31 Outstanding Questions To Improve Opportunity Reviews

It is critical that you review your opportunities to explore how you win and address how you might lose. An opportunity review can feel like an unnecessary update when done poorly, creating no value as it pertains to forecasting the deal, improving the strategy, or increasing your odds of winning. Here are 31 questions that will improve your opportunity reviews.

1. What is compelling the client to pursue this initiative? Why do they want this deal?
2. What have they done this before and what challenges would cause them to do something different now?
3. What is the strategic outcome they are trying to obtain with this initiative?
4. Why are they engaged with us now?
5. In what stage of the sales process are you?
6. What’s the next action you need to take to move the deal forward in a way that moves them closer to choosing us?
7. Who owns the initiative on the client’s side? Who is going to sponsor this project?
8. Who has the most to gain or lose from the success of this deal and why?
9. What are the implications of this initiative failing?
10. What is the date the client needs this to start?
11. Who is on the decision-making committee?
12. Which of the stakeholders on the decision-making committee have you met with?
13. What does success look like for them?
14. Whose support do you have now and whose support do you believe you still need to acquire?
15. Is this a purchasing-driven decision or is it being driven by a business owner?
16. Who is the executive sponsor?
17. If it is a purchasing-driven project, what have you done to communicate our involvement with the person who likely owns the project? Do we know someone we can influence?
18. What have you done to create a preference to work with us on this deal?
19. What is our competitive advantage on this project? Why us?
20. Who else are they considering?
21. Have you expanded the opportunity by engaging a subject matter expert who might reshape it in a way that provides us with a competitive advantage?
22. What level of value will this deal create for them? If not’s Level 4, strategic, how do you create greater value?
23. Have the contacts making this decision and their team collaborated on the solution with you, or are we providing a solution without their having already agreed it is the right answer?
24. What do we still need to know to be able to improve our chances of winning?
25. Are there stakeholders who oppose the initiative or our involvement?
26. What do we owe the contacts that are making this decision to ensure they have what they need to properly evaluate our offering against any and all competitors.
27. What have you done to position the investment they need to make to produce the results they need?
28. What might cause the client to choose someone else for this project and what should we be doing about it now?
29. What can we do now to mitigate or prevent losing this deal?  Do we have any relationships that we can leverage to improve our position?
30. What change might we make to improve our odds of winning now?

You don’t need to ask or answer all these questions, yet asking them will provide you with follow up questions. If you want to make opportunity reviews valuable, improving your line of questions is the best place to start.