A prospect says, “We need a new website.” Your rep smiles, nods, and logs it as a need. Job done? Hardly. That’s the exact moment most deals stall—when reps settle for surface-level pain instead of digging into what really matters.
The best salespeople don’t just identify pain. They implicate it.
That means understanding and exposing the business impact, personal consequences, and organisational urgency that drive decisions.
It’s not about the website—it’s about what happens if it doesn’t get fixed. That’s the “I” in MEDDPICC done right: Identification, Indication, and Implication.
What is implicating pain in sales?
Implicating pain means showing a buyer the consequences of inaction. It’s the skill of connecting a surface-level problem to deeper business risks, personal stakes, and strategic urgency. Instead of just identifying what’s wrong, you help the prospect feel why it matters—and why it can’t wait.
In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to coach your reps to dig deeper, build urgency, and turn vague problems into compelling business cases using MEDDPICC - all from our expert coaches Steve Myers and Alan Clark.
We’ll cover the tactical questions, mindset shifts, and conversational framing that separate top performers from average ones—so your team can win more deals, faster.
This is your guide to getting to pain and truly implicating it.
This article is part of our Mastering MEDDPICC series—a no-fluff, tactical playbook for turning MEDDPICC into muscle memory across your sales team. If you’re aiming to build a qualification process that reps consistently follow (and that your CRM actually mirrors), start with our introductory guide. It breaks down what each letter stands for, why this framework drives results in B2B sales, and how to roll it out in a way that sticks.
Understand the Three I’s of MEDDPICC
Steve Myers offers a sharp breakdown of the “I” in MEDDPICC into three stages:
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I1: Identify Pain
Uncover surface-level problems or unrealised opportunities. Not all pain is negative; sometimes it’s about helping an ambitious prospect hit even bigger goals.
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I2: Indicate Pain
Connect the issue to broader business impact. How does this pain affect revenue, growth, or even share price?
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I3: Implicate Pain
Go personal. Understand how the pain impacts individual stakeholders in the decision-making unit. That’s when consequences become real .
“You need to understand the nature of the problem, the impact on the business, and how the buyer feels about it. Only then have you truly done pain discovery.” — Steve Myers
Steve puts it simply: if the buyer doesn’t understand how the problem affects them, they won’t feel urgency.
Go Beyond Surface-Level Pain to Implicate It
Too many reps stop when they hear the first whiff of a problem. But that surface-level pain? It’s just the appetiser.
Alan highlights that “You need a new website” isn’t the problem—it’s a symptom.
Maybe conversion rates are tanking. Maybe execs are breathing down marketing’s neck. Maybe missed MQL targets are threatening someone’s bonus.
Your job as a coach? Help your reps keep digging.
“It’s not about visitors. It’s about getting people to take action,” Alan explains. “That’s the kind of implication you’re trying to uncover.”
Things to Do:
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Encourage reps to probe beyond the stated need.
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Practise roleplaying deeper discovery scenarios in coaching sessions.
Questions to Ask:
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“What happens if you don’t solve this?”
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“Who else is affected by this issue?”
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“Why now?”
Use MEDDPICC to Indicate Business-Wide Pain
Steve warns that many reps go from hearing a problem straight into solution mode. Instead, they should pause and explore how that problem is impacting the whole business.
For example: A CRM isn’t updating properly? Sure, it slows down sales. But what’s the broader effect? Missed revenue targets? Delayed funding? Damaged customer retention?
“Just because you have a problem that we can solve doesn’t mean we’re going to do business. I might have the world’s best mousetrap—but unless I know you’ve got a mouse problem that matters, it’s irrelevant.” — Steve Myers
Things to Do:
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Coach reps to explore how a local problem ripples through the business.
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Map pain points to strategic initiatives, not just team workflows.
Questions to Ask:
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“If this issue goes unresolved, how does that impact your targets?”
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“Is this holding back other teams or priorities?”
Coach Reps to Implicate Pain Personally
Alan suggests that top performers always go deeper—beyond the technical or operational pain to what really motivates the decision: personal stakes. Reps often forget that businesses don’t make decisions—people do.
Steve reinforces this with a vivid analogy:
“Amateur anglers feel a nibble and yank the line. But smart ones? They let the fish take the bait. Same with sales—you don’t pitch until the pain’s fully understood.”
Things to Do:
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Help reps connect pain to individual KPIs and career goals.
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Rehearse scenarios where reps articulate the personal consequence of inaction.
Questions to Ask:
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“What does this mean for you if nothing changes?”
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“How are you measured on this?”
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“What happens to your plan if this slips another quarter?”
Emphasise Timing and Priority in MEDDPICC Discovery
Alan also highlights that good discovery isn’t just about uncovering pain—it’s about qualifying when that pain matters. Steve agrees, stressing the importance of knowing how the problem stacks up against other priorities.
Things to Do:
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Encourage reps to ask timing-driven questions.
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Have reps validate the emotional weight of the problem.
Questions to Ask:
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“Can you live with this a bit longer?”
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“What else are you trying to fix right now?”
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“How does this stack up against other priorities?”
Ready to Coach Implication Like a Pro?
Get up to speed with MEDDPICC, the gold standard for qualifying and closing deals. Understand the framework, uncover key decision factors, and apply it to real scenarios to improve deal accuracy and drive consistent sales success.
👉 Book a call today to explore our dedicated MEDDPICC learning path and start transforming how your team discovers, qualifies, and wins.
Next Up: Building the Champion in MEDDPICC
You’ve uncovered the pain. Now it’s time to make sure someone’s ready to fight for solving it.
In the next article, we’ll dive into the C in MEDDPICC: Champion—arguably the most critical component of complex sales. You’ll learn how to identify, develop, and mobilise internal champions who have both influence and motivation to drive your deal forward.
We’ll show you how to:
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Spot a true Champion vs. a friendly stakeholder
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Equip them to sell internally
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Tie their success to the deal outcome
Frequently Asked Questions About Implicating Pain in Sales
What does ‘implicate pain’ actually mean?
It’s not enough for a buyer to recognise they have a problem—they need to understand why that problem is urgent, risky, or costly to ignore. Implicating pain means shifting the conversation from what’s broken to why it matters. It’s the difference between noting a leaky pipe and realising it could flood the whole house.
How do I go deeper than surface-level problems?
Surface pain sounds like, “We want to save time.” Digging deeper reveals that time loss is causing onboarding delays, late launches, or missed quarterly targets.
The key is layering your questions. Start with what’s not working, then explore the consequences, then connect it to outcomes. Be specific. Help buyers articulate the chain reaction, not just the initial issue. This is at the heart of getting to pain.
What’s the difference between a nice-to-have pain and a must-solve pain?
If fixing the issue would be “nice,” the deal probably stalls. But if not fixing it creates risk, missed revenue, or political fallout, it becomes a “must.”
Look for signals like:
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Tied to OKRs or board-level goals
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Budget already earmarked
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Multiple stakeholders concerned
A good test: Ask, “If this doesn’t get solved, who feels the pain most—and how?”
How do I tie the pain to strategic or financial outcomes?
Zoom out. A local problem might have enterprise-wide consequences. Your job is to connect dots that the buyer hasn’t yet.
Try this structure:
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“Because [problem exists]…”
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“…it’s creating [friction in key process or number]…”
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“…which puts [goal/KPI] at risk.”
Then pause. Let the buyer fill in the cost.
What if the buyer doesn’t see the pain as urgent?
When urgency’s missing, go upstream—not harder. Find the context that makes the issue matter. Maybe it’s not about this problem—but what it blocks: headcount growth, expansion, funding rounds.
Ask consequence-based prompts like:
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“What gets delayed if this doesn’t move?”
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“Is there a deadline that makes this more important?”
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“If you don’t act now, what does next quarter look like?”
How do I know when it’s too early to pitch the solution?
If you haven’t uncovered the full scope of the pain, how it impacts the business, and what it means personally to the buyer—it’s too early.
“Amateur anglers yank the line at the first nibble. Smart ones wait until the fish is hooked.” — Steve Myers
Coach tip: If the buyer can’t articulate the cost of doing nothing, you haven’t earned the right to solve it yet.
Can you implicate gain instead of pain?
Absolutely. Steve reframes pain as also including unrealised opportunity. Some of the most powerful deals are driven by ambition, not dysfunction.
Help buyers understand what they stand to lose by not achieving their goals.
How do I prioritise which pain to pursue?
Prospects are often juggling multiple issues. Just because there’s pain doesn’t mean it’s priority.
Ask questions like:
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“Can you live with this a while longer?”
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“What else is competing for your attention?”
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“What would happen if we delayed this by a quarter?”
What’s the difference between implicating pain and pitching to pain?
Implicating pain is about exploring consequences—it’s consultative. Pitching is about solving. If you jump to pitching before the buyer is emotionally and logically bought into the pain, you’re skipping the work that makes the solution valuable.
How do I use implicated pain to get stakeholder buy-in?
Once pain is implicated, you can use it as a lever to bring others into the deal. Highlight how the problem affects multiple roles.
Ask:
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“Who else is affected by this?”
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“Would it be helpful to include [X stakeholder] in our next conversation?”
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“What’s the cost of inaction for other teams?”
