Buying process discovery is a separate track from problem discovery, so run it alongside the conversation about pain. An interested prospect can still leave you guessing about approval, procurement, and implementation. Build the path from the agreements the buyer needs to make, in the order they need to make them.1 Use each conversation to expose the next buying step and test whether the buyer can take it.
Start with the buying position
Locate the contact in the evaluation. A question means something different when the buyer is exploring, comparing, or preparing to approve.
In the initial discovery call, ask, "How do people buy software?"2 Follow with, "How do you guys make decisions on this type of stuff?"3 Then ask, "Where are you today? What's making you feel like this might not be the right fit?"4
Listen for what has already happened, what the buyer is deciding now, and what still needs to change. Ask what the buyer would need to see before moving ahead. Success criteria can show whether the prospect has considered what it would take to buy and give you a reason to slow down before spending more time.5
Move on when the contact can describe the current evaluation and the condition that would move it forward. If the answer stays vague, keep discovery here and find the missing context before offering a later step.
Map the sequence and authority
Once you know where the evaluation sits, have the buyer describe the path from interest to commitment. Find every handoff that can advance, delay, or stop the purchase.
Ask, "What are the steps that happen?"6 Map the decision process, including the person who will make the decision.7 Then ask, "Is there anyone else that needs to kind of sign off?"8
Use the deal steps to test whether the contact can carry the purchase through them. Mapping the deal steps helps determine whether the buyer can make a commitment.9 Ask who needs to be involved, what each person decides, and what must be ready before the next handoff.
Do not fill in gaps for the contact. An answer without an owner, an approval, or a clear next action leaves the process open. Record the gap and return to it before treating the process as mapped.
Set criteria and alternatives
Criteria show how the buyer will judge the options. Alternatives show what else the buyer is comparing and what could take the deal away.
Ask, "What is the evaluation or the buying criteria that you're going to make on that?"10 Then ask, "Who else are you guys looking at? I'd love to learn more."11 Follow up on why those alternatives are being considered. The seller needs to understand both who is in the evaluation and why.12
At the proposal call, ask, "Are we actually vendor of choice?"13 Use the answer to decide whether to advance, repair the evaluation, or learn what still separates the options.
Move on when the buyer can explain how the choice will be made and where your solution stands against the alternatives. A positive reaction to the solution does not complete this step if the selection rules remain unclear.
Trace approvals and mechanics
After the evaluation is clear, trace the work required to turn a preference into a purchase. Deals often pick up steps here that were invisible during problem discovery.
Have the buyer explain the purchasing and implementation process.14 Ask, "What's the procurement process?"15 Then ask, "How does that typically work on your end?"16
Check whether executive approval is required.17 Confirm that the proposed process meets the buyer's go-live timelines.18 Ask who prepares the paperwork, who reviews it, who signs, and what implementation must be ready before the purchase can move ahead.
Keep these answers beside the commercial plan. If pricing arrives before the buyer has explained the approval and legal path, the deal can appear close while the required work is still unknown.
Validate the path
A process becomes useful when the buyer recognizes it as their process and agrees to the next step. Test the map against how the buyer intends to purchase.
Ask whether the proposed process matches how the customer is buying and what the customer is looking for.19 Treat the answer as a validation point, since salespeople are expected to validate how the buyer buys.20 If the buyer changes the sequence, update the plan while the change is visible.
Set a target close date and verify that the prospect agrees with it.21 Keep outlining the buying process throughout the sales cycle so each meeting has a place in the path.22
When a proof of concept enters the plan, ask, "What are you trying to learn through that POC?"23 Use the answer to establish what happens after the proof of concept, including the decision it is meant to support.
What not to do
These mistakes make a deal look further along than the buyer's process allows.
- Do not wait until late in the sales cycle to discuss the purchasing process.24
- Do not assume procurement has handled this type of purchase before, because the current purchase may be entering procurement for the first time.25
- Do not treat a vague answer as a mapped process when specific questions show that the contact does not have the answers.26
- Do not discuss pricing or ask for the sale before identifying the buyer's legal process.27
- Do not let a proof of concept end without qualifying what happens after it.28
Before each meeting, write down the next agreement you need, the person who must give it, and the question that will expose whether it is possible. When a gap remains, keep the deal at that step until the buyer fills it or you decide to stop advancing it.