Ten frameworks, five personalities, one system that adapts to you

The steps

• Situation — Uncover the facts about how things run today.
• Problem — Surface the specific difficulties and pain points.
• Implication — Make the cost of leaving it unfixed impossible to ignore.
• Need-payoff — Let the buyer describe the value of solving it, in their words.

The questions it makes you ask

• “Walk me through how you handle this today.”
• “Where does that break down most often?”
• “What happens downstream when it breaks?”
• “What is that costing you in a month?”
• “If that stopped happening, what would it be worth?”

The steps

• Teach — Lead with a commercial insight that reframes how they see the problem.
• Tailor — Aim the message at the priorities of the person you are speaking to.
• Take control — Talk about budget and terms directly instead of waiting to be asked.

The questions it makes you ask

• “Here is what we see across businesses like yours — does that match your experience?”
• “Most people assume the cost sits here. It usually sits there. What does yours look like?”
• “Who owns that number internally?”
• “If we solved it, what would change for them personally?”
• “Let us talk about what this needs to look like commercially.”

The steps

• Metrics — The quantifiable business impact.
• Economic buyer — The person with actual budget authority.
• Decision criteria — The technical and business requirements.
• Decision process — How they legally evaluate and buy.
• Paper process — Procurement, legal and contract routing.
• Identify pain — The core business problem.
• Champion — The insider who sells for you internally.
• Competition — Other vendors — and the risk of doing nothing.

The questions it makes you ask

• “What number are you being judged on this year?”
• “Who signs a spend of this size?”
• “What has to be true for you to choose us over the alternatives?”
• “Walk me through what happens after you say yes.”
• “Who inside will argue for this when I am not there?”

The steps

• Bonding and rapport — Establish equal stature, not supplicant and buyer.
• Up-front contract — Agree the purpose, agenda and outcome of every meeting in advance.
• Pain — Get to the real, personal reason they would change.
• Budget — Establish money openly before doing free work.
• Decision — Confirm who decides and how, before presenting.
• Fulfilment and post-sell — Present only what matches the pain, then lock out buyer's remorse.

The questions it makes you ask

• “Can we agree what a good outcome from this call looks like for both of us?”
• “Tell me what made you take this meeting.”
• “How long has that been going on, and what have you already tried?”
• “Do you have a budget in mind, or should I tell you what this usually costs?”
• “If everything fits, what happens next — and who else is involved?”

The steps

• Economic buyer — Controls the money and can say yes alone.
• User buyer — Lives with the product daily and judges it on their own job.
• Technical buyer — Checks IT compliance, security and legal. Can only say no.
• Coach — Guides you through internal politics and tells you the truth.

The questions it makes you ask

• “Besides you, who else has a say in this?”
• “Who ultimately releases the budget?”
• “Who could stop this on security or legal grounds?”
• “What does a win look like for each of them personally?”
• “Who inside would tell me if this were going sideways?”

The steps

• Current state — The literal, physical, technical and emotional truth of today.
• Impact — What that costs, measured.
• Future state — Where they need to be and by when.
• The gap — The distance between the two — that is the deal size.

The questions it makes you ask

• “Describe exactly what happens today, start to finish.”
• “How often does that go wrong, and who picks up the pieces?”
• “What has that cost you in the last twelve months?”
• “Where do you need to be instead, and by when?”
• “Why has nobody fixed it yet?”

The steps

• Diagnose — Find the pain before mentioning the product.
• Create a vision — Help them picture the fixed state in their own language.
• Co-design — Build the solution with them, not for them.
• Prove — Show it works in their environment.

The questions it makes you ask

• “What are you using today, and where does it run out of road?”
• “If we could change one part of that, which part?”
• “What would it need to do on day one to be worth switching?”
• “Who would have to be comfortable with it technically?”
• “What proof would settle it for you?”

The steps

• Simple — Strip friction out of every interaction.
• iNvaluable — Be the expert they cannot get elsewhere.
• Aligned — Match their stated business objectives.
• Priority — Attach to something already urgent.

The questions it makes you ask

• “What is at the top of your list this quarter?”
• “Where does this sit against that?”
• “What is the smallest useful next step for you?”
• “Who else has to care for it to move?”
• “If it is not a priority, when would it become one?”

The steps

• Identify — Spot buyers showing active intent.
• Connect — Reach out with context, not a script.
• Explore — Understand goals, challenges and timing.
• Advise — Recommend a specific path, tied to what they told you.

The questions it makes you ask

• “I saw you were looking at X — what prompted that?”
• “What are you trying to get done this quarter?”
• “What have you tried already?”
• “What would make this the wrong time?”
• “Here is what I would do in your position — does that make sense?”

The steps

• Budget — Do they have funds reserved?
• Authority — Is this person empowered to sign?
• Need — Is there a genuine business need?
• Timeline — When is the decision planned?

The questions it makes you ask

• “Has a budget been set aside for this?”
• “Who signs off spend like this?”
• “What happens if you leave it as is?”
• “When do you need this live by?”
• “What would stop it happening this quarter?”

The steps

• Situation — How the process runs today.
• Pain — Where it breaks and who feels it.
• Impact — The cost per week in money or hours.
• Critical event — The dated thing that forces action.
• Decision — Who decides, and against what.

The questions it makes you ask

• “How does this run today?”
• “Where does it break?”
• “What does that cost you weekly?”
• “What is happening on a date that makes this urgent?”
• “Who decides, and what are they comparing?”