At this stage of a Solution Lifecycle, most buyers find themselves “lost in the fog” of issues, problems, conflicts, and general dissatisfaction with the status quo. However, before they can move, they must answer several essential questions.

Financial issues
What, if any, financial issues or contracts support the status quo or create resistance to change?

• With an installed solution, the large up-front costs can be prohibitive
• With an on-demand solution, the company may be unwilling to commit to pay rental fees for a long period of time into the future
• Inability to justify the purchase in terms of ROI metrics already used by the target company
• Marketing budgets often limited to marketing programs, not technology acquisition
• Hard to dig out costs scattered within multiple departments

What else have you found in your experience?