Commission is won in discovery.

four questions, in this order, for a 30 minutes call. Each one is aimed at a single rung this deal has not reached. None asks Priya to justify a decision — each assumes the answer exists and asks what shape it takes, which is the difference between a question and an audit.You will get through two. That is what the order is for.

Pre-call — Northwind Trading, Thu 11 Jun · every question carries the blank it closes

1. 1
   Economic Buyer

   1. named
   2. motivated
   3. engaged

   Not on the ladder · ask this one first

   “When Ravi approved the last thing this size, what did he actually see — a business case, a one-pager, someone in a room?”

   he owns the budget line this year, not mePriya Voss · discovery call · 14 May · 22:14

   The rung this buysMotivated is the rung above a name: you know what he personally needs this to do for him. Most deals are forecast on the name alone. His answer also tells you whether you are writing a document this week.

2. 2
   Paper Process

   1. listed
   2. owned
   3. dated

   Not on the ladder

   “Once he’s said yes — how long did the paperwork take the last time you renewed something this size?”

   Nothing. In 3 calls and 1 email thread, nobody has said how long procurement takes. It has not been asked.No source · the blank this question exists for

   The rung this buysA paper step is listed when you know it exists, owned when a named person on their side carries it, and dated when you know roughly when. You need all three and you have none. Her answer gives you the last safe day to start — if it is eight weeks, that day is 5 September.

3. 3
   Champion

   1. candidate
   2. motivated
   3. influential
   4. tested

   At candidate

   “If you were putting this in front of Ravi without me in the room, what’s the version that lands — and what’s the bit he pushes back on?”

   I’ll take it to Ravi, but he’ll want the numbers first.Priya Voss · discovery call · 14 May · 34:05

   The rung this buysA champion is motivated when they have a personal win, influential once you have watched them move somebody, and tested only after they have carried something for you and delivered. Priya is a candidate. Whether she has a version rehearsed is the first evidence either way.

4. 4
   Decision Criteria

   1. named
   2. positioned
   3. proven

   At named

   “You said security review is the one that always bites you. What did it kill last time?”

   Security review is the one that always bites us.Priya Voss · discovery call · 14 May · 31:40

   The rung this buysNamed is where most criteria die: you know it is on the list, you do not know how you score against it, and you certainly cannot prove it. A casualty from last time hands you the bar and, usually, what it takes to clear it.

They are in this order because each answer makes the next one easy to ask. If Priya answers only the first, Thursday was worth the 30 minutes. nine of the ten dimensions are still short of their top rung; these four are the ones a 30 minutes call can actually move.

One at a time · never a script · the last one exists because somebody said “security” on 14 May and nobody followed it