Sales Task

Define the buyer decision path after discovery

Turn a useful discovery or demo into clear criteria, buyer roles, open questions, and one next step the buyer owns.

“This is costing me follow-up time on opportunities whose decision process remains hidden.”

The result you need

Leave the conversation with a shared decision path or an honest pause or close outcome.

What is happening now

Where the work gets stuck

You can ask discovery questions and demonstrate the product, yet the conversation does not reach a buying decision.

When it starts
A meeting ends with general interest and no agreed decision, owner, or date.
What makes it difficult
You do not know whether the buyer is qualified, which roles matter, or how to ask for a concrete next step.
What progress looks like
The record states the problem, decision criteria, buyer roles, open questions, and a next step owned or confirmed by the buyer.

What to try next

Record and confirm the buyer decision path

Leave discovery with corrected buyer roles, observable decision criteria, and one confirmed next step or pause.

Open the practice

Before you act

Check these limits

  • Separate buyer statements from founder assumptions.
  • Ask the buyer to correct the role and process map.
  • Do not convert polite interest into a deal-stage claim.
  • Record only information needed for the sales decision.

Sources

Check the research behind this advice

Read the sources before relying on a claim or recommendation.

Edited by MarioReviewed 27 September 2026