In this state of a Solution Lifecycle most buyers confront the real and threatening issues of change, disruption to ongoing operations, loss of stature or respect resulting from a bad business decision, how to justify the purchase of a product or service. However before they can move forward, they must answer several essential questions:

Groundwork issues

If no one has declared clear accountability for the problem, what groundwork must take place (usually done by a Solution Evangelists within the account)?

• Somebody needs to offer up a real example of best practices from a relevant business
• Such best practice would highlight an ROI that resonates with the above listed executives
• Evangelists usually need to present to multiple groups – This obtains buy-in to the solution
• Evangelists need to build ROI model – to get buy-in from business and finance
• A clear articulation of strategic marketing initiatives, and how to resolve bottlenecks/difficulties in delivering. Also need to get them to recognize the true cost of the inefficient methods they use now. They don’t always see that there is a cost attached to the problems. Get them to think about what they could be doing if they weren’t doing this boring/time-wasting stuff – like more snazzy marketing. Create some scenarios where things could be so much better using our solution. Help them to identify how much they can save.

What else have you found in your experience?