MEDDPICC page sets the bar: the pain is in the buyer's words, it has a cost, and without it the deal can wait until next quarter. That is why MEDDICC.com pushes past identification to implication. A problem the buyer has lived with for two years will wait another two unless someone has put a number on it and an owner has felt it.
- 1IdentifyA problem exists
- 2IndicateIts wider impact
- 3ImplicateThe buyer in its consequences
In a deal review the manager asks three things about the pain line in the CRM: who said it, what it costs, and who in the buying group carries that cost. A pain written in the rep's words, or with no cost, counts as unknown. MEDDPICC tells you the pain must be there. A discovery method tells you how to find it: Gap Selling does this job by mapping the buyer's current state against the future state they want. The sales methodology guide explains the pairing.
From "reporting is slow" to a costed pain
This example is illustrative. A rep's CRM note reads: "Pain: reporting is slow." On a call with the rep before the next meeting, the manager asks what slow costs. The rep does not know. In the meeting, the rep asks the finance lead how long the month-end report takes and what happens when it is late. The answer: four analysts spend three days on it, and last quarter a late report delayed a pricing decision by two weeks.
Now the pain has a cost, an owner (the CFO, who made the pricing call) and a reason to act before the next quarter close. The CRM line changes from "reporting is slow" to "Month-end report takes four analysts three days; a late report delayed a pricing decision two weeks last quarter. Owner: CFO." A manager reading the second version can see who said it and what it costs.
Related terms
- What are metrics in MEDDPICC?
- What is current state and future state in sales?
- What is MEDDPICC?
- MEDDPICC vs MEDDIC
FAQ
Is it Identify Pain or Implicate the Pain?
Identify Pain and Implicate the Pain are two names for the same letter. The original MEDDIC used Identify Pain. MEDDICC.com, which publishes the framework, now writes Implicate the Pain to stress that naming a problem is the first stage and making its consequences felt is the goal. Pick one and use it consistently.
What counts as pain in a sales deal?
Pain counts when the buyer describes a business problem in their own words, attaches a cost or a risk to it, and a named person in the buying group carries that cost. A symptom like "reporting is slow" is a starting point that still needs a cost.
How is identify pain different from metrics in MEDDPICC?
Identify pain differs from metrics because pain is the problem and what it costs the buyer today. Metrics are the measurable outcome the buyer expects from solving it. A rep usually finds the pain first; the metric is the same problem stated as a target, such as cutting a three-day report to one.